Christopher L. Koch
President and CEO
Prior to joining the World Shipping Council, Chris Koch served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Sea-Land Service, Inc. where he was responsible for legal, regulatory and government affairs.
While with Sea-Land, Chris worked with the maritime industry in the development, enactment and implementation of numerous maritime policy initiatives as well as assisting Sea-Land develop and implement its business plan and commercial strategy.
Prior to Chris' involvement with Sea-Land and CSX, he served as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission from 1990 to 1993 as an appointee of President George Bush. He came to the FMC after a decade on Capitol Hill where he was Counsel to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Chief of Staff to Senator Slade Gorton and Senator John McCain.
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Donald L. O'Hare
Vice President
Don O'Hare worked for Sea-Land Service, Inc. for more than 30 years in a variety of public relations, public affairs and regulatory functions. Most recently he served as Director, International and Regulatory Affairs and was responsible for maritime issues involving U.S. government agencies, foreign governments and international organizations.
He has served as an industry advisor to U.S. government delegations to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the World Trade Organization, the OECD Maritime Transport Committee and numerous bilateral maritime negotiations.
Don currently serves as Chairman of the Sea Transportation Committee of the U.S. Council for International Business in New York, and Chairman of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD in Paris. He is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States.
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Lars Kjaer
Senior Vice President
Lars Kjaer has been with the World Shipping Council since its inception and currently manages the Councils's activities in Europe. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Lars works closely with the European Community in the pursuit of its supply chain and cargo security policies.
Prior to joining the Council, Lars most recently served as the Washington Representative for the Council of European and Japanese Shipowners' Associations (CENSA) from 1999 to 2000.
Before joining CENSA, Lars was counselor at the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C. (1993-98). During that tenure he was also chairman of the Cotton Club of foreign transportation counselors in Washington. At the Royal Danish Embassy, Lars was responsible for transportation matters, in particular shipping policy, and for bilateral and regional trade issues, including the GATS (services) negotiations in the WTO.
Lars joined the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983. While with the Foreign Service of Denmark, his assignments included: principal head of section in the Middle East Political Department, and chairman of various working groups of the European Union's Foreign Policy Cooperation. His foreign postings included a four-year term as First Secretary at the Danish Delegation to NATO, in Brussels..
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Anne Marie Kappel
Vice President
Anne Kappel joined the World Shipping Council in 2005 and provides functional expertise in marketing, communications and operations as well as monitoring issues related to transportation infrastructure, environmental impacts and U.S. Customs regulations.
Prior to joining the Council, Anne worked for Maersk Inc., the North American agent for A.P. Moller-Maersk, where she was most recently responsible for corporate communications, including employee communication and public relations. Anne has worked in the liner shipping industry for over twenty years and has held a broad range of positions in sales, marketing, communications and trade management at Maersk Sealand, Sea-Land Service and U.S. Lines. She graduated with honors from Monmouth University and has completed a number of post-graduate courses including an executive education program at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.
Today, Anne serves as the Chairperson of the Intermodal Committee of the Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council (MTSNAC), which is chartered to advise the U.S. Secretary of Transportation on issues affecting the U.S. marine transportation system. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Containerization and Intermodal Institute (CII) and represents the interests of the liner shipping industry on the Freight Stakeholder’s Coalition, which is comprised of all sectors of the supply chain and meets regularly to exchange information and develop consensus positions on U.S. transportation legislation and public policy. She is also a member of the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT), the largest chapter of the Organization of Women in International Trade.
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Charles Diorio
Director, Government Affairs
Prior to joining the WSC, Chuck Diorio practiced maritime law in Baltimore, Maryland. He served for ten years as a commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard after graduating from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. While in the service, Chuck served tours at sea as a deck watch officer, at Coast Guard headquarters, and at the Marine Safety Office Los Angeles/Long Beach. He holds a law degree from American University in Washington, D.C.
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Patty Pearson came to the World Shipping Council from Gannett, Inc. where she worked as Administrative Coordinator in the Information Technology department. Prior to that she spent six years at the United Way of the National Capital Area in Washington, D.C. Patty has an Associates in Science Degree in Business Administration.