Our Team
James Sagar
Chief Executive Officer

With more than 30 years in the global maritime and energy industries, James has built deep experience across the LNG value chain, marine transportation, global supply chain, and commercial leadership. His career began at Exxon Shipping Company as an officer in the U.S. Fleet, followed by progressively senior shore side and executive roles across Exxon and ExxonMobil organizations worldwide. James has led operations and commercial teams across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and global joint ventures, supporting complex energy logistics, shipping, and sustainability initiatives. He has also served on multiple industry boards, including SIGTTO and SGMF.

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Drawing on decades of executive leadership experience, James recently joined Hanwha to support the expansion of its global and U.S. maritime business, bringing a strategic focus on LNG, marine transportation, and long term value creation across the energy and shipping sectors.

James was awarded a Bachelor of Business Administration and U.S. Coast Guard License from SUNY Maritime College and holds a Master of Business Administration from George Mason University.
Siddharaj Pathare
Vice President, Chief Technical Officer

Siddharaj Pathare has over 34 years of experience in the shipping industry with 16 years at sea and 18 years in shore-based leadership roles. Siddharaj is an expert in fleet management, commercial operations, and maritime safety across all merchant segments with a core competency in management and regulatory compliance.

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Before joining Hanwha Shipping, Siddharaj served as Regional Head of Shipping Operations with Clearlake Chartering where we oversaw shipping operations. Prior to that he was 0perations Manager at BW Pacific, where he emphasized the importance of collaboration to ensure safe and compliant voyage operations.
James JY Lee
Chief Strategy Officer

James executes commercial activities for Hanwha Shipping and is responsible for sourcing, executing and analyzing businesses as well as setting strategy for the business. James has worked in a variety of sectors including consulting, brokerage and ship-owning/operation.

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James joined Hanwha Shipping in 2025 and is a Head of Commercial.
Prior to this, James was a Commercial Project Manager at Hyundai LNG Shipping (HLS) in Korea. Prior to HLS, James was a project shipbroker at Singapore and London.

James graduated from Bayes Business School (Cass Business School) with an MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance and BEng in Maritime Operations from the Korea Maritime & Ocean University.
Charles Salmon
Chief Operating Officer

Charles brings cross-sector experience spanning the practice of law at Locke Lord and consulting at McKinsey to his role at Hanwha Shipping. This experience includes deal negotiation, growth strategy, cost transformation, and organizational structuring for large-scale enterprises. His prior service as a Naval Intelligence Officer in the Western Pacific provides a differentiated perspective on the maritime domain at the intersection of commercial economics and national security.

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Charles’ background serving major companies at critical points in their operations as an attorney and then consultant coupled with his experience in Naval Intelligence provides a unique strategic view of the economic and national security aspects of the global maritime space and a strong perspective on how to set and achieve strategic aims. He earned a Sloan Fellows MBA from MIT Sloan, a JD from the University of Houston, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Mark Stewart
Chief Commercial Office

Mark brings more than 15 years of experience in the international maritime industry to Hanwha Shipping, Mark has previously served as Managing Director of Affinity Tankers LLC, based in Houston, and as a Partner of Affinity (Shipping) LLP.
After relocating to Houston in 2017, Mark was responsible for establishing and scaling Affinity’s US platform, advising oil majors, commodity traders, and shipowners.
He has deep sector expertise in clean petroleum tankers and a strong track record in originating and executing transactions, with experience spanning commercial strategy and market analysis.

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Mark recently joined Hanwha Shipping to support the expansion of a differentiated ship owning and investment platform focused on advancing energy security and next-generation maritime technologies, with a strong presence in both the US and global markets.

Mark began his career at EA Gibson Shipbrokers, where he built a leading clean tanker desk focused on the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
He also previously worked in KPMG’s Private Equity Group, supporting transaction due diligence. He holds a Batchelor's degree in Economics and Philosophy from University College London.