Dan Tolentino

Cadet Training Manager at Sharjah Maritime Academy

Speaker

Dan Aldrich Tolentino is a dedicated seafarer, a committed training manager, a supportive life coach, and a devoted family man. His journey is a quiet testament to how resilience, discovered through profound adversity, can forge a meaningful purpose. With over a decade focused on shaping the future of the maritime industry, Dan has had the privilege of supporting the career paths of more than 8,000 young professionals globally. His work centers on practical skills like recruitment, designing competency-based training, fostering leadership, and advocating for maritime education and safety – areas he continually strives to improve.

He sought to translate the hard-won lessons from overcoming immense personal challenges into a new mission: empowering others facing their own difficulties. Today, drawing on his extensive maritime background – including his current role supporting cadets at Sharjah Maritime Academy and previous experience with the International Employers’ Council and Marlow Navigation – Dan focuses on designing training programs that genuinely support the next generation of seafarers. He aims not just to impart skills, but to share the resilience, adaptability, and calm under pressure he learned through lived experience. While honored to have received recognition like the Seatrade 20under40 and ISWAN Welfare Personality of the Year awards, he believes his most significant qualification is the journey itself.