The CEO

Shallum Etpison
Despite his busy schedule and many other business interests, he can often be found around the diveshop early morning or late afternoon, and is always ready for a quick chat. Mention the word "fishing" and you'll have his undivided attention. Don't look for him on a Sunday, that's his trolling day. He currently holds the rod and reel record for Palau with a 560 lbs Black marlin he caught in 2006. As if the existing family businesses were not enough, he started Neco Marine, Splash diveshop, Palau Aggressor, Neco Yamaha, and Cliffside Hotel. Shallum has been an economic advisor to several presidents, acting Governor of Ngatpang State, and served as Board member and Vice-chairman of the Palau Visitors Authority in the 1990s, but refuses to be lured into politics. Shallum and Neco Group are main sponsors for many sports and community events and the Palau Conservation Society.

The Management

Mandy Etpison

Karen Etpison

Josie Minon

Henni Rall

Henni Rall

Bert Yates

Mandy Etpison
Married to Shallum since 1988, no one is sure what her job title is, but she has helped run Neco Marine since day 1, when she came to Palau as the first foreign PADI dive instructor in 1985. She has modeled, wrote articles, dove with VIPs, designed our brochures and retail shops, and now troubleshoots in general. She is a known artist and photographer, has published 5 books on Palau including "Palau-Portrait of Paradise", and the new 2-volume "Palau- Culture & History" and the most recent book, released in 2008, "Birds and Bats of Palau" together with H.Douglas Pratt. Mandy is also working at the moment on the book celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Neco Marine and Palau Pacific Resort due December 2009. She also runs the private Etpison Museum on Koror, which she founded with her husband and father-in-law, and does most of Shallum's corporate paperwork. She has been a Board member and Vice-chairperson of the Palau Visitors Authority for 5 years and at the moment holds the Honorary French Consul position for Palau. Shallum and Mandy have two sons, Tkel and Iked.

Karen Etpison
Shallum's sister and other right-hand woman, Karen is the only person aside from Shallum and Mandy who knows everything there is to know about Neco, and she's in charge when they are traveling.

Josie Minon
As Assistant Manager of Neco Marine, Josie is known for being able to organize anything, any time - she remembers almost everyone's phone number, and she is likely the first person you will encounter. Josie is originally from the Philippines, but has been with us almost as long as Mandy. She knows all about the dive operation, but despite all her experience, she is not a diver, and our challenge is to get her certified before she decides to retire.

Henni Rall
General Manager of Neco Yamaha, Henni is also Neco Marine's PADI Course Director, the only one on Palau. Henni is from South Africa, but lucky for us he married a Palauan lady and decided to stay. Henni represented Team Palau in the 2004 Micro Games and won the Gold medal for spear fishing, and has won the Belau Games spear fishing event for the last three years in a row. He certified the President and First Lady of Palau, and is the man to see about film productions, yacht docking, boats and engines.

Bert Yates
Dive Operations Manager, Bert is in charge of keeping new instructors in line, he also keeps our boats in shape, troubleshoots and does a sterling job at representing us at DEMA every year. An accomplished photographer who has appeared in numerous books and National magazines, Bert is truly a water person, and for those who have yet to meet him, we can guarantee there is never a dull moment!

The Guides

Nicole Veltman

Nicole Veltman

Aki Ogawa

Miwa Ogawa

Valentin Ciontoiu

Valentin Ciontoiu

Nicole Veltman
Nicole has dived all over the place, including Egypt, the Galapagos Islands, Thailand, Bermuda and Costa Rica. She is a keen videographer - her favourite things to film being manta rays and sharks, especially Hammerheads. Hailing from the Netherlands, this always smiling Dutch lady has been guiding and instructing for the last four years and has now fulfilled her lifelong ambition to work and dive in Palau!

Aki Ogawa
Dive Instructor along with lovely wife Miwa, Aki San is one of our longest serving dive guides. "Enjoy diving with us, slowly, safely and relaxed, that's my policy."

Miwa Ogawa
Dive Instructor and part of a team with husband Aki, Miwa looks after all our Japanese guests. Miwa is one of our long term guides. "Enjoy diving with us, slowly, safely and relaxed, that's my policy."

Valentin Ciontoiu
Valentin has worked in the dive industry for the last 7 years, in places as diverse as Malaysia, Greece, Thailand and Cyprus. Palau is his favourite place of all, with Ulong Channel being his faourite dive site. Valentin is Romanian by origin and as well as English, speaks fluent French.

The Boat Captains

Joe Maldangesang

Marllis Besong

Stein Rengiil

Mers Arurang

Max Adelbai

Innis Worswick

Travis Etpison

Joe Maldangesang
One of the most respected boat captains in Palau and an old dive guide. Joe is always in demand, especially by people looking for something a little bit different from the norm. Every February Joe has a private charter with the Bent Prop Project, where he helps the Bent Prop guys piece together history and evidence of crash sites to help in their search of MIA's. Let me tell you, this guy can keep a secret, Joe and the Bent Prop team discovered a B24 Bomber off the Eastern side of Palau in 60ft of water and wouldn't tell us the location for 6 months! This guy is hard core and we love him for it.

Marllis Besong
Marllis is a native Palauan, who loves to chew betel nut and is also the Captain of Tekrar, the nicest dive boat in Palau. One of the best Captains in Palau, Marlis is also an accomplished photographer, videographer, fisherman and dive guide. When not at the helm of a boat, Marllis can be found next door at NECO Yamaha, helping fix other boats up.

Stein Rengiil
After living in Hawaii and the US mainland for some time working in construction, Stein is happy to be back home in Palau. Stein is truly a man of many talents and is a very creative artist. You may see him anywhere, from the water to the airport. If you are in trouble in Palau, this is the guy you need on your side cause there aint no one who messes with Stein!

Mers Arurang
Another native Palauan, Mers is our Dolphin Pacific Captain. Should you decide to visit Dolphins Pacific during your stay, you will be in good hands with Mers.

Max Adelbai
One of Mandys favorite boat captains, Max has been running boats his whole life. Max is an awesome captain and an accomplished dancer, you may spot him at the local disco "busting" some moves on the dance floor.

Innis Worswick
Innis is a native Palauan who can Captain everything from a tug boat to a dive boat. Quick with a smile and a helping hand, Innis is a true water professional.

Travis Etpison
21 year old Travis grew up around the dive shop and has been driving boats since he was 8 years old. Travis is a "Jack of all trades" so If you don't see him as one of your Boat Captains, he may be dropping you off at your hotel or giving a helping hand next door at Neco Yamaha.

Danny Nerves

Reynante Hinosa

Aries Hinosa

Mar Nerves

Sagar Pandel

Louie Hinosa

Rey John Panganiban

Danny Nerves
Danny has been with Neco for 10 years, and is Captain of the "Demul" (The big Bosses Fishing boat and pride n joy!) Not only is he an accomplished Boat Captain, he is also a PADI Dive Master. You can find Danny around the facility most days working on his boat, except on Sundays when he's fishing with the boss.

Reynante Hinosa
Another long term veteran in Palau, Rey's Filipino roots are an asset to his boat driving skills. Growing up in a small fishing village, Rey grew up on boats and worked for many years a Professional Captain and fisherman. You may notice the "Hinosa" name mentioned twice in our staff page, that because Rey is Aries uncle.

Aries Hinosa
Aries grew up in a seafaring village in the Philippines and worked as a professional fishermen before joining the Neco crew 10 years ago. He is an exceptional boat captain with an uncanny ability to read the current...even from a mile away! Not only is he a top notch in his job, he is also a PADI Rescue diver, so don't be surprised if you see him on his day off diving with you. Aries is always smiling, rarely misses a day of work and its widely known that he never miss's a meal either!

Mar Nerves
First Mate on Tekrar & fuel attendant. Little brother of Danny, no one at Neco has a bigger heart than Mar, always smiling (even at 5.00am) Mar does everything from oil changes on Tekrar to taking Grandma snorkeling at lunch time, his sixth sense is most definitely "dive sense" where more often that not he is the smartest person on the dive deck (yes that includes our guides!) We love the guy!

Sagar Pandel
Trained and skilled in the special martial arts of Nepal.If he wasn't our security guard at NECO he would surely be a cage fighter! He makes sure that nobody or anything comes close to our facility at night!

Rey John Panganiban
Rey John doesn't talk much, but he does a lot. If he's not in the gear room you can find him on Demul helping the fishing trips.

Back at base

Cheryl Patris

Gabo Alvarez

Felix Malijan

Kazol (eagle eyes) Sheik

Ius - Eclectus Parrot

Salsa

Cheryl Patris
Cheryl or Cheriil as some would pronounce her name has some background in business management and she graduated with an A.S. degree in General Electronics. Born and raised here in Palau. She is the lady that answers your email and does your bookings and if your looking for a good spirited joke, look no more.

Gabo Alvarez
Gabo is our "gear guy" he's in charge of all our rental equipment and he is also Neco's "pool guy" keeping the only dive shop pool on the island sparkling clean If that doesn't keep him busy enough, he also does the "red eye" airport run for our guests. The "Energizer bunny" has nothing on Gabo!

Felix Malijan
In charge of filling your tanks with fresh, clean air and nitrox each day. Felix was an actor of 'Tom Cruise' proportions back in the Philippines, but even the bright lights of Hollywood can't draw him away from Palau.

Kazol (eagle eyes) Sheik
Looking after NECO Marine's busy fuel stations and marina keeps Kazol busy, but not busy enough as he is also on the bosses Sunday fishing team, where he adopts the name of Eagle eyes, because of his uncanny ability to spot birds 30 miles away! Although he has fished with the boss for years, poor Kazol has never developed his sea legs. Always happy to see you, Kazol is a great asset.

Ius - Eclectus Parrot
Ius, was born in the Rock Islands, but thinks he's human among his many talents, the one that stands out the most is his ability to swear in 3 different languages. He has a few people that he is very fond of Josie, Joe and Stein. Unfortunately Ius never learned the phrase "never bite the hand that feeds you"...you have been warned.

Salsa
Ius has got a girlfriend though he doesn't seem to appreciate her at her real value. Maybe in time....