Rajnish Kelkar CEng, FIMarEST

Vice Chair, IMarEST Houston (US Gulf Coast) Branch

Rajnish is a Houston, TX-based Maritime executive with experience in management, operations, assurance, and safety within the Oil, Gas, Energy, and Maritime industries. He leads Environmental, Energy, and Regulatory Programs at Excelerate Energy, focusing on FSRU terminal development, environmental and regulatory compliance. Previously, he was Marine Projects Manager for the Jordan Cove LNG terminal, managing marine interfaces and budgets.

After completing Marine Engineering training at Indian Maritime University, Rajnish served on tankers with Chevron Shipping and later joined Teekay Shipping Ltd., where he became Chief Engineer. Until 2009, he held management roles at Teekay Vancouver, overseeing Fleet Performance Management, Risk, Reliability and Safety programs for around 150 vessels.

From 2009 to 2016, he was Director of Maritime HSSE at BG Group in Houston, providing leadership for maritime operations across 10 locations and about 150 assets, including LNG Carriers and offshore vessels.