Guest: Akanksha Batura Pai, PD Executive Director, Sinoda Shipping Agency Pte Ltd | IMO Goodwill Maritime Ambassador (Emerita) | #1 Top 100 Women in Shipping

Episode Overview: We kick off 2026 with a grounded, practical conversation with Akanksha Batura Pai PD, one of my favorite interviews to date. We talk about what digital transformation actually looks like inside a ship agency, why incremental change beats big-bang initiatives, how mindset drives successful adoption, and why clean data still matters more than AI hype.

This episode is part of our ongoing partnership with The Captain's Table Challenge and for the second year in a row, The Last Dinosaur is the official podcast of the Challenge.

Key Points:

Ship agency is a services business with thin margins and constant pressure to improve
Digitalization only works when it reflects real operational workflows
Incremental change is more effective than sweeping transformations
A failed digital rollout became a success once redesigned around how people actually work
"Fall in love with the problem, not the solution" as a leadership mindset
AI can reduce friction; but only if the underlying data is clean and reliable
Retaining talent requires job redesign, flexibility, and modern leadership

Related Listening: Episode 126: Maritime Digitalization Year in Review 2025 with Evan Efstathiou

Tune in Now: Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

Music by: Peg and The Rejected – King of SKA Artwork by: GA Design Produced by: Chris Aversano

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