Management
Overall management of the Cluster will be provided by a steering group at a senior level of member organisations and specific work groups may be established to lead Cluster initiatives.
The Cluster is currently managed by:
 |
Gregory Darling: Gardline Group Chairman Gregory Darling joined the Gardline Group in 1977 as a general office worker before taking up the position in the companys marketing and sales team. Over the past 30 years, Gregory has helped to establish Gardlines survey business throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. After a financial crisis in 1986, Gardline diversified into new and other areas, not dependent upon the price of oil, and in due course Gregory established Applied Satellite Technology (AST) in Norwich in 1992. Today, like the Gardline Group, AST is based in Great Yarmouth and employs over 120 staff. The Gardline Group is one of Norfolks leading employers with over 1,500 members of staff. The business portfolio includes many services such as marine surveys, satellite communication to ship building and repair. The group has offices throughout the UK and overseas including Australia, USA, Arabian Gulf and the Far East. Gregory was appointed Gardlines chairman in 2006 and remains Managing Director of the AST Group. Still privately owned, and both profitable and growing, Gardlines annual turnover is circa £180M. Gregory, joint founder of the North Sea Marine Cluster, is married with 3 adult children; he lives in and enjoys Norfolk. |
 |
Prof. Peter Liss: Peter Liss has been based in the School of Environmental Sciences at the UEA for the past 40 years, researching and teaching many aspects of environmental chemistry. In particular his research has focussed on the biogeochemical interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, specialising in the processes by which gases cross the air-sea interface, how they are produced in the oceans and their reactivity and role in the atmosphere. His research group is an integral part of the Schools Laboratory for Global marine and Atmospheric Chemistry. Outside UEA he chairs the Marine Data and Information Partnership (MDIP) and the Underwater Sound Forum, both working groups of the Marine Science Coordination Committee. He is a founder member of the NSMC. |
 |
Phil Durrant: Managing Director of Gardline Environmental Limited (GEL) Phil Durrant has worked in marine science for over 20 years. Originally qualified as a Geologist, Phil moved in to Geophysics and spent his early years in the business working offshore on a variety of survey vessels undertaking a wide range of offshore survey tasks. After successfully completing a series of large contracts Phil then took up an onshore post as a project managerbusiness development manager. He continued to work through the organisation and was Deputy Managing Director when the company was purchased. Phil joined Gardline in 2004 as General Manager of Gardline Environmental where he has overseen a period of rapid expansion which has seen this division of Gardline significantly increase its capacity and capabilities. Phil is now Managing Director of Gardline Environmental which focuses on supplying clients with high quality environmental, oceanographic, nearshore geophysical and marine wildlife data acquisition, advice, planning and consultancy services. |
 |
Dr Doug Stewart: Environmental Business Manager of Gardline Environmental Limited (GEL) Doug Stewart has over twenty years experience of marine and freshwater environmental surveys. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management and holds a BSc in Marine Biology from University College Swansea, Wales, and a PhD in Oceanography from University College Galway, Eire. GEL Environmental Department carries out and reports the marine environmental survey work on Gardlines fleet of vessels, as well as third-party vessels. This comprises habitat assessments using underwater video/stills camera, and environmental baseline surveys, collecting sediment and water samples for biological, chemical and physical analyses. Whilst the bulk of GEL work is in the North Sea, the company has worked anywhere in the world the fleet finds work. Gardline Environmental normally covers about 50 environmental baseline surveys and up to 100 habitat assessments each year. The departments areas of interest, and expertise, would include marine environmental survey work in general, environmental baseline, post-development surveys, habitat assessments and biotope mapping in particular; seabed and water sampling; and biological, chemical and physical sediment and water analyses and reporting. |
 |
Rodney Anderson: Advisor to North Sea Marine Cluster Rodney has over 40 years experience in both central and local government and more recently providing consultancy services to both the public and private sectors. Most of his career has been involved with policy development, analysis and implementation. Until July 2008 he was Director, Marine and Fisheries in Defra. During that time he oversaw the preparation of what is now the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, the development of the proposals for the Marine Management Organisation, and the formulation of the UK’s marine objectives. He has extensive experience of EU, UN and other international negotiations as well as partnership working in the UK and internationally. Rodney’s present consultancy services are primarily research and policy focused. He is also a Trustee of the Travel Foundation. |
 |
Jim Hind: Marine Advisor to Gardline Formally of J Marr Group-Hull as Senior Group Director, retired in 1999 having diversified the company into a wide range of new maritime activities including resource exploration / exploitation, fisheries and marine research, EEZ and resource protection as well as technical services and management. Jim formed a marine advisory and consultancy service company (MCRS) in 2000. Particular Maritime/Marine Policy Interests:
|
 |
Dr Vittoria Danino: Business Development Manager Vittoria is the Business Development Manager aligned with the University of East Anglias faculties of Science, and Medicine and Health Sciences. Her role within the University is to facilitate interactions with relevant industry groups and to assist in the development of new commercial offerings from University staff and students. Vittoria has a PhD in Molecular Microbiology carried out at the John Innes Centre in Norwich and went on to undertake industry and Defra funded research at the Institute of Food Research. She has worked in business facing roles for both the Institute for Food Research and the University of East Anglia, building on her interest in seeing science used in society and industry. |
 |
Michael Simmonds: Business Manager for NSMC Mike is the Business Manager for the North Sea Marine Cluster and joined us from Defra. He has over 35 years experience gained in central government with the Ministry of Defence, Government Office for London, the Marine and Fisheries Agency and Defra. Mike has an in-depth knowledge of public sector funding schemes having been a member of the team that developed the UK’s operational programme for the European Fisheries Fund and from his time in Government Office for London where he worked on a number of EU and national funding streams to support the development of London’s business community. In Defra Mike was part of the Green Economy Programme Team and prior to that with areas covering marine and water policy. In the MOD Mike was responsible for naval equipment marketing campaigns for Latin America.
Mobile: +44 (0)7557 856416
|
 |
Liam McAleese: Managing Director of Marine Planning Consultants (MPC) MPC provide advice and services to commercial marine users, developers and the public sector on marine and maritime policy and regulatory issues. Prior to joining the MPC, Liam was an Assistant Director at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills with responsibility for a range of infrastructure, planning and transport projects and policy areas including issues relating to the port sector. Liam’s experience also includes over 10 years at Defra in a number of high profile policy roles including; water industry regulation, negotiation of EU and International environmental agreements, corporate environmental management and reporting and 2 years as a Private Secretary to the Environment Minister. MPC are part of the Gardline group - a multidisciplinary group of marine science, survey and consultancy companies. |
 |
Alastair Grant: Professor of Marine Ecology Alastair has been based in the School of Environmental Sciences at UEA for more than 20 years, including periods as Deputy Head of the School, and as Director of the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. His research examines the effects of pollutants on marine organisms, with a particular interest in the use of pollution tolerant populations and communities as monitoring tools and model systems to understand how contaminants impact on populations in the field. He also has some involvement in work on the creation of salt marshes and mudflats, the statistical analysis of ecological data and discarding in marine fisheries. |
 |
David Dukes Economic Development Manager - NCC David has been Economic Development Manger at the Norfolk County Council for over 10 years. He has a very varied role and in that time, David has undertaken some significant projects. These include the conception and delivery of the Hethel Engineerign Centre (a project that has since been taken to exceptiona levels by Simon Cowar and his team), which includes the vision for developing the Hethel technology park. He also played a key role in delivering the Tour of Britain stage to Norfolk for the first time; winnign Enterprise Zone status for Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft; and the Broadband Delivery UK bid to Government for £15million that will bring high speed broadband to large parts of rural Norfolk. He is currently working on ensuring the county maximises the benefits from the forthcoming Round 3 offshore renewable contracts as well as filing the former RAF Coltishall employment site. He has developed extensive links with business across many sectors. Prior to that he worked at the South Norfolk Council, Norwich City Council and Gt Yarmouth Borough Council with a short stint at (then) Norwich Union. David is a keen cyclist (road and MTB), football and rubgy fan, and amateur rock musician. |