PNBC welcomes its new Chairman and President

After Stein Eriksen completed his interim and full term as Chief Helmsman of the Philippines Norway Business Council since its inception in late 2010, the Council’s steering wheel is now in the hands of an equally capable person; a man known to many for his propensity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his colleagues in defence of a principle or in pursuit of an objective. He gives life to the words, “rock-steady”. His name is Captain Ivar Thomasli.

Ivar is currently the Managing Director of Thome Ship Management Pte. Ltd’s regional headquarters in Manila, and Chairman of SMSGlobal Ltd.

He started his colourful career in the Norwegian Merchant Fleet in 1972 as 3rd Officer after graduating from Trondheim Maritime Academy, and later joined the Norwegian Navy for Officer Training at the Naval Academy where he graduated in 1976. He then served in The Norwegian Navy and Coast Guard, including commanding several vessels as well as holding Executive positions in the Naval Headquarters. He was Base Commander of the Norwegian Coast Guard in Northern Norway. He also served on board the Norwegian Navy vessel “Andenes” in the Persian Gulf during the Gulf War.

After his stint in the Persian Gulf, he moved to Namibia to establish a Coastguard for this coastal African nation. He was Captain on the first Namibian coastguard vessel and later became an Adviser for the Namibian Ministry of Fisheries. During this period he was on leave from the Navy.

He left the Navy in 1996 and embraced civilian life as Director for the Research Vessel Department of Norway’s Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, a position he held until January 2000 when he left for the Philippines to become the Managing Director of the Norwegian Training Center- Manila (NTC-M) .

In 2002 he co-founded SMSGlobal Ltd, a company which has grown to become the market leader world-wide with its crew communication solutions offered by Inmarsat.

In 2004 he joined Thome Ship Management Pte Ltd as Senior Vice President.

We at PNBC are very proud to have Capt. Ivar Thomasli as the Council’s Number One. We are confident about his dedication and leadership abilities and we foresee that during Ivar’s term, PNBC will be able to achieve new heights.