Real careers in ports. The decisions behind them.
Conversations is the Women in Ports podcast — honest interviews with the people building the sector. Leaders, juniors, women, men, allies — all lending their voice to their own experience.
Published as Women in Ports – Conversations on Spotify and YouTube. New episodes regularly.
Conversations to start with.
Episode 3
Charles Hammond OBE
Former CEO, Forth Ports
35+ years shaping the UK maritime sector. On what mentorship, male allyship and graduate boards actually do for the next generation of port leadership.
Episode 4
Ivana-Maria Carrioni-Burnett FRIN
Marine Pilot, Port of London Authority
From counter-piracy in the Persian Gulf to piloting ships up the Thames. A Royal Navy veteran on what real authority looks like — and why empathy and precision aren't opposites.
Episode 11
Heidi Heseltine
Founder & CEO, Diversity Study Group
35+ years in shipping, now using data and lived experience to drive culture change. On why the "pipeline problem" needs better leaders, not just better intentions.
Episode 1
Kaitlyn Croxall
PD Ports
From retail and hospitality to a team of forty where she's one of two women. On self-doubt, networks, and what actually shifts when a workplace decides to change.
About the show
Women in Ports – Conversations showcases real stories, experiences and fresh perspectives shaping the maritime sector. Episodes feature candid interviews with women and men — career guidance and behind-the-scenes insights into port operations. Together, the conversations reveal leadership, innovation and cooperation, and highlight everyone’s role in building inclusive port communities.
Published on Spotify and YouTube.
Every episode
The full archive. New episodes added regularly.
Alex Mensink-Britton
Business Development Partner, Svitzer
From collecting rubbish on a waste barge to senior commercial leadership — how operational credibility becomes boardroom authority, and why financial literacy is non-negotiable for women in senior port roles.
Emmanuel Tchombe
Founder, Falcon Tag
From building computers at age nine to leading AI innovation in ports — on smart port development, clean data and why technology is only as good as the people behind it.
Catherine Hall
Spanning maritime and energy — on leading large-scale transformation, why curiosity shapes a career better than any plan, and the people who challenge assumptions from within.
Selena Jones
Founder, Seaman Solution
From the Panama Maritime Authority to founding Seaman Solution — on digital certification, navigating bias and why the maritime sector needs bolder, more resilient leadership.
Anisa Koci CEng MICE
Capital Projects Programme Manager, Portsmouth International Port
From civil engineering to programme leadership at a major UK port — on building credibility, managing stakeholders and why inclusion needs practical effort, not symbolic gestures.
Nassia Katroutsou
Head of Education and Training, Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers
From the University of Piraeus to the ICS — on structured learning, digital fluency and why knowledge alone isn't enough to develop the next generation of maritime leaders.
Rhona Macdonald
Senior Sustainability Adviser, British Ports Association · IMO Policy Liaison, IAPH
Sustainability in ports is not a future ambition — it's a present-day necessity. A conversation on climate resilience, net zero and why women have a critical role in the green transition.
Heidi Heseltine
Founder & CEO, Diversity Study Group
35+ years in shipping, now using data and lived experience to drive culture change. On why the "pipeline problem" needs better leaders, not just better intentions.
Alex Campbell OBE
Chief Executive, Queen Victoria Seafarers' Rest (QVSR)
Supporting 40,000 seafarers a year at the Port of Tilbury — on maritime welfare, expanding services for women at sea, and why putting people first never goes out of fashion.
Bernice Mahabier
Senior leader, Maritime Authority of Suriname
25+ years in Caribbean maritime — on building teams of capable women, the role of networks like WIMAC, and why women must not hold themselves back from opportunities.
Tom Sawyer
Chief Executive, Port of Milford Haven
A port CEO on why diversity isn't a distraction from commercial success — it's a driver of it. And why the war for talent means ports can't afford to keep doing what they've always done.
Toril Eidesvik
Board member, Port of London Authority; Chairperson, GOT and Zinus AS
From Norwegian maritime law to board seats across UK ports — on gender diversity lessons, sustainability in shipping, and why you should always raise your hand.
Listen wherever you are
Follow the show on Spotify or YouTube.
In the press
Women in Ports has been featured in trade and industry media for its work on gender representation, data transparency, and what genuine access to opportunity actually requires.
See all coverageThe podcast is one part of what we’re building.
Women in Ports is a membership organisation working to change representation across ports and port services — through data, knowledge, innovation, sustainability and advocacy.