Michael Parker was born in Scotland in 1956 and went to school at Winchester College and has an M.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Magdalen College, Oxford University, graduating in 1977. In 1996 he attended the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University Palo Alto.

Michael joined Citibank N.A. in London in September 1977. In August 2019, he was appointed Chairman of Citi’s Global Shipping, Logistics and Offshore business having been Global Industry Head since 1997. He is also Vice Chairman of Corporate & Investment Banking (EMEA) and Chairman Corporate Banking EMEA.

During his 35 years of involvement with shipping finance he has been a regular conference chairman, speaker or panellist. Under his leadership Citi receives recognised industry awards across the different areas of shipping finance and he was named Marine Money’s Dealmaker of the Year in 2012. In March 2015 in New York he was awarded the Capital Link Leadership Award “in recognition of Michael Parker’s unique and extensive contribution to the shipping industry”. He chaired the London Committee of Intercargo for a number of years and is involved in UK maritime matters as they pertain to finance. He has served on the Expert Panel advising the UK Department for Transport on the UK 2050 Maritime Strategy. He has also served on the Board of Advisors for London International Shipping Week in 2015, 2017 and 2019. In 2017, he was appointed to the Board of The Global Maritime Forum. He is Chairman of the drafting Committee of the Poseidon Principles, launched in New York June 2019, and was elected first Chairman of the Poseidon Principles Association in 2020.