Mr. Kutman is a founding shareholder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Global Ports Holding, the world’s largest cruise port operator. Kutman is a member of DEİK (Foreign Economic Relations Board) and a member of TÜSİAD (Turkish Industry & Business Association). Prior to founding Global Investment Holding in 1990, Mr. Kutman was a project manager at Net Holding A.Ş., a Turkish corporate group involved in tourism and other related sectors, from 1989 to 1990. Between 1984 and 1989, he resided in the United States, where he served as Vice President at North Carolina National Bank, Sexton Roses Inc. and Philip Bush & Associates. Mr. Kutman holds a BA (Hons.) from Boğaziçi University and an MBA from the University of Texas. Mr. Kutman plays a vital role in the Yale Program in Brain Tumor Research, which works to better understand the formation of brain tumours and develop improved therapies, as well as various cancer research activities worldwide through the Gregory Mr. Kiez and Mehmet Kutman Foundation.
Mr. Fomferra was appointed CFO of Global Ports Holding (GPH) in 2020. Since 2016, he had been Director of Corporate Finance, with responsibility for capital market and structured financing activities for the whole group. In this capacity, and in his previous role as Managing Director of Global Securities/IEG-Global, Mr. Fomferra was closely involved in all of GPH’s financing transactions, including the issuance of its debut Eurobond in 2014 and the IPO in 2017. Prior to joining the group in 2012, Mr. Fomferra was Head of Structured Finance at Fresenius VAMED Germany, focusing on international healthcare PPP projects in Germany and Central / Eastern Europe. Previously, he was part of the corporate finance team at Deutsche Bahn from 2009 to 2010. Mr. Fomferra started his career as in investment banking at Barclays Capital and IEG-Investment Banking, where he advised on international M&A and structured financing transactions from 2005 to 2009. Mr. Fomferra holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the Technical University of Berlin and an MSc. degree from ESCP Europe.
Mr. Xuereb was appointed COO of Global Ports Holding in 2016. He has served as the CEO of Valletta Cruise Port since 2014 and has been employed by the company since its inception in 2002, and was appointed as Group Chief Finance Officer in 2009. He was responsible for the setting up of the finance and administration function, overseeing the financing of the €37million capital-intensive project, as well as playing an active role in developing the cruise line business in Malta and ancillary support services. Stephen Xuereb has over 20 years senior management experience, 13 of which in the Cruise Industry. Previous to that he occupied posts in the audit and financial advisory sectors as well in the retail, property and hospitality industries. Mr. Xuereb is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants and a Henley MBA graduate.
Dr. Ece Gürsoy was appointed Chief Legal Officer of Global Ports Holding PLC in 2018. Prior to joining GPH, Dr. Gürsoy served as the Chief Legal Officer, Company Secretary and Executive Director of Lightsource Renewable Energy Holdings Limited for six years. Before becoming an in-house lawyer, Dr. Gürsoy spent over eight years at international law firm Dentons and White & Case specializing in project finance, infrastructure, energy and private equity, working on a wide range of projects. Dr. Gürsoy is a member of the Law Society of England and Wales and the Istanbul Bar Association. She holds a LL.M. degree in Corporate and Commercial law from the University of London and a Ph.D. in European Competition Law from King’s College London.
Mr. Javier Rodriguez Sanchez has been appointed GPH Regional Director of West Med & Asia in 2019. He also serves as General Manager of Barcelona Cruise Port since June 2017.
Previously Mr. Rodriguez was the Port. Ground, Shorex & Cruise Operations Director in Pullmantur Cruises from December 2010 until June 2017. He has also worked in many roles within the shipping industry such as Maersk Line for over 3 years, port agency business and as a deck officer on board Trasmediterranea.
Mr. Rodriguez holds a Bachelor Degree in Nautical Studies from the Nautical School of Santander and an E-MBA from EAE Business School.
Mr. Güngör is the GPH Regional Director of East Med. He also serves as the General Manager of Ege Port – Kuşadası Cruise Port since 2006.
Prior starting its career at Global Ports Holding, he served not only as the Marina Manager of Setur Kusadasi Marina but also as the Sales and Marketing Director of Setur Marinas Group, a privately operated marina chain company of 11 marinas which is a subsidiary of Koç Holding, the largest private holding company in Turkey. Mr. Güngör was a board member of DTB – Turkish Marine Tourism Association between 2011-2013 and as a board member of MedCruise - The Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports in 2014. At present, he serves as a board member of TÜRKLİM – Port Operators Association of Turkey since 2014. Mr. Güngör began his career in the marine tourism sector in 1994 as a management trainee at the Tourism Division of Koç Holding (Koç Group) and held variety of executive positions within the Group since 2006.
Mr. Güngör holds a Bachelor Degree in Tourism Administration and Hospitality Management from Mediterranean University, Turkey.
Mr. Mike Maura Jr. is the GPH Regional Director of Americas, bringing extensive knowledge and experience of the Caribbean port and shipping industry, having worked in the industry and the region for over 20 years. He has been the CEO & General Manager of Nassau Cruise Port since 2021.
Most recently he served for 10 years as President & CEO of APD Limited the owner operator of the Nassau Container Port. Prior to leading the Nassau Container Port, he held key management positions within Tropical Shipping during his 12 year tenure. He has also served as a director of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, and currently serves as Chairman of the Nassau Container Port, and a director of Cable Bahamas.
Mr. Maura has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with a minor in Business Administration from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, U.S.A. He completed several postgraduate certifications including the Executive Certificate in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, The Executive Program from the University of Michigan, Organization of American States National Workshop on Maritime and Supply Chain Security, IADB-Korean Maritime and Ocean University Port Expert Workshop, and the IADB Single Window for Foreign Trade.
Mr. Kara has been appointed GM of Port of Adria- Bar in December 2015. Mr. Kara has joined GPH family in Port Akdeniz-Antalya as of 2012 to take an active role on commercial activities in Port Akdeniz-Antalya.He was promoted as Commercial Coordinator of Port of Adria, Bar in November 2013. Mr. Kara made a detailed analysis of port hinterland in Balkans and examined commercial future expactation of Port of Adria considering supply chain variables and competiton in the region. Mr. Kara graduated from Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir from department of Maritime Business and Management in 2009.
Mr. Duarte Cabral began working in TMN (Portugal Telecom group) before joining Sonae Sierra in 2001 in their property management division. He later took the role of Operations Manager in Greece in 2008 before being appointed in 2011 General Manager of the Algerian operation. In 2014 he moved to China to lead the shopping center management business and in 2016 he was appointed Deputy Managing Director before joining in 2021 Lisbon Cruise Port as General Manager. Mr. Cabral is a graduate of IADE with a Bachelor’s in Industrial Design and he holds a MSc. in Industrial Design and Product Engineering from Universitat Politecnica de Catlunya.
Ms. Susana Gutierrez has been the General Manager of Malaga Cruise Port since 2008. Prior to this, Ms. Gutierrez worked for three years as planning and coordination manager at Malagaport and coordinated Malagaport Services’ publicity and commercialization activities. Ms. Gutierrez graduated from University of Malaga with Translation and Interpreting degree, has a Cruise Ship Industry Master from University of Cambridge, completed Professional Cruise Ship Education from Med Cruise Association and received Port Facility Security Certified from Universidad Politècnica de Catalunya.
Mr. Kevin D’Costa has been appointed as the General Manager of GPH’s first N. American port, Prince Rupert Cruise Port in British Columbia, Canada.
Kevin has over 35+ years of experience within the cruise industry, tourism, travel & leisure sector. He has created award winning Shore Excursions and experiences in Canada for several cruise lines, travel companies & DMC’s. A strong believer of supporting local communities and sustainable development, Mr. D’Costa will work towards highlighting a destination of many cultures to the cruise community.
A high school student & self-taught purpose driven entrepreneur, Kevin created a company that was ranked 29th in the Top50 fastest emerging growth companies of Canada.
Kevin will be launching GPH’s first port in British Columbia, Canada, Prince Rupert Cruise Port, as well as managing and improving all shore excursions locally.
Global Ports Holding Plc (GPH) has appointed Puerto Rico-born Federico González-Denton Designated General Manager to lead the operations of the San Juan Cruise Port LLC (SJCP). For more than 15 years, Mr. González-Denton has dedicated his professional career to assist corporations and destinations in developing and implementing successful cruise industry strategies and initiatives.
Mr. González-Denton has been Head of Government Relations for Latin America & Caribbean at Global Ports Holding Plc. Before joining GPH, Mr. González-Denton was the founder and managing director of the consultancy firm Gondens International Advisors, based in Bogotá, Colombia, which assisted South and Central American ports and destinations to develop business strategies and relationships with the cruise lines. Mr. González-Denton held the position of Vice-President Government Relations of Royal Caribbean Group for Latin America & the Caribbean for more than 12 years.
Before joining the cruise industry, Federico held several corporate leadership positions in Puerto Rico, including leading Walmart Puerto Rico’s corporate affairs efforts during the acquisition of Amigo Supermarkets in 2003. In addition, he also implemented Walmart’s initiative to increase the purchase and distribution of Puerto Rican made products locally and for export to Walmart’s stores in the mainland United States.
Mr. González-Denton has also held leadership positions in several international trade and non-profit organizations such as Vice-Chair of the Operations Committee of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), Board Director of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), and Board Trustee of the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) which is part of the Organization of American States (OAS). Mr. González-Denton is admitted to the practice of law at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico and the Courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mr. González-Denton completed his Bachelor MSc in Maritime Law (LLM) from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mr. Lionel Wong has been the CEO of the SATS Creuers Cruise Services company in Singapore since January 2016. He was previously the Region Head for Corporate Business Development in SATS and was responsible for establishing and developing SATS' business operations and scope through strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East, ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea regions. Mr. Wong was also previously responsible for the Low-Cost Carrier Catering division of Asia Pacific Star (APS) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of SATS, where he spearheaded innovation drives to optimise operations and manage costs, and drive revenues by implementing ambient shelf-stable ready-to-eat meals featured on some low-cost airline customers today.He also revamped the marketing and ancillary revenue streams by creating fresh approaches to marketing and promotions with a B2C focus. Mr. Wong holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Murdoch University, Perth, Australia.
Ms. Alba Colet, serves as Commercial Manager of Tarragona Cruise Port as of July 2022.
Previously, Ms. Colet served for 9 years as a consultant for the Port of Tarragona to develop the commercial and marketing strategy to attract cruise tourism in Tarragona, and the previous 9 years she worked in different leadership roles in the marketing department of PortAventura World, one of the most renowned theme park resorts in Europe, where she gained her experience in the tourism sector.
Ms. Colet graduated from the University of Barcelona with a degree in International Business and is currently completing a degree in Marketing and Market Research at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.
Ms. Rebeka V. Pevec is a hospitality expert with 25+ years of international cruise experience, recognized for commitment to create service excellence, award-winning teams, luxury guest experiences, profitable operations and effective systems by analysing processes and implementing innovative, effective solutions throughout all departments. Prior to joining Global Ports Holding Plc, Ms. Pevec has held various senior managerial positions with ocean and river cruise lines among which are Silversea Cruises, Radisson Seven Seas, Celebrity Cruises, Paul Gauguin Cruises and Viking Cruises. For past 15 years she was in a role of Hotel Director and ships under her management were often award-winners. Most recently, she was pre-opening Hotel Manager for Viking River Cruises, and ACO Hotel GM and Financial Officer of Viking Ocean Cruises. Ms. Pevec speaks English, Croatian, French, German and Spanish. She has a master’s degree from Cornell University in Hospitality Management with a concentration in Financial Management, Hospitality Marketing and Leading Customer Focused Teams. She attended Hospitality Management and Leadership seminars at Johnson & Wales University, USA and Entrepreneurship seminars at Cornell University.
