Tototheo Maritime Co-CEO is Cyprus’ candidate for the IMO’s first Gender Equality Award

The Co-CEO of Tototheo Maritime, Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, is the candidate Cyprus has put forward for the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) first Gender Equality Awards.

The award was established in the context of IMO's 128th Council Session, in order to accord international recognition to those individuals, irrespective of their gender, who, either in their personal capacity or as representatives of their respective institutions, have made significant contributions to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women in the maritime sector.

Theodosiou’s nomination for the 2024 IMO General Equality Award was submitted by the Deputy Minister of Shipping, Marina Hadjimanolis, on 17 July and the results are expected to be announced towards the end of this year.

Theodosiou is Co-CEO of Tototheo Maritime Group, a leading global provider of satellite services and maritime technology. She has been Chair of the Board of Directors. of the Cyprus Electricity Authority (ECA) since August 2021. Theodosiou was President of WISTA International from October 2017 until October 2022, an international shipping organization with a presence in 56 countries. Theodosiou was instrumental in WISTA's success in obtaining an advisory position at the IMO in 2018, as well as recently obtaining an observer position at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She is a member of various Boards of Directors such as the Cyprus Chamber of Shipping, the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB), Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2020, she was elected a member of the General Council of the Association of Limited Companies and Entrepreneurship in Greece and head of the Association's committee in the shipping sector. Theodosiou has been included in the list of Top 100 Most Influential People in Shipping by the international shipping publication Lloyd's List for five consecutive years since 2017. Also in 2019, she received the award of International Personality of the Year at the Lloyd's List Greek Shipping Awards held every year in Athens. Theodosiou holds degrees from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Copenhagen Business School and the University of Oxford.

Cyprus ranks in Council of the IMO in category C, since 1987 , actively participating over the years in the important processes of the Organisation towards the formulation of maritime policy for International Shipping and especially in the important efforts for the green transformation of International Shipping, while ensuring its interests of Cyprus Shipping at an international level.