Management Team

Semiramis Paliou has served as a Director of Diana Shipping Inc. since March 2015, and as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Chairperson of the Executive Committee and member of the Sustainability Committee since March 2021. Ms. Paliou has been the Chief Executive Officer of Diana Shipping Services S.A. since March 2021. Ms. Paliou is the Chairperson of the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association (HELMEPA), a position she has held since June 2020, while she joined its board of directors in March 2018. As of July 2023, she serves as Chairperson of INTERMEPA. She is also a member of the board of directors of the UK P&I Club since November 2020, member of the Union of Greek Shipowners since February 2022 and member of the Global Maritime Forum since April 2022. She is Vice-Chairperson of the Greek committee of Det Norske Veritas, a member of the Greek committee of Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, Bureau Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping and Hellenic War Risks. She also served as a Director of OceanPal Inc. (NASDAQ: SVRN) from April 2021 until October 2025 and as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee of OceanPal Inc. from November 2021 until October 2025.

Ms. Paliou has over 20 years of experience in shipping operations, technical management and crewing. She began her career at Lloyd’s Register of Shipping where she worked as a trainee ship surveyor from 1996 to 1998. She was then employed by Diana Shipping Agencies S.A. From 2007 to 2010 she was employed as a Director and President of Alpha Sigma Shipping Corp. From February 2010 to November 2015, she was the Head of the Operations, Technical and Crew department of Diana Shipping Services S.A. From November 2015 to October 2016, she served as Vice-President of the same company. From November 2016 to the end of July 2018, she served as Managing Director and Head of the Technical, Operations, Crew and Supply department of Unitized Ocean Transport Limited. From November 2018 to February 2020, she worked as Chief Operating Officer of Performance Shipping Inc. (ex. Diana Containerships Inc.)  (NASDAQ: PSHG). From October 2019 until February 2021, Ms. Paliou served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Diana Shipping Inc. She also served as member of the Executive Committee and the Chief Operating Officer of the Company from August 2018 until February 2021.

Ms. Paliou obtained her BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London and her MSc in Naval Architecture from University College, London. She completed courses in “Finance for Senior Executives”, in “Authentic Leader Development” and a certificate program on “Sustainable Business Strategy” all at Harvard Business School. Ms. Paliou is also the daughter of Simeon Palios, the Company’s Chairman.

Ioannis Zafirakis has served as a Director of Diana Shipping Inc. since February 2005. Mr. Zafirakis is the President of the Company since January 2026. He is also member of the Executive Committee of the Company. Mr. Zafirakis has held various executive positions such as the Secretary of the Company, Co-Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, Chief Strategy Officer, Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice-President and Vice-President. He is the Managing Director of Diana Shipping Services S.A. since January 2026. Mr. Zafirakis served as the Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Chief Financial Officer of Diana Shipping Services S.A. since January 2025. Prior to this, he was the company’s Chief Financial Officer from March 2020 (Interim Financial Officer until February 2021) and held the positions of Director and Treasurer. Also, he served as a Director of OceanPal Inc. (NASDAQ: SVRN) from April 2021 to February 2026. He has also served as the President, Secretary and Interim Chief Financial Officer of OceanPal Inc. from November 2021 to April 2023. He was also member of the Executive Committee of OceanPal Inc. until February 2026.

From June 1997 to February 2005, Mr. Zafirakis was employed by Diana Shipping Agencies S.A., where he held a number of positions in finance and accounting. From January 2010 to February 2020, he also served as Director and Secretary of Performance Shipping Inc. (ex. Diana Containerships Inc.) (NASDAQ: PSHG), where he held various executive positions such as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. Mr. Zafirakis, currently also acts as Director, President, Secretary and Treasurer, for Sea Transportation Inc.

Mr. Zafirakis is a member of the Business Advisory Committee of the Shipping Programs of ALBA Graduate Business School at The American College of Greece. In 2024, Mr. Zafirakis attended and completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD Business School in Singapore. Mr. Zafirakis has also obtained a certificate in “Blockchain Economics: An Introduction to Cryptocurrencies” from Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Greece. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies from City University Business School in London and a master’s degree in International Transport from the University of Wales in Cardiff.

Maria Dede has served as Co-Chief Financial Officer (Operations Finance) of Diana Shipping Inc. since January 2025 and, effective January 1, 2026, also holds the position of Treasurer. Prior to these roles, Ms. Dede was the Company’s Chief Accounting Officer from September 2005. Additionally, she has been Co-Chief Financial Officer of Diana Shipping Services S.A. since January 2025, having previously served as the company’s Finance Manager and Chief Accounting Officer of the Company.

Ms. Dede began her career in 1996 at Venus Enterprises S.A., a ship-management company, where she held various positions primarily in accounting and supplies until 2000. She then joined the Athens branch of Arthur Andersen in 2000, which merged with Ernst & Young (Hellas) in 2002, serving as an external auditor for shipping companies until 2005.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Maritime Studies from the University of Piraeus, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the ALBA Graduate Business School of the American College of Greece and a Master’s degree in Auditing and Accounting from the Greek Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Margarita Veniou has served as the Chief Corporate Development, Governance & Communications Officer of Diana Shipping Inc. since July 2022 and effective January 1, 2026 also holds the position of Secretary of the Board of Directors of Diana Shipping Inc. From September 2004 until June 2022, she served in the Corporate Planning & Governance Department of Diana Shipping Inc., holding various positions as Associate, Officer and Manager.  Ms. Veniou is also the Corporate Development, Governance & Communications Manager of Diana Shipping Services S.A., a position she has held since 2022, and from 2004 to 2022 she held various other positions at Diana Shipping Services S.A. In addition, since November 2021, Ms. Veniou has served as the Chief Corporate Development & Governance Officer of OceanPal Inc. (NASDAQ: SVRN) and she has also served as the company’s Board Secretary since April 2023. She is the General Manager of Steamship Shipbroking Enterprises Inc., a position she has held since April 2014.

From January 2010 to February 2020, Ms. Veniou also held the position of Corporate Planning & Governance Officer of Performance Shipping Inc. (ex. Diana Containerships Inc.) (NASDAQ: PSHG).

Ms. Veniou holds a bachelor’s degree in Maritime Studies and a master’s degree in Maritime Economics & Policy from the University of Piraeus, Greece. In 2024, she completed the “Leadership Communication with Impact” program at INSEAD Business School. Additionally, she has completed the “Sustainability Leadership and Corporate Responsibility” program at London Business School and has obtained the Certification in Shipping Derivatives from Athens University of Economics and Business. Ms. Veniou is also a member of WISTA Hellas and ISO 14001 certified by Lloyd’s Register.

Evangelos Sfakiotakis has served as the Chief Technical Investment Officer of Diana Shipping Inc. since January 2026. Mr. Sfakiotakis is also the Chief Operating Officer of Diana Shipping Services S.A. since September 2022, overseeing the operational performance and strategic management of a fleet of more than 30 bulk carriers. With more than 25 years of experience across the shipping industry, he has held senior leadership roles in technical, fleet, and corporate operations within major ship-management organizations.

Before joining Diana Shipping Services S.A. in 2022, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Pavimar S.A., managing a diverse fleet of carriers, container vessels, and tankers. Earlier, he spent over a decade at TMS Tankers Ltd, where he progressed from Fleet Manager to Technical Manager, supervising a fleet of up to 50 tankers (VLCC, Aframax, Suezmax, Handymax). His responsibilities covered full technical operations, strategic planning, and the oversight of both Technical and Purchasing Departments.

Mr. Sfakiotakis holds a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Patras and completed extensive postgraduate research in mechanical engineering, contributing to scientific publications in the fields of computational mechanics, gear technology, and structural analysis.

Maria-Christina Tsemani has served as the Company’s Chief People Officer since July 2022 and, as of January 2026, as Chief People & Culture Officer. Ms. Tsemani also serves as HR Manager of Diana Shipping Services S.A., a position she has held since October 2020.

Ms. Tsemani has over 20 years of experience in human resources across multinational companies and institutional organizations. Prior to joining Diana Shipping, she served as People Acquisition and Development Manager of Vodafone Greece. During her career in Vodafone from 2008 to 2020, she held various senior roles, including Senior HR Business Partner and Organizational Effectiveness and Reward Manager. From 2004 to 2008, Ms. Tsemani worked as a Senior HR Consultant in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). From 2001 to 2004, she served as a Project Manager in the European Commission, based in Luxembourg.

Ms. Tsemani holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Sciences and a Master’s of Science in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford, UK.