Niels-Erik Lund

Founder/Chairman

With over 50 years of expertise in the passenger ship industry, Niels-Erik brings a wealth of knowledge and perspective to SunStone. His main responsibilities include applying his insight towards the development of relationships with new, as well as existing, charter clients and investor groups. Furthermore he manages the new building projects for the Infinity and Boundless Series of expedition vessels. His talent for creating opportunities is rooted in his education background in finance, accounting, and business; yet it is his direct first-hand experience and extensive professional network established exclusively in the passenger ship industry that continues to generate results today. Prior to founding SunStone, Niels-Erik was one of the original founders of International Shipping Partners (ISP), and until 2012 was also the company’s largest shareholder in addition to serving as its President and Chief Executive Officer. He also previously served as President and CEO of Scandinavian World Cruises/SeaEscape – the pioneer in one-day cruises between Florida and The Bahamas and worked with DFDS in Copenhagen, Denmark – one of the largest passenger ship companies in Scandinavia.

Ulrik Hegelund

President/CEO

With almost 18 years of experience in the shipping industry, Ulrik brings extensive experience within financial management as well as educational credentials in finance and management accounting. His knowledge within financial planning/analysis, cash flow monitoring and managing fiscal activities will be important for SunStone when developing and introducing new strategic plans and programs. Furthermore, he has been engaged and responsible for projects and activities related to mergers and acquisitions, debt restructurings and equity/debt financings. Ulrik recently served as CFO of the Swedish stock listed company Viking Supply Ships AB, prior to which he was Vice President Accounting & Financial Controlling for the Clipper Group, an international shipping company and industry leader. Ulrik also brings experience from the information technology and banking industries. He has a master’s degree in Management Accounting and Control from Aarhus BSS (School of Business and Social Sciences) in Denmark.

Chris Dlugokecki

Executive Vice President Operations

Chris has been active in the marine industry for over 28 years, graduating from Webb Institute of Naval Architecture in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Throughout his career, Chris has worked in positions which have exposed him to many various aspects of the marine industry, including: engineering and design positions with Gibbs & Cox, New York; shipyard representation in the US for Spanish shipbuilders, Astilleros Espanoles, technical and commercial operational positions with the V. Ships Group, as a Fleet Superintendent and Business Development Manager for North America from 1997 thru 2002;  shipyard new construction, repair, re-fit and project management experience as Supervisor of Initial Design and Naval Architecture at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego from 2002 thru 2006. Most recently, Chris held the position of Vice President Safety & Quality at Cruise Management International, Inc., responsible for all aspects of safety, quality, environmental, health, security and maritime labor related compliance for a fleet of (13) cruise ships – serving as the companies Designated Person Ashore (DPA) and Company Security Officer (CSO).

Alan Pritzker

Director Finance

After four decades working with several organizations in the cruising industry, Alan Pritzker brings his in-depth financial expertise to SunStone. His skill with operational budgets and forecasting, coupled with his comprehensive knowledge of the passenger ship industry makes him an asset in assessing value and opportunity not only for SunStone, but also for all the clients we serve. Within the cruise/travel industry, Alan has served in numerous senior accounting and finance positions. He was the CFO of Commodore Cruise Lines; the principal accounting officer of Regency Cruises; and the Manager of Revenue Accounting for Holland America Line. He also briefly served as part of the initial management team of Royal Media Partners, the exclusive onboard media partner of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara Cruises, where he worked as CFO prior to joining SunStone. Alan has been an active financial consultant since 2001 for clients from various industries, and has expertise in SEC reporting gained from over 16 years of serving as CFO of publicly traded entities throughout his career. He is a graduate of Brooklyn College.​

Charmaine Morris

Director Corporate Affairs

Making sure that everything operates smoothly behind the scenes Charmaine has more than 30 years in the passengership industry. At SunStone, she is responsible for the overall administrative management of the group – including marketing and communications and serving as key liaison between clients, current and potential investors, banking contacts, legal advisors, and other stakeholders in SunStone’s daily business operations.  ​For many years, Charmaine served as an administrative assistant for various companies, later leveraging this expertise to help build the ISP Group of Companies, where she stayed onboard as Office Manager from the first day the company opened its doors until the day it was sold to the FleetPro Group in 2012. Her talent for managing relationships and sharp attention to detail have been among her most respected traits throughout her career, and continue to provide leadership and direction to SunStone.

Paula Serna

Accounting Manager

Paula is an Accounting Manager with more than 15 years of experience in the accounting field. She earned her bachelor’s degree from FIU in Business Administration with a double major in Management and International Business. She joined SunStone Ships, in March 2019 and assists the finance team with the financial reporting for the ship owning companies managed by SunStone. Prior to joining SunStone, Paula was a Senior Accountant in CMI and before joining our group of companies she worked as a Corporate Accountant for Spanish Broadcasting System, one of the largest Hispanic Radio and TV broadcasting company in the United States. Paula is originally from Colombia and has lived in Miami for almost 20 years with husband Jose Luis Gomez and their daughters, Isabella and Luciana. 

Michael Molina

Accountant, Finance

Michael is an Accountant with more than four years of experience in the accounting field. He is a Florida Bright Futures Medallion Scholar with a degree from the University of Central Florida. Prior to joining SunStone Ships Michael worked in the hospitality sector as an Accounting Clerk at Delano South Beach and most recently as a Staff Accountant at Surfcomber South Beach. He brings valuable experience within accounting and use of various software solutions and will assist the Finance Team with accounting and financial reporting for the ship owning entities, IT implementation tasks and the move of companies from Bahamas to Madeira.

Kenneth Engstrom

Consultant

As former Executive Vice President, SunStone, Ken remains responsible for insurance placement, claims-handling, etc., and continues to be actively involved in the design and planning of SunStone’s new building projects.  Ken’s background in the industry is as impressive as his knowledge and he has been trusted as a key decision maker in top leadership roles for more than 50 years. He served as Chief Engineer for Swedish-America Line; as a Project Manager in a US shipyard; as Managing Director for a British interior outfitting and conversion specialist; and as a Vice President for Golten Marine – a company specializing in engine repairs. Ken formerly served as the Vice President of Operations for Commodore Cruise Lines, and occupied the same position at SeaEscape Cruises. Just prior to joining SunStone in 2012, Ken served as Executive Vice President for ISP.