Advisory Board
Eric Topp
Eric Topp is a top-performing Global Transportation & Logistics Executive with a documented record of delivering multimillion-dollar revenues, creating solutions and managing large-scale programs across multiple industries. He has 30 years of experience in the Transportation & Logistics space leading Operations, IT Transformations and Sales/Business Development. He worked for the U.S. Army, IBM Consulting, a RTTVP startup in Silicon Valley, APL Lines (Ocean), Bollore Logistics (3PL), Crowley (Jones Act Carrier) and Longbow Advantage (WMS/LMS/TMS) before joining Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the Worldwide Transportation and Logistics Business Development Lead. Eric traveled extensively for his previous roles working/living in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific. He attended the University of Tennessee (B.S., Transportation & Logistics) and the Pennsylvania State University (M.B.A., Supply Chain/Digital Business).
Brigadier General Blaine D. Holt (Ret.)
Brigadier General Blaine “Blaino” Holt, boasting over 28 years of distinguished service, is a seasoned leader in aerospace, logistics, and strategic planning. Notably, as the U.S. Deputy Military Representative to NATO, he wielded significant influence, shaping U.S. foreign and defense policy while championing military interests within the alliance. His tenure as Director of Logistics for the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) saw him orchestrating vital logistical operations, facilitating the movement of forces, equipment, and supplies throughout the European Theater. His leadership was further underscored by his historic appointment as Chairman of the NATO Multinational Logistics Coordination Center (MLCC), positioning him as one of the Department of Defense’s top logistics authorities.
Transitioning from military service, General Holt assumed the role of President at Million Air and American Jet International, where he engineered initiatives to stabilize and expand the company’s footprint, securing $150 million in investments for future growth. Currently, as CEO of Alchemai, he pioneers AI-driven supply chain risk management solutions across defense, commercial, and non-profit sectors while also offering strategic guidance to emerging technology startups through Irascible Strategic Advisors. General Holt’s multifaceted contributions extend to the realm of foreign policy discourse, where he shares his insights as a Military Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations and a regular commentator on Newsmax, reflecting his enduring commitment to informed dialogue and global engagement.
Dinesh C
Dinesh C serves as the Communications Co-Director for HACE. Dinesh is also the Co-founder and CEO of ADAPT, a venture dedicated to empowering organizations with transportation-centered sustainability goals. ADAPT was selected into the Harvard Climate Entrepreneur's Circle, co-organized by HACE.
Dinesh earned his bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Business Economics at Brown University. He later pursued a Master of Liberal Arts in Sustainability at Harvard. Dinesh took a unique break in his tech career and completed a Master's in Coffee at the Università del Caffè in Trieste, Italy.
Dinesh co-founded Climate Masterminds with UC Berkeley to spotlight sustainability leaders and foster an environment for sharing insights on climate action, networking with passionate climate activists, and enhancing individual capacities to effect positive change. Dinesh also serves as a Board Member of JCYC in San Francisco, a non-profit organization serving 7,000 children and youth annually from diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.
Away from work, Dinesh practices Kendo in San Francisco, a Japanese martial art that emphasizes discipline, focus, and resilience. On the lighter side, he's also on a quest to find the perfect macchiato, a love for coffee nurtured during his studies in Italy.
Harry Kerames
Harry has over 30 years of experience in the transportation industry. He has served on the Dry Ships Board of Directors as the Chairman of the Audit & Nominating Committee since 2009. Previously, he has been the Managing Director of Global Capital Finance, where he was responsible for the firm's shipping practice. Prior to joining Global Capital Finance in 2006, he was the Chief Marketing Officer at Charles R. Weber Company Inc., where he brokered the freight derivative business, and co-founded Azimuth Fund Management, a freight derivatives hedge fund. Harry has also held various directorships, senior-level marketing positions, and consultative roles with Illinois Central Railroad, Genstar Corporation, Motive Power Industries, Hub Group Distribution Services, ITEL Rail Corporation, IBM, and was a director at OceanFreight Inc.
Rodrigue Saab
Rodrigue is a serial entrepreneur, engineer at heart, business visionary, technological innovator and global sales & marketing authority.
He is founder and CEO of US based, hi-tech company, SAAB RDS Inc., together with additional trailblazing entrepreneurial developments in technology commercialization, digital transformations and emerging technologies.
Rodrigue is passionate about creating transformative opportunities and innovative hi-tech companies with social impact. He believes in people that dare to think big and are willing to invest time and effort in order to succeed. Rodrigue is a former regional leader at National Instruments, a pioneer in the technology sector; and brings extensive experience in international business development, technology landscape and global ecosystem, leadership, sales & marketing strategies, and in building high performance teams. In his early career, Rodrigue founded an advanced CNC machine building firm and built medical research machines, tool machining, and quilting machines.
In addition to his business career, Rodrigue is actively involved in numerous philanthropic and public organizations, initiatives in the areas of social and economic development, education, and entrepreneurship. Rodrigue holds a Senior Executive Leadership from Harvard Business School, a Masters in Engineering
(AI and industrial controls) from University of Technology of Compiègne, and Electrical Engineering (Power Systems) from the Lebanese University.
Yu (Marco) Nie
Marco is interested in research to better understand and predict the behavior of transportation networks, and to formulate new design and control strategies to improve mobility, reliability and sustainability of these systems. Unlike other networks such as communication and social networks, the behavior of a transportation network depends on the interactions between human activities (travel choice and driving behavior), physical characteristics of the infrastructure and network topology. As a result, his analyses of transportation systems take an interdisciplinary approach that draws on tools from optimization, network science, traffic flow theory, economics, and statistics.
Ph.D. Civil Engineering: Transportation University of California, Davis, CA
M.S. Civil Engineering: Transportation National University of Singapore, Singapore
B.S. Civil Engineering (cum laude) Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Derek B. Godwin
Mr. Godwin is the President of Railroad Consultants, PLLC and is responsible for management of day to day operations, engineering calculations, specifications and plan development. He utilizes a "hands-on" approach and coordinates with field inspectors and owners daily to insure their needs are being met.
M.S. Civil Engineering: Tennessee Technology University, Cookeville, Tennessee
Mohammad S. Bajba
Mohammad is a passionate Business leader with over 20 Years of experience in development and implementation of mega projects with current focus on energy and technology projects. First class communication skills and a long track record of successful management. Mohammad is the founder and managing director of RIWAQ Industrial Development Company, Director of EV Metals (UK) and board member of Dimeglobal company & Emcan engineering-consultant company.
He played an instrumental role in execution of mega projects both with Sabic & Ma’aden in Saudi Arabia.
Mohammad has a special interest in the business culture dimension with a successful case to implement the “Institute Innovative Culture in a petrochemical organization ” program serving 600 employees case. He is a certified facilitator for leadership programs.
Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Electrical Engineering from “King Fahad University for Petroleum and Mining”.
MBA in Business Management from “Hull University - UK”.