A former serviceman in the RAF and licenced avionics engineer, Derek has held senior management positions with several leading edge technology companies involved in positioning, navigation and vessel control systems, including maritime software developer Sea Information Systems, Nautronix where he was Vice President Sales for Dynamic Positioning and Vessel Control Systems, GNSS service provider Veripos and most recently, Positioneering, where he was a founding member of the company set up to pioneer new approaches to precise GNSS positioning solutions.
Commenting on his appointment Derek said, “Sonardyne is a company I have respected and admired for a long time. It is a strong, independent and proud organisation, with knowledge, passion and a clear direction for innovation and technology leadership. A commitment to maintaining inward investment through one of the worst depressions the offshore energy industry has ever experienced, means that now the shoots of economic recovery are appearing, the business is well placed to maximise opportunities across the energy, ocean science, maritime and naval sectors.”
He added, “What is particularly exciting for me is the challenge of applying the expertise and knowledge Sonardyne has in the positioning and navigation of remotely operated, and autonomous underwater vehicles and collision and obstacle avoidance, to meet the requirements of future autonomous shipping.”