Supporting our Members to shape the future of the offshore sector

It is a huge honour to have been appointed as CEO of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA).

Over the more than thirty years I’ve been in and around marine contracting – including in roles for Acergy, Subsea7 and McDermott International – I’ve experienced first-hand the great work IMCA has achieved in terms of bringing the industry together and fostering a spirit of cross-sector collaboration to improve performance and delivery. This work, sometimes taken for granted but always vital, ensures the offshore sector, with all the inherent challenges of working at sea, can proudly point to a positive track record on safety.

I start in the role with IMCA in an excellent position thanks to the great work of previous CEO Allen Leatt. He leaves IMCA with a stable and engaged membership base, a team with world-leading technical subject matter experts across a broad spectrum of our sector, and a proactive Secretariat dedicated to supporting our members, wherever they are based around the globe.

Part of this support has been helping our industry to safely and securely seize new opportunities in offshore wind. Top of my agenda in my previous role as Head of Energy Transition, this focus for IMCA will continue as we play our part in helping governments around the globe meet their Net Zero ambitions.

How we will meet offshore wind targets is the “450-gigawatt question” and, as demonstrated by our recent campaign for sustainable contracting, our sector’s voice needs to be heard as part of the broader debate. Put simply, national targets and aspirations cannot be met without the offshore expertise and experience of IMCA members and the marine contracting industry more widely.

As the world changes, more will be expected of us. Industry collaboration – as is the case with safety or the introduction of technical standards – is, once again, the answer. Whether decarbonisation or environmental sustainability, we will need to come together to share, shape and develop the answers our clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders now demand of us.

Our experiences in creating Member and industry coalitions, in fostering practical and positive collaboration, and in creating tangible outputs which “up the bar”, means we are extremely well-positioned to facilitate this and create new industry-wide solutions to the challenges which will lie ahead.

IMCA can also play a role championing this change to Members, the industry, and others. We will continue to be a strong advocate for your work and part of my role will be to positively explain the progress the offshore sector is making as we deliver the world of tomorrow and support the energy transition.

All of this starts with you, our Members. As a previous representative on the Board, and with lengthy experience working at member companies, I am fortunate to be able to understand IMCA from both sides. I know how important member engagement has been in creating solutions in the past, and we will need your continued support to meet the challenges ahead.

My first job is to reach out to as many as possible and understand the issues which are affecting you – from the day-to-day to longer term strategic. With this in mind, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and to let me know how IMCA can help. I also hope to meet as many of you as possible over the coming months at IMCA meetings and events around the world.

Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.