From Race Cars to Decarbonised Ports: Piotr Konopka’s Journey into Maritime

In this episode of The Wavemakers Podcast, we meet Piotr Konopka, Vice President at DP World, who took an unexpected yet inspiring journey from designing motorsport vehicles to leading global decarbonization efforts in maritime logistics.

🎯 From automotive engineering and hybrid race cars at Toyota's Motorsport Division, to now helping a company that moves 10% of the world's cargo decarbonize, Piotr’s story is one of curiosity, agility, and global impact.

We talk about:

What sparked his shift from speed to sustainability
The parallels between building a decarbonization strategy and launching a startup
Why his ultimate goal is to make his job in sustainability obsolete by 2050
The importance of regulation, resilience, and rapid decisions
How his entrepreneurial experience shaped his corporate innovation mindset
His personal reflections on balance, networking, and saying no with clarity
And of course:
🛳️ If Piotr were a vessel, which would he be? You’ll hear his answer (and it’s a good one).

Whether you're in shipping, energy, innovation, or simply love hearing about how meaningful careers are shaped, this episode will leave you inspired.

🎧 Listen now and don’t forget to like and share if this conversation moved you.

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🔗 Related Resources and Links:
• Follow Gordana Ilic on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordanailicphd/
• Follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BetterSea

📩 Have questions or comments? Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected]