Silverstream Technologies, the London-based company that is installing air lubrication technology on the ships of some of the world’s biggest vessel operators, has mounted a major expansion of its leadership team.
The latest to join the company is Catriona Savage, the new chief technology officer.
Her addition to the team follows the hiring of chief commercial officer Alistair Mackenzie earlier this month. And that came after the technology firm hired three more “C-suite” executives — those with chief at the beginning of their titles — in 2022.
The growth of the Silverstream leadership team comes at a time of rapid growth for the firm, whose air lubrication technology lays a carpet of microbubbles across the bottom of ships’ hulls, reducing fuel consumption at a time when carbon emissions are at the top of the industry’s radar.
Silverstream founder and chief executive Noah Silberschmidt said the company has now installed its systems on 44 vessels on the water, and that number should hit 70 by the end of the year. The likes of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and Carnival Corp are among key customers.
The outfit, which has a team of 110 in London and 20 in China, was recently ranked third in the Financial Times’ FT 1000 list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies.
“What we are doing is to try and focus on internationalisation, have more bright people to come and work with us, and make sure we are successful with the strategy that we have laid out: basically, we want to have 3,500 orders in 10 years’ time,” he told TradeWinds.
Savage joins the company from BMT, the maritime-focused design house and business consultancy where she oversaw the company’s maritime, environment, defence and security, asset management and sustainment functions.
She is also president of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and an honorary professor at University College London’s mechanical engineering department.
“Technological innovation is at the heart of the business and I look forward to the challenge of balancing the considerable demand for the technology with forward-looking investment and development in Silverstream’s people, R&D and future product roadmap,” she said in a statement.
Her hiring comes shortly after the announcement that Mackenzie would join Silverstream after four years at technology firm Kongsberg Maritime and more than 15 years at engine maker Rolls-Royce.
In December last year, Nick Chrissos joined as chief digital and information officer after he spent 21 years at digital communications giant Cisco.
Silberschmidt highlighted Chrissos as an example of how the company has sought new perspectives from outside the maritime sector.
“We are also trying to get the knowledge from someone that has had a lifetime career at Cisco, and bring him in and see how we can do things differently,” Silberschmidt said.
That same month, Simon Helliwell was named chief people officer, joining from a role as chief human resources officer at Elsevier, an information and analytics firm.
A year ago, the C-suite hiring spree began when Andrew Derodra joined as chief financial officer a year ago, after working in the same role at software and medical technology companies.
“Strengthening the leadership team gives us a better chance of continuing to be successful,” Silberschmidt said.
