Maikel Arts
Maikel Arts is Head of Cruise at Wärtsilä Marine. His business life spans well over 25 years of which close to 20 years at Wärtsilä. His career in Wärtsilä has brought him in contact with all aspects of the marine industry both from a segment point of view as well as geogrphically. In his early years at Wärtsilä he has worked a lot with customers on life cycle solutions for their existing fleet and after 5 year he has started to work more and more on New Building projects and concept development. While growing the company to become the global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions Maikel has specialized himself in the Passenger vessel segment and has become a key partner for the Cruise industry.
The company purpose:” Enabling sustainable societies through innovation in technology and services” is close to his heart. Maikel works at the intersection of maritime C-suite challenges and cutting-edge technology development with a strong focus on navigating the decarbonisation journey. He combines the technology innovations from Wärtsilä, with his experience and network to create solutions that deliver on sustainability and business economics.
Maikel has a degree in engineering and a degree in commercial business; however he is also a certified tutor in engineering. This enables him to explain complex problems and solutions to a wide range of audiences. He has 25+ years of experience in commerce and business development in complex and competitive environments. This combination of technology expertise, business understanding, and communication makes him a frequent speaker at events and an ideal advisor from engine room to board room.
In his private life Maikel is married and a father of 3 children and as a Dutch man also a keen cyclist and plays field hockey.