Pinelopi Kassani at "Women of Influence 2025" Maritime Economies

 Tells us about your personal professional journey so far. 
My professional journey started in 2000, when I joined Citi in Athens, as an eager undergraduate Banking & Finance student.
In 2003, after completing my MSc, I joined PwC in Athens and in 2004, I moved to the UK, to join PwC in London. I spent the next four years working in the Banking & Capital Markers division, working primarily with international investment banks, on audits and regulatory reporting projects. At the same time, I completed my professional training and qualification and became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
In 2008, I moved back to Greece and to EY as an audit manager and then senior manager, in the Financial Services sector. During the Greek sovereign crisis, I became heavily involved in the Bank of Greece project to assess the loan portfolios and the adequacy of loss provisions of the main Greek banks, for the purpose of estimating the capital requirements for the Recapitalization and Restructuring of the Greek Banking Sector, following Public Sector Involvement, widely known then as ‘PSI’.
I then moved on to the Hellenic Accounting and Auditing Standards Oversight Board (HAASOB), the Audit Profession Independent Regulatory Authority in Greece, where I served as a chartered auditor, carrying out a series of audit quality inspections, in auditing firms, an extremely interesting period from which I gained a wealth of knowledge and experience.
In 2015, I joined Moore Greece and was quickly introduced to Greek shipping, international shipping and their affiliated interests. Having been born and raised in Piraeus, coming to Moore felt almost like coming home, after a long and rewarding journey.
In the past ten years, I have been working with numerous companies, enhancing the quality and informational value of their financial and non-financial reporting, improving their internal control and adopting new regulations in a way that is least disruptive to daily operations. In 2018, I became partner and took on further responsibilities, both in the internal organizational structure of Moore Greece, but also in business development and thought leadership. My current role as Governance, Risk & Compliance partner is both fulfilling and challenging in the sense that it combines the creativity, teamwork and satisfaction of effective problem solving, along with the ownership and accountability that come with it.
Looking back to my journey of over 20 years, I feel fortunate that I always found a purpose in my work and that has helped me push my limits to grow further as a professional and as a person.           
 
 In our days more and more women are in business leadership. Is their leadership successful, so we can have more women in these positions?
I feel fortunate to have been raised with the belief that I can pursue the education and career of my choice. I feel even more fortunate, that I have worked for organizations that developed and empowered women not only to succeed, but to lead others to succeed, as well. I am fully aware, though, that this was not the norm back then.
Thankfully, a large part of the world has shifted towards more equal opportunities for both genders. While, in the not-so-distant past, women assuming leadership positions made big news, this is not the case anymore. Why? Because, in our part of the world, women can be heads of state, judges and CEOs. What’s even more important, I think, is the fact that – in most professions - a capable young woman entering the workplace now, has just as good a chance of climbing the hierarchy ladder, as her male peers.
It is important to recognize here the importance of both genders and what each of them brings to the workplace culture and to the Board. Different mindsets and experiences help highlight more aspects to a situation and indeed help make better decisions.
I also believe that, along with recognizing women part in leadership, our society is also accepting the vitality of men at home, with more active parenting becoming an important choice for many young men. As our society steers away from these long-established stereotypes and becomes more accepting of people’s personal choices, both at work and at home, I believe people will have more fulfilling personal and professional lives.       
 
 What might be the impact on global shipping for the geopolitical events that are happening at this time?
This interview takes place at a time (beginning of March 2025) where seismic changes are taking place in the global geopolitical landscape: The USA and China have engaged in a war of tariffs. US President Trump has approached Russian President Putin with the aim for the two ex-enemies to pursue mutual interests. The EU is facing a new reality with US security guarantees being lifted, as announced by US Vice President Vance in the recent European Security Conference. Peace talks for Ukraine are taking place, after three years of relentless fighting, but peace itself still seems remote.
This is an era of profound geopolitical instability. We literally see history evolving minute by minute before our eyes, and therefore any prediction could shortly prove void.
Having said that, it is important to recognize two things: (1) that global seaborne trade is as essential to human life as the air we breathe and (2) that global shipping is no stranger to rapid geopolitical changes. With these two in mind, there is a prediction that we can, in fact make: As the trade war between the US and China intensifies, Chinese companies are continuing to expand abroad, both to get around trade barriers and to tap new markets in the global south. New alliances and collaborations are rapidly being formed, which in turn lead to new trade routes and deals. Successful shipping companies navigate through turbulent waters to seize an opportunity and manage to position themselves timely to ride the waves of change, profitably.