Evangelos J. Pistiolis founded our Company in 2000, is our President and Chief Executive Officer and serves on our board of directors since July 2004. Mr. Pistiolis graduated from Southampton Institute of Higher Education in 1999 where he studied shipping operations and from Technical University of Munich in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. His career in shipping started in 1992 when he was involved with the day to day operations of a small fleet of drybulk carriers. From 1994 through 1995 he worked at Howe Robinson & Co. Ltd., a London shipbroker specializing in container vessels. While studying at the Southampton Institute of Higher Education, Mr. Pistiolis oversaw the daily operations of Compass United Maritime Container Vessels, a ship management company located in Greece.