Speaker Biographies - Ocean Careers 2021 Day 2
Cheryl Burgess, Chief Executive Officer, Society for Underwater Technology, UK
Cheryl Burgess, Chief Executive Officer of The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) has over three decades experience in the energy industry including oil & gas, offshore and onshore, renewables and utilities in addition to working for UK government as an energy sector specialist. The former Director General of the Pipeline Industries Guild, Cheryl’s extensive international expertise from her years with UK Trade & Investment (now Department for International Trade) and the Society of British Gas Industries align with the SUT’s international Branches and global interests. A strong advocate for organisations she has represented, Cheryl is also committed to engaging students, graduates and developing professionals in the industries and sectors the SUT represents.
Jordan Thomas, Business Manager, Solent Maritime Enterprise Zone, UK
Jordan graduated from the University of Southampton with a degree in Oceanography with Marine Biology 2010. His keen interest in emerging technology to support marine science and research led him to pursuing a career in business development representing companies such Planet Ocean Ltd and L3Harris, formerly ASV Global, to support defence, offshore energy and survey operations. Jordan is currently the Business Manager for the Solent Maritime Enterprise Zone focused on delivering growth and prosperity to the maritime industries located in the Solent region by working with internal and external stakeholders. Jordan will be presenting on some of the latest projects in the Solent region and his insights into joining the industry having attended Ocean Careers in 2013.
Alexander Phillips Head of Marine Autonomous and Robotics Systems, National Oceanography Centre, UK
Alexander Phillips received MEng (first class honours) in Ship Science (2004) and PhD (2010) in marine hydrodynamics from the University of Southampton, UK. From 2010 to 2015 he was a post-doctoral researcher in the Marine Robotics Lab at the University of Southampton. In 2015 he joined the National Oceanography Centre, UK, as the Head of Marine Autonomous Systems Development. In 2018 he became Head of the Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems Development Group where he is responsible for the development of a range of new robotic platforms for ocean science applications.
Charlotte Ekins, Mechanical Engineer, Ocean Infinity
I am a mechanical engineer for Ocean Infinity, helping design the world’s largest fleet of uncrewed robotic ships. Since graduating, in 2020, from Imperial College London with a MEng in Mechanical Engineering, I’ve been learning on the job about marine robotics. My work is varied, some days I’m creating 3D CAD models on my PC and other days I’m hands on wire up subsea sensors.
Lieutenant Adam Thompson Royal Navy, BSc(Hons), MIET, MInstP, Specialist Engineer Recruiter SO2, Royal Navy, UK
Lieutenant Adam Thompson is a Weapon Engineer Officer who joined the Royal Navy in 2011. On completion of his training, he became Deputy Weapon Engineer Officer of HMS DIAMOND before joining COMMANDER UK MARITIME FORCES as their Deputy Communications Officer, working heavily with NATO as the High Readiness Maritime Commander. From there he joined COMMANDER UK CARRIER STRIKE GROUP as the Communications Head of Department and was lucky enough to deploy to the US in 2018 and 2019 with HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH for the F35 Flying Trials. Lieutenant Thompson is now one of the Engineer Officer Recruiters at Captain Naval Recruiting.
Ole Søe-Pedersen, Vice President & General Manager, Teledyne Marine Instruments & Imaging and Teledyne Marine Europe
Ole Søe-Pedersen is the VP & General Manager of the Teledyne Marine Europe. Ole has substantial senior management experience working within different industries, mostly within high-tech areas.
Ole has worked in the marine industry for more than 10 years and his roles have included General Management, Business Development, Strategic Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
Ole joined RESON A/S in 2011, which was acquired by Teledyne Technologies Inc in 2013. Ole has the responsibility for Teledyne Marine in Europe covering technology centers and factories in Denmark, UK, Germany and Netherlands, where Sonars, Cameras & Light, Navigation systems and Connectors are developed and manufactured. Ole Søe-Pedersen is a Danish citizen and is Msc in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Aarhus in Denmark.
Nathanael Allison, Managing Director, CWind
In his role as Managing Director at CWind, part of the Global Marine Group, Nathanael brings extensive commercial, operational and customer relations experience. Formerly working within the sector at Prysmian and at Industrial Marine Hydraulics, Nathanael has built a reputable track record working globally and has a passion for bringing new disruptive technologies to market. He also sits on the RenewableUK Board, and has been instrumental in CWind’s development and creation of the World’s first Hybrid Surface Effect Ship, CWind Pioneer. Nathanael was educated at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London, graduating in Physics and going on to obtain a Masters in Mechanical Engineering.
Nick Simmons, Service Line Manager Geophysics at Fugro GB Marine Ltd
Nick began his survey career as a hydrographic surveyor with Fugro in 2006 after graduating from Cardiff University. Nick has worked in a variety of positions within the survey industry carrying out roles such as offshore Party Chief and Operations Manager. Today, Nick is a Service Line Manager for Geophysics within Fugro’s European and African region.. He is responsible for a team of Geophysicists, Hydrographic surveyors and Engineers predominantly carrying out geophysical surveys in disciplines such as unexploded ordnance surveys, ultra-high resolution seismic, and hydrography. Primarily operating in the offshore renewables and cable infrastructure markets.
Tony Mekky, Engineering and R&D Manager, Aquatec Group, UK
Tony graduated with a BASc in Computer Engineering from University of Waterloo in Canada in 2001 and from an MSc in Digital Wireless Communications from Leeds University in 2002. Since then he has had a varied career designing mechatronic systems for vehicles in Canada, and high end mobile phones in the UK. Since joining Aquatec in 2014, he has been involved in designing, building and commissioning a variety of subsea data acquisition and logging systems for applications ranging from ocean science to offshore oil and gas. This has been a hugely diverse and exciting experience including customer interaction, electronics, firmware and mechanical design, and commissioning trips to offshore platforms. Tony is currently Engineering and R&D Manager at Aquatec.
