Honoring Marine Log’s Top Women in Maritime 2021
Written by Heather Ervin
Priscila Faester, Marketing and Communications Manager – Americas, ABB Marine & Ports
Faester joined ABB in 2019 in her current role. In this role, she is responsible for all aspects of traditional and digital marketing, communications, regional media relations, social media, events, and much more as part of a thoughtful strategy. With over 15 years of experience, she has a strong marketing and communications background acquired throughout her career serving industries, such as a global chemical company Kyzen, ITW Dynatec, as well as Schneider Electric.
Her passion for sustainable solutions is evident on her activities at ABB, where she focuses on educating the market on sustainable solutions.
Faester has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Universidade de Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as a marketing strategy education from Harvard Business School.
ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career?
PF: As a marketeer, my focus at ABB Marine & Ports goes beyond promoting our solutions. I am particularly proud to see an entire shift in the maritime industry towards a more sustainable approach happening just before my eyes. One of my first projects to promote was the new electric ferry for Maid of the Mist, and that was a fantastic experience.
I got to promote the very first zero-emission ferry ever built in United States! This is an ABB legacy stamped for generations to come, and I was part of it. If you haven’t been to the Niagara Falls yet, you should consider a visit to explore one of the Seven Natural Wonders of North America.
My career in maritime hasn’t been long, but I already so many proud moments that its hard to make one of them stand out. I honestly feel the success of all activities I managed are a result of a great collaboration, and I am thankful for the fantastic team I work with and the amazing customers that are pioneering a new era of maritime transportation.
Synnove Seglem, Deputy Managing Director of Knutsen OAS Shipping and Co-Owner of TSSI
Seglem works with the growing fleet of LNG carriers in the Knutsen Group and its existing product tanker. She has a Master’s degree in material science and engineering from Imperial College in London, and an additional Master’s degree in Shipping, Trade and Finance from Cass Business School in London.
Seglem worked for six years at DNV before starting in the LNG department in Knutsen OAS Shipping. In 2013, she became the deputy managing director. She has worked in shipping company as a board of Director for 12 years. I am currently the chair of board at Haugesund Shipping Association and the vice president of the Norwegian Shipping Association. She is the deputy chairman at war risk insurance company DNK.
ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career?
SS: I am really proud of the achievement of being part of securing new contracts for the company, resulting in a doubling of LNG carriers the next three years. The growth of our LNG business is a result on hard work for some years where we have built a good safety culture.
Tina Klinger, Vice President – CFO, J.F. Brennan Company Inc.
Tina Klinger graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, with a degree in accounting and started her career in public accounting, where she became a licensed CPA. In the mid- 2000s, she began working for a heavy civil bridge building contractor in progressively responsible roles, before joining J.F. Brennan Company as CFO in 2013.
At Brennan, she oversees accounting, information technology, and bonding, legal and insurance. She enjoys the complex issues that the construction and marine industries bring to her role every day.
ML: What successes are you most proud of in terms of your maritime career?
TK: J.F.Brennan was growing rapidly when I joined the team in 2013. During my tenure in the marine industry, my greatest successes have come from building accounting and information technology teams that are scalable and highly functional, innovative business partners to our operations team. In a fast-paced and changing environment, this required a deliberate and methodical process. I spent approximately two years learning the day-to-day operations and the strengths of each team member. That time spent provided me the knowledge to then successfully divide tasks and reposition team members to build an infrastructure for growth.
A third year was spent transitioning out of the daily tasks to then provide high level support to the leaders on a strategic level. Today, we operate as efficient and productive counterparts for our crews in the field. Now, succession planning will be an important next step to ensure long-term team success for both groups.
