Mr. 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.
George Economou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are pleased to have Ziad join our management team. He is a welcome addition to DryShips and his capital and debt markets experience will be valuable going forward. We now have an experienced and talented senior management team in place to help manage and grow DryShips."
