About Global Marine Group

Our History

A look into the rich history of the market leaders in offshore engineering since 1860

Our People

Global Marine Group is recognised across the world for engineering innovation, our teams passion for success is at the heart what we do

Bruce Neilson-Watts
Chief Executive Officer

Becoming CEO in 2022, Bruce began his career with Global Marine Group at sea in 1989, becoming a Master Mariner and the youngest ever Captain in the fleet, before coming ashore in 2005.  He then spent time in Asia, working in both HMN and VP Service Delivery, and SBSS as Managing Director.  Returning to the UK in 2014, Bruce has held a number of strategic posts within the business and headed the Global Marine business unit as Managing Director from 2017 until transitioning to the role of CEO.

Bruce Neilson-Watts

Chief Executive Officer

Mark Shaha
Chief Financial Officer

Mark joined Global Marine Group in 2022 as Chief Financial Officer.

Mark is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and has over 20 years’ experience in commercial finance across international listed businesses and private equity backed companies.

He has worked within various business sectors spanning energy, transport, infrastructure and outsourced services, operating as Group Chief Financial Officer and Regional Chief Financial Officer. He brings significant leadership, transformation and executive experience with responsibilities spanning Finance, IT, Risk Management, Human Resources, Capital Projects, Insurance, Fleet and Real Estate.

Mark holds a BA (Hons) degree in Accounting & Finance and an MSc degree in Computer Science.

Mark is also a Non-Executive Board Trustee and Audit Committee Member of a charitable healthcare organisation.

Mark Shaha

Chief Financial Officer

Simon Hounsome
Director, Global Marine Group

Appointed Managing Director of Offshore Marine in June 2022, Simon Hounsome is responsible for leading Offshore Marine’s commercial, operations, engineering, and project management teams both on- and off-shore. He joined Global Marine Group in July 2021 as Group Director for Project Management and Delivery – in which role, he had responsibility for improving the execution of projects across the group, revising and refining project governance processes, amending and developing the project lifecycle, and for the professional development of the project management resource group.

Simon has been involved in construction projects for nearly 30 years, and his industry knowledge includes onshore and offshore construction, marine operations, integrity management, asset operations and subsea cable installation.

Prior to joining GMG, Simon worked for DeepOcean, where he managed a portfolio of power and telecoms cable installation and intervention projects. Previously, he worked in subsea construction with Stolt Offshore (now part of Subsea 7), and in subsea operations for Wood Group. Since beginning his career in onshore construction with Mowlem Civil Engineering, he has worked in several countries and managed a wide range of different teams.

Simon has a Masters’ Degree in Civil Engineering from Surrey University, is a Chartered Engineer, and is a member of both the Association for Project Management (APM) and of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

Simon Hounsome

Director, Global Marine Group

gail-clark-global-marine
Gail Clark
Managing Director, OceanIQ

Gail began working with Global Marine Group as part of the marketing team from 1996 to 2001. Following several years working in other sectors including professional services, retail and manufacturing in both large corporations as well as small start-ups, she returned to Global Marine Group in 2014 heading up marketing activities across the Group.

With the formation of OceanIQ® in 2020, Gail has assumed the role of Managing Director, taking to market the company’s rich wealth of subsea data and route engineering consultancy services.

Gail completed a BA (Hons) Business Studies degree, subsequently completing a postgraduate diploma in Marketing.

Gail Clark

Managing Director, OceanIQ

Neil Burns
Neil Burns
Managing Director of Asset & Operations

Neil started his career with the Royal Navy and trained as a Marine Engineer serving on Nuclear Submarines, before making the move to the Merchant Navy where he served in a number of companies including Global Marine rising to the rank of Chief Engineer. Neil came ashore in 2004 as Technical Superintendent, followed by Fleet Manager, Fleet Director and Managing Director across the oil, chemical, offshore and gas industries.

Neil Burns

Managing Director of Asset & Operations

Steve Pearce
Director of FP&A and Corporate Development

Steve joined Global Marine Group in 2019 as Director of Financial Planning and Analysis moving to Director of FP&A and Corporate Development in Feb 2020. He has worked in a range of finance-based roles across a variety of industries, particularly telecommunications, manufacturing and FMCG.  From these Steve brings considerable experience in financial analysis, reporting and performance management, strategy development and business process change. Most recently he was Finance Director and then Supply Chain & Integration Director for a food manufacturing group.

Steve holds a BA (Hons) degree in Accounting and Financial Management and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG.

Steve Pearce

Director of FP&A and Corporate Development

Simon Hibberd
MD SBSS

Simon Hibberd began his role of SBSS’s MD in May 2018, and brings vast industry experience having worked for Global Marine Group since 1988.  Captain Hibberd initially worked on board Global Marine’s cable ships, rising to the rank of Commander where he completed the installation of landmark fibre optic and power cable projects, including: Brazilian Festoon,PC1, TAT14, EAC and Estlink.  In 2007, he moved ashore and has subsequently held a number of senior posts at the Company’s UK head office including Director Fleet & Operational Support then Director, Global Technical Sales, and most recently focusing on business development opportunities in Asia.

Simon’s operational knowledge, combined with managerial and business development experience gained through his career within the Global Marine Group, makes him a great fit for SBSS’s MD.

Simon Hibberd

MD SBSS

Paul Rose Global Marine
Paul Rose
Director of HR & Talent

Paul joined Global Marine Group in 2012 originally looking after HR for the Fleet. He assumed responsibility for both shore and fleet personnel in 2015. Previously Paul has worked in a range of senior HR roles in the defence, telecoms, manufacturing and financial sectors.

Paul Rose

Director of HR & Talent

Andrew Seaden
Chief Information Security Officer

Andrew joined Global Marine Group last year having worked in various IT roles for over 30 years. He has experience in a variety of industries, including financial services and construction, amongst others.

Supporting all the business units across the Group, his focus is on technological business transformation. This includes reviewing and making improvements to internal processes, major system changes and transformation of the business environment.

Andrew Seaden

Chief Information Security Officer