Mr. Bednar has held senior trading, chartering, and management roles at leading financial institutions, commodity trading organizations, and maritime firms, including J Aron & Co. / Goldman Sachs, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Koch Supply & Trading, BGC Partners, Diomedes Maritime Investments, and the Baltic Exchange. He has managed substantial tanker and dry cargo freight trading books, including portfolios exceeding 100 million metric tonnes of tanker FFAs and options, and has provided hedging and execution services to corporate and institutional counterparties.

Mr. Bednar has deep expertise in freight derivatives and tanker market risk. During his tenure at J Aron & Co. / Goldman Sachs, he managed a principal tanker FFA trading book exceeding 100 million metric tonnes and traded TD3 and other Baltic Dirty Tanker Index routes. At ABN AMRO Bank N.V., he managed a freight trading book covering more than 65 million metric tonnes of tanker and dry cargo FFAs and options. Earlier in his career, he served as Chartering Manager and Manager of Freight Trading at Koch Supply & Trading, where he was responsible for chartering approximately 350 to 400 vessels annually and managing tanker FFA, options, and physical shipping books.

Mr. Bednar also served as Chairman of the Baltic Exchange Freight Market Information Users Group, where he worked with senior industry participants on the governance, development, and growth of shipping derivative markets. Through this role, he gained direct experience with Baltic Exchange freight assessment processes, panellist submissions, route methodology, and daily assessment standards.

In addition to his trading and chartering experience, Mr. Bednar has held senior roles in shipping brokerage, maritime investment management, marine compliance, and commodity advisory. His broader professional background includes the management of shipping derivatives, equities, and physical vessel portfolios, as well as experience in physical oil and refined product transactions.

Mr. Bednar holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Houston and a Bond Solon Civil Expert Certificate from Cardiff University Law School.