Management

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 company's marketing and sales team. Over the past 30 years, Gregory has helped to establish Gardline's 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 Norfolk's 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 Gardline's chairman in 2006 and remains Managing Director of the AST Group. Still privately owned, and both profitable and growing, Gardline's 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 School's 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 manager\business 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 Gardline's 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 department's 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:

• The utilisation and sustainable exploitation of marine resources.
• The Society for Underwater Technology: Oceans Resources Committee (ORC) member with specific responsibility to inform on fisheries & mariculture activity & development nationally and internationally.
• Fellow of The Society for Underwater Technology.
• Member of the Greenwich Forum
• MCRS provides advisory & consultancy services to a number of companies including: Marr Group, Thales International, Gardline Shipping, Applied Satellite Technology-and Government Ministries in UK- EC-Ghana-Indonesia etc.

Dr Nick Goodwin:

UEA Business Development Manager (science)

Nick is point of contact for organisations interested in engaging the combined services of North Sea Marine Cluster members. With a research background in marine ecology and fisheries science, he now has a business development role at the University of East Anglia with the aim of helping the university and industry work more closely. Nick is providing development support for the cluster.