Richard Hext is Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum and of Vanmar Shipping. He is also a Director of the Anglo-Eastern Univan Group and a Special Adviser to Swire Shipping and Swire Bulk. He is a former Managing Director of Swire’s The China Navigation Company, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of Pacific Basin Shipping Limited, Chairman of Univan Ship Management Ltd and Chief Executive of the University of Central Lancashire.

His first job was as a shipyard labourer, and he has since worked for nearly 50 years in the shipping industry in Europe, Australia, and the Far East across several of the main ownership sectors (container, dry bulk, tankers, and offshore), as well as in ship management, container terminals, harbour tugs, and online shipbroking.

He holds an M.A. in Modern History and Economics from Worcester College, Oxford.