Subsea UK Elects Three New Members to Its Board

Subsea UK has unveiled its new Board following a members’ ballot at the industry body’s annual general meeting.

The appointments cap a successful year for the organisation, which saw membership rise to over a record-breaking 290 companies, representing around 90% of the whole industry.

All board members were required to stand for re-election. Three new members were elected. They are Peter Blake from Chevron, David Sheret from Bibby Offshore and Martin Sisley from Ocean Installer.

The six re-elected were Frank Bee of Shell, Brian Green of Severn Subsea Technologies, Geoff Lyons of BPP-Tech, Ian Mitchell of BP, Tim Sheehan of Ashtead Technology and John Mair of Subsea 7.

Neil Gordon, chief executive of Subsea UK, said: “Our three new members are drawn from all areas of the subsea industry and bring a range of experiences and viewpoints. I am sure that each of them will play a valuable role in further shaping and developing our organisation to help members meet the challenges within an increasingly competitive market.”

“The subsea industry remains incredibly buoyant; our Business Activity Report published earlier this year indicated that the UK subsea market is now worth £8.9billion, 45% of the global market. The focus for 2014 will be to assist our members looking to exploit emerging and existing overseas markets.”

Board nominees were asked to highlight the key issues they believe face the industry today as well as a number of initiatives they would like to see implemented, prior to the AGM.

“A number of common themes were identified,” said Gordon. “Although skills shortages remain a key challenge, there is also strong recognition of the need to better exploit the potential for UK subsea expertise in international markets and the need to improve connectivity within the supply chain.”

Newly elected board member, David Sheret, subsea business manager at Bibby Offshore said: “The main challenge our industry faces is sustainable recruitment. Faced with a limited pool of skilled people, our sector is finding it hard to compete with the significant salaries offered elsewhere across the globe and we must address this if we are to retain our competitive edge. The platform to exploit global subsea opportunities is there, but there needs to be a focus on innovating and nurturing young talent and encouraging them to enter the industry.

“Subsea UK must give local companies the confidence and support required to expand globally, while attracting the level of investment needed to do so. Whether this is done through centralised government and sensible taxation, or through partnering with overseas companies, it will open the door to a range of opportunities.

“The British subsea sector is a huge success story and one that can continue to be built upon. I look forward to working with the Board as we rise to meet the challenges of 2014 and beyond.”

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Press Release, December 18, 2013