The appointment follows a period of significant expansion for Ocius, including a recent $176 million landmark contract to deliver one of the world’s largest fleets of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), alongside expanding global orders.
David brings more than 30 years’ experience across public and private companies, with expertise in investment, governance, and supporting the growth of founder-led technology businesses.
David said Ocius has demonstrated a strong trajectory of growth.
“Ocius has earned the trust of its customers, including the Australian Defence Force and international defense partners, and has built strong relationships across the broader defense ecosystem,” he said.
“The company has demonstrated proven, military-grade capability in real-world maritime environments while substantially expanding its workforce and sovereign manufacturing capacity,” David explained.
“Ocius is agile, innovative and highly focused on meeting its customers’ operational needs. These are all key ingredients for success, and I look forward to working with the Board and the wider Ocius team to support the company’s continued growth in Australia and internationally.”
Ocius Founder and CEO Robert Dane said David’s experience in helping innovative technology companies grow would be invaluable as demand for persistent maritime surveillance continued to increase.
“The rapidly changing geopolitical and security environment globally has demonstrated the urgent need for renewably powered autonomous maritime capability,” Robert said.
“Securing the maritime domain is now more important than ever. We have proven that Bluebottle USVs can play a key role in protecting our region by keeping maritime spaces safe, deterring illegal activity, and safeguarding sovereignty. Importantly, they also keep people out of harm’s way,” he said.
Robert said that David’s leadership would support Ocius as it continues to scale.
“David has extensive experience supporting rapid growth companies and will provide excellent leadership as we scale to increase production, grow our international presence and continue developing capability at the speed of operational need,” said Robert.
David succeeds Andrew Aitken, who retired as Chairman and Director in May 2026.
