Mark O’Neil

President and CEO - Columbia Group

Mark O’Neil is the President and CEO of Columbia Group and CEO of Schoeller Holdings. Previously an English Army Officer and then a maritime lawyer by profession, as a Partner with Stephenson Harwood LLP and Reed Smith LLP for 17 years, Mark headed up international law firm Reed Smith LLP’s German Shipping Team, and also co-lead the firm’s Offshore Department. His clients included Ship Owners, Charterers, Insurers, Management Companies, Banks, Oil Companies and Offshore Contractors worldwide with a particular focus on the German, Scandinavian, Greek, Dutch, South American and Cypriot markets. He therefore has an in-depth knowledge of the shipping, ship management, banking and offshore sectors.   

Mark chairs and/or speaks at numerous maritime and banking conferences and seminars worldwide.  He is a passionate advocate of performance optimisation, digitalisation, crew training and the Human Element within the shipping and ship management industry and regularly speaks on these matters.