George Economou

George Economou has over 25 years of experience in the maritime industry.
He has served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of DryShips Inc since its inception in 2004.
He successfully took the Company public in February 2005, on NASDAQ under the trading symbol: DRYS. Economou has overseen the Company's growth into the largest US listed dry bulk company in fleet size and revenue and the second largest Panamax owner in the world.
Economou began his career in 1976 when he commenced working as a Superintendent Engineer in Thenamaris Ship Management in Greece. From 1981-1986 he held the position of General Manager of Oceania Maritime Agency in New York. Between 1986 and 1991 he invested and participated in the formation of numerous individual shipping companies and in 1991 he founded Cardiff Marine Inc., Group of Companies.
Economou is a member of ABS Council, Intertanko Hellenic Shipping Forum, and Lloyds Register Hellenic Advisory Committee.
Economou was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He is a graduate of Athens College, and completed his higher education in the United States at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, in 1976; he earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, and a Master of Science in Shipping and Shipyard Management.
Effective May 30 2007, Mr. Economou has been appointed by the DryShips Board as the Interim Chief Financial Officer.

Ziad Nakhleh

Ziad Nakhleh 37, has over 12 years of finance experience. From January, 2005 to September, 2008, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc., a publicly traded marine fuels logistics company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, where he led the company's $200 million IPO in December 2006. During his tenure at Aegean, Mr. Nakhleh as well as managing the corporate finance and accounting aspects of the company, was extensively involved in maintaining investor confidence and contributing to the expansion of the company by way of corporate and asset acquisitions. For the past year, he was engaged in a consulting capacity to various companies in the shipping and marine fuels industries. Prior to his time with Aegean, Mr. Nakhleh was employed at Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen in Athens. Mr. Nakhleh is a graduate of the University of Richmond in Virginia and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Pankaj Khanna

Pankaj Khanna was appointed as the Company's Chief Operating Officer in March 2009. Mr. Khanna has 19 years of experience in the shipping industry. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Khanna was the Chief Strategy Officer for Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. Mr. Khanna also previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Alba Maritime Services S.A. Prior to joining Alba Maritime Services S.A., Mr. Khanna was Vice President of Strategic Development at Teekay Corporation where he headed vessel sales & purchase activities, newbuilding ordering activities and other strategic development projects from 2001 through 2007. Prior to this, Mr. Khanna was a Senior Analyst at SSY, a large multinational shipbroker. Mr. Khanna graduated from Blackpool and the Fylde College, Fleetwood Nautical Campus and also received a post-graduate diploma in international trade and transport from London Metropolitan University.

Chrysoula Kandylidi

Chrysoula Kandylidi, is the beneficial owner of all the issued and outstanding capital stock of Prestige Finance S.A., a Liberian corporation which owns 30% of the outstanding Capital Stock of Cardiff. Ms. Kandylidi has also served as an Advisor to the Minister of Transport and Communications in Greece for matters concerning People with Special Abilities for the past three years on a voluntary basis. Ms. Kandylidi graduated from Pierce College in Athens and from the Institute Francais d' Athenes. She is also a Graduate of the University of Geneva holding a degree in Economics.

Evangelos Mytilinaios

Evangelos Mytilinaios has extensive experience in the shipping industry having served as senior executive at the Peraticos and Inglessis Group of Companies which are involved in the dry bulk and tanker sector. He presently heads a diversified group of companies spanning tourism and real estate development in Greece and the United Kingdom. Post attending the Athens University of Economics he started his career joining and then heading his family's aluminum production enterprise Evangelos Mytilinaios A.E., one of the largest aluminum product manufacturers in Greece.

George Xiradakis

George Xiradakis was appointed to the Board of Directors of DryShips Inc., in May 2006.  Since 1999, George Xiradakis has been the Managing Director of XRTC Business Consultants Ltd., a consulting firm providing financial advice to the maritime industry, including financial and state institutions; XRTC is the commercial representative of the French banking group NATIXIS in Greece.  He is also the advisor of various shipping companies, as well as international and state organizations.  Xiradakis has served as a President of the Hellenic Real Estate Corporation from June 2004 to October 2006.  As of March 2007 he is the President of the National Centre of Port Development in Greece. At present he also serves as the General Secretary of the Association of Banking and Shipping Executives of Hellenic Shipping. Xiradakis has a certificate as a Deck Officer from the Hellenic Merchant Marine and he is a graduate of the Nautical Marine Academy of Aspropyrgos, Greece. He also holds a postgraduate Diploma in Commercial Operation of Shipping from London Guildhall University formerly known as City of London Polytechnic in London.  Xiradakis holds an MSc., in Maritime Studies from the University of Wales.

George Demathas

George Demathas has a BA in Mathematics and Physics (Hamilton College, NY) and an MSc in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Columbia University). As a principal in Marketing Systems Ltd, he supplied turnkey manufacturing equipment to industry in the USSR. From 1991 he was involved in Malden Investment Trust Inc. in association with Lukoil, working in the Russian petrochemical industry. Since 1996 he has invested in natural gas trunk pipelines in Central Asia. He is based in Moscow and travels widely in Europe and the USA.

Harry Kerames

Harry Kerames has over 21 years of experience in the transportation industry. Mr. Kerames has been the Managing Director of Global Capital Finance where he was responsible for the firms 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 a freight derivatives hedge fund. Mr. Kerames 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, and Ship and Transportation Equipment Finance and Oceanfreight Inc. Mr. Kerames is a member of the Baltic Exchange, the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce, and the Connecticut Maritime Association. Mr. Kerames graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut.

Vassilis Karamitsanis

Vassilis Karamitsanis is an attorney and a founding partner of SigmaKappaSigma Law Offices. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Karamitsanis was the Head of the legal department at Karouzos Construction & Development Group. Mr. Karamitsanis has also previously served as a legal advisor to Dimand Real Estate Development and LPSA Consultants SA, and as a special advisor to the Hellenic Ministry of Health & Welfare. He is a member of the Athens Bar Association and practices real estate, corporate, domestic and international contracting, telecommunications, and energy law. Mr. Karamitsanis graduated from Athens College Lyceum, and received his law degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He also holds a postgraduate degree in Economic Analysis of Law from Erasmus University of Rotterdam, and a postgraduate degree in Economic Analysis of Institutions from University Aix-Marseille III, Aix-en-Provence.