Summary:
Bob Sanguinetti, CEO of Aberdeen Harbour Board and former Royal Navy officer, discusses his career and the reasons for transitioning from the UK Chamber of Shipping to Aberdeen. He highlights Aberdeen's potential in leading decarbonization efforts in shipping due to its advanced subsea technology, smaller vessels for prototyping new technologies, and concentration of energy companies. He also emphasises the significance of Aberdeen's harbour expansion project, which is the largest marine infrastructure project in the UK. Bob expresses his passion for renewable energy and climate change mitigation, which gradually grew throughout his career in response to environmental concerns.
Bob discusses their experience in the Navy, including their time as a ship navigator and commanding officer. They explain how they were selected for command and the challenges they faced. They also talk about their family life and the difficulties of being away from home. Bob mentions mentors who influenced their leadership style and emphasises the importance of treating everyone with respect. They touch on their role as a coalition commander, working with international partners to achieve common goals.
During Bob’s time in the Gulf, they were able to maintain communication with their family through video calls. They found their job fascinating and humbling due to working with a diverse group of committed individuals. Bob acknowledges that all roles come with challenges and self-imposed pressure to excel. They reflect on a career glitch where they had to take responsibility for mistakes made as a commanding officer, but this experience ultimately made them a better leader. After this incident, they continued their command and eventually got promoted twice. Later, Bob transitioned into the commercial side in Gibraltar, where they focused on improving services for shipping and super yachts by engaging with partners and clients internationally. This resulted in an improvement of around 25% in bunkering figures. Bob emphasises that treating people well and understanding their roles are key principles for success in leadership both in military and commercial settings.
When asked about moving into the UK Chamber of Shipping, Bob felt it was time for a new challenge after achieving what they set out to do in Gibraltar. They enjoyed working at high levels of policy-making and shaping industry views while dealing with government officials, international bodies, media, and members from various shipping sectors within a small but dedicated team at the chamber. Despite challenges posed by COVID-19 shifting meetings online, engagement increased among industry professionals during this period.
