Our Officers
Michael Robarts F.I.C.S.
Chairman
Mike started his career at sea as a Deck Officer on VLCC tankers, Ro/Ro ships before coming Master. He came ashore in port operations as a pilot for a UK major port. His skills and experience have led to appointments as an Independent Marine Advisor and Designated Person for a Board of Directors. Consultancy work includes logistics, ship broking and assisting expert witness reports in marine claims.
Marianna Xifara BSc, LLM, F.I.C.S.
Vice Chair
Marianna holds a Masters in Law and is a chartered shipbroker on qualifying as a Fellow of the Institute. She gained further experience with an internship with a Greek shipowner in the finance department and became secretary for the ICS Greece branch. Here she gained skills in teamwork, leadership and human management which she carries forward in her professional work. She currently works in chartering for a bulk and container ship operator in London.
Jeffrey Blum F.I.C.S.
Education Officer
Jeffrey Blum has been involved in shipping and trading since 1972. He is the fourth generation of a shipping and freight forwarding family, has been a member of the Baltic Exchange since 1976 and has worked in marine insurance, competitive and exclusive shipbroking, ship owning and operating, chartering and commodities trading in London and abroad. He has also been an Expert Witness since 1983 and an arbitrator since 1994, when he also founded his own claims consultancy company.
Since 1984 he has been lecturing on several subjects of commercial shipping and maritime law at universities and colleges (including his own since 2002) in London and globally. He is a long-term Visiting Professor at the World Maritime University at Malmo and the Shanghai Maritime University and is a frequent guest presenter at bespoke, academic and public training conferences and masterclass workshops worldwide.
He has lectured for the ICS since 1984, was Education Officer of the L&SE Branch 2000-2015 and 2017 to date, was Chairman of our branch 2005-2007 and again Vice Chairman 2015-2017. He served on several international committees and the Controlling Council of the Institute for many years.
Jonathan Marks F.I.C.S.
Treasurer
A Fellow of the Institute since 1986, Jonathan acted as both a competitive Owner’s and Charterer’s broker on the Baltic and considers himself to have been lucky to have been taught and mentored by some of the most technically capable Shipbrokers in the London market at the time. He opened his own broking firm and then specialised in NVOCC and “final mile” operations, supporting peacekeeping and post conflict operations globally. Harking back to his conversations with aviators who also used to consider the old Baltic Exchange their home, Jonathan opened and ran an airline in Africa that served the same clients at his maritime operations.
Today Jonathan and his company provides strategic advice and tactical solutions to a range of stakeholders in defence and other supply chains.