WORK BOAT WORLD:
Subsea engineering specialist the Unique Group has designated Giovanni Corbetta as its new Chief Executive Officer effective July 1, 2026.
Corbetta brings more than three decades of leadership experience across the offshore energy, subsea, marine services, engineering, and defence sectors. Most recently, he held several senior leadership roles within James Fisher and Sons, including Strategic Advisor to the CEO, Head of Business Excellence, Managing Director of the Marine Contracting Division and Managing Director of JFD. In these positions, he was responsible for offshore and subsea operations, production and manufacturing, engineering services, project delivery, and international business performance.
Prior to this, he held senior leadership positions within DOF Subsea, Hallin Marine and Saipem where he gained extensive experience managing complex global operations and delivering critical engineering projects in demanding marine environments. His technical and operational expertise spans subsea technologies, marine services, diving operations, offshore engineering, manufacturing, project execution and international operations management.
Australia-based yacht tender manufacturer MC-Zero has appointed Chris Baird to serve as its new CEO.
In his new role, he will oversee the company’s strategic direction, product development initiatives, and global expansion efforts.
Baird brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across varied marine sectors, having led brands including Navman, Fusion, Garmin and Propspeed.
Morten Christian Larsen will succeed Søren Kringelholt Nielsen as President of marine pump and liquefied gas specialist Svanehoj effective July 1, 2026.
Larsen, who has been Managing Director of Svanehoj Singapore for the last two years, has more than 20 years of experience in the marine industry and a background that spans from hands-on technical work to international business leadership. He is a marine engineer and holds an MBA in shipping and logistics.
Earlier in his career, he built marine boilers and traveled the world as a service engineer.
Larsen’s earlier roles in Svanehoj included Service and Aftersales Director and Managing Director of Svanehoj Tank Control Systems in France.
MSC Cruises has appointed Megan Toni as Head of Sales Australia and New Zealand, strengthening its commercial leadership team as it continues to grow its presence across the region.
Toni brings more than 20 years of cruise industry experience, including 16 years with P&O Cruises Australia and six years with Princess Cruises.
In her new role, she will lead MSC Cruises' sales strategy across Australia and New Zealand, with a focus on strengthening trade partnerships, expanding distribution channels, and supporting the company's continued regional growth.
Gene Miller has been chosen to serve as President of Austal USA, effective immediately. Miller has served as interim president since February 16, 2026, following the planned retirement of former President Michelle Kruger.
Miller’s selection follows a comprehensive three-month search conducted by the company’s board of managers.
Miller’s career spans more than three decades in naval architecture and shipbuilding. Prior to joining Austal USA as Chief Operating Officer in 2024, he held senior leadership roles across the industry. At Ingalls Shipbuilding, he served as Director for amphibious ship programs. Before that, he spent more than 20 years at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, serving in a variety of engineering, operational and program management leadership roles before rising to vice president of programs and planning.
Miller is a graduate of Webb Institute and MIT.
Austal USA also recently welcomed three new members to the company’s senior leadership team: Michael Pruitt, Vice President of Surface Ship Programs; Michael Oberdorf, Vice President of Submarine Programs; and Andrew Hinkebein, Director of State and Local Government Relations.
With over 25 years of experience directing large-scale shipbuilding activities, Pruitt has managed multi-billion-dollar navy surface ship portfolios at both Huntington Ingalls Industries and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. His expertise spans production efficiency, supply chain management, and workforce training development.
Pruitt holds a Bachelor of Science in Business.
Oberdorf is a retired US Navy officer and a qualified nuclear engineer with a master’s of science in electrical engineering and a military career that spanned over 30 years. He brings deep expertise in nuclear submarine operations, navy program funding, and strong relationships with senior leaders. He joined Austal USA from Bath Iron Works where he was senior director of operations.
As director of local and state government affairs, Hinkebein will lead Austal USA’s engagement efforts with state and local governments, economic development organisations, community stakeholders, and strategic partners. He will also oversee Austal USA’s external communications initiatives.
A US Marine Corps veteran, Hinkebein brings extensive experience in the areas of government affairs, public policy, economic development, and maritime defence. Most recently, he served as Director of Government Affairs for Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding, where he worked with federal, state, and local stakeholders to advance shipbuilding initiatives, workforce development efforts, infrastructure investments, and defence industrial base priorities.
Hinkebein previously served as State Director for US Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, overseeing statewide operations and stakeholder engagement across Alabama. He also served on the staff of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi, where he worked on issues involving national defence, shipbuilding programs, economic development, and strategic investments supporting the US defence industrial base.
Naresh Kumar Gathania has been appointed as Managing Director of Schottel India Sales and Private Service, Schottel’s newly formed Indian subsidiary.
Gathania has more than 23 years of experience across the maritime, defence, aerospace and heavy engineering industries. He holds an engineering degree and an MBA from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and has worked in senior leadership positions in sales and service, focusing on strategic business development and P&L responsibility.
Prior to joining Schottel, Gathania was responsible for sales and aftermarket business for marine engines, including work with major clients such as the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. His background is complemented by ten years of service in the Indian Navy, where he gained technical and operational experience in marine engineering.
Maaike van de Kamp-Romijn has been appointed to serve as the new Director of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) effective September 1, 2026.
Van de Kamp-Romijn currently serves as Deputy Director General and Director of Research and Education at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. In that role, she has worked closely with NIOZ for many years and is well acquainted with both the institute and the research field.
Van de Kamp-Romijn has broad experience across a range of scientific domains, including marine science.
Bollinger Shipyards has selected Mark Matta Sr. to serve as the new Vice President and General Manager of Bollinger Houma Shipyards. Hewill take over from Rich Murphy, who will retire after having worked with Bollinger since 2013.
Matta most recently served as Director of the Arctic security cutter program at Bollinger and previously as Director of Programs, with responsibility for the MCM USV and fast response cutter programs. He joined Bollinger after 28 years in the US Coast Guard, from where he retired at the rank of commander.
In his new role, Matta will lead strategic and operational direction across the Houma portfolio.
Maria Fernanda Souto has been appointed as Svitzer’s new Chief Commercial Officer responsible for leading Svitzer’s global commercial function.
Souto recently served as Vice President of the Electric Heating Business Unit at Danfoss. She brings more than 20 years of senior strategy and transformation experience leading large-scale commercial excellence and transformation globally in the energy, maritime, aerospace, and digital industries.
SHIP WORLD:
Maersk has appointed Scott Elliott as Regional President for Asia Pacific. Elliott has led the region on an interim basis since January 2026, having previously served as Regional CFO for Asia Pacific, a role he took up after joining Maersk in 2020.
Before joining Maersk, Elliott was President and Division CFO, Global Forwarding at Toll Global in Singapore, and earlier held senior finance and general management roles at CEVA Logistics across the United States, China, the Netherlands and Australia.
The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) board of commissioners has selected Sarah J. McCoy as the next CEO of the Port of Virginia. She has been serving as interim CEO and Executive Director since January 2026.
McCoy joined the VPA 12 years ago. Before assuming the role of interim CEO, she was the VPA’s general counsel from 2017 to 2022 and subsequently served as chief administrative officer. In those roles she oversaw legal strategy, human resources, risk management, procurement, contracts and enterprise governance.
FISHING BOAT WORLD:
Fish processing systems manufacturer Optimar has appointed Petur Jakob Petursson as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Lárus Gunnarsson as Director of Commercial Operations. At the same time, Jannicke Valderhaug has meanwhile taken on the role of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
Petur will have overall responsibility for Optimar’s global commercial strategy, market positioning and revenue growth.
He joined Optimar in September 2024 as Director of Sales Asia and brings more than 20 years of experience from fisheries, seafood processing, aquaculture technology and international B2B sales.
Lárus will be responsible for developing and strengthening Optimar’s commercial operations across all markets and business segments.
He joined Optimar from the telecommunications company Síminn, where he most recently served as Director of Business Development and Product Management.
In her new role as CMO, Valderhaug will lead the continued development of the Optimar brand and strengthen the company’s global marketing efforts.
Valderhaug has been with Optimar since 2020, when she was appointed as a Marketing Manager. She later became CCO and served in that post for one year. Before joining Optimar, she worked with furniture manufacturers Ekornes, where she was Brand Project Manager, and Skeidar.