Allen Leatt
The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has appointed Allen Leatt as Chief Executive. He will be joining on 1 October 2015 from Subsea 7 where he has been Senior VP for Engineering and Project Management.
Looking forward to joining IMCA with its thousand-plus member companies in over 60 countries at a challenging time for the industry, Allen said he is “delighted to be joining IMCA and determined to strengthen and build upon the organisation’s special position in the marine contracting industry”.
Allen has over 30 years’ international experience in the marine contracting business with leading companies including Subsea 7, Acergy and Technip. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a chartered engineer in the UK.
Speaking of the two announcements made by IMCA within the past 24 hours, the appointment of Allen Leatt as Chief Executive, and Richard Benzie as Technical Director, IMCA’s President, Bruno Faure, Group Senior Vice President Subsea Projects and Operations, Technip, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to make these two key appointments. We had some superb applicants, and have chosen two personalities with outstanding profiles who know the industry well and will steer IMCA in the right direction. I very much look forward to working with them, as I’m sure will the members of the IMCA secretariat and all our members”.
About Allen Leatt
Allen’s career in the marine industry began in 1978 when as a graduate engineer he qualified as a commercial air diver and has subsequently spent his entire professional career in the marine contracting business. His first appointment was with John Laing Construction as a Field Engineer. From there he moved to SubSea Offshore in 1982 working as Project Engineer/Project Manager on various offshore construction and IMR projects.
He was then with Technip for 15 years, latterly as Executive VP for the SURF Product Line responsible for the marine fleet, the flexible/umbilical manufacturing plants and corporate engineering. He played a senior role in the development of the integrated subsea construction business model through the heritage companies of Coflexip and Stena Offshore. He has been a director and the CEO of various subsidiary companies of large organisations, and in 2000 formed the robotics company Perry Slingsby Systems by merging Perry Tritech and Slingsby Engineering.
He moved on to Acergy (when it was still known as Stolt Offshore) in 2003, as Chief Technology Officer/ Senior VP Engineering with responsibility for engineering, supply chain management, R&D and the company’s fleet renewal programme. This saw him with responsibility for a major investment programme building five heavy construction vessels, including latterly the Seven Borealis.
The merger with Subsea 7 in 2011 saw him appointed Senior VP Engineering & Project Management, where his responsibilities embrace engineering, project management, project services and supply chain management – all topics of relevance to IMCA’s global membership.
Allen was elected a Fellow of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering in 2012. The Academy recognised his 30-year contribution to the oil and gas industry ‘as a renowned expert in the field of subsea engineering’ with particular recognition for his work in subsea construction techniques, underwater robotics and the development of offshore construction vessels. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a member of the Smeatonian Society, and a chartered engineer in in the UK.
He is a graduate of Aston University, which numbers him amongst ‘Aston’s 50 Greats’, and has an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University.
About IMCA
- IMCA is an international association with over a thousand members in more than 60 countries representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies. IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia-Pacific, Central & North America, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India and South America regions. As well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training, IMCA seeks to promote its members’ common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.
- IMCA Vision & Strategy. As a result of work and collective input in 2013, IMCA has redefined its stated core purpose to be “Improving performance in the marine contracting industry”. To achieve this goal, IMCA’s Vision & Strategy has been devised with two elements in mind: Core activities and ways of working.
- IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports – many are available for free downloading by members and non-members alike. These have been developed over the years and are extensively distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving code of practice, DP documentation, marine and ROV good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) – now available electronically as e-CMID, safety recommendations, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and distributes safety flashes.
About the industry IMCA serves
The marine contracting industry plays a vital global role. Its vessels account for 4% of the world’s maritime fleet. Collectively IMCA members employ some 350, 000 people and have an annual turnover of around $150bn. They work in all the world’s major offshore areas, delivering large offshore oil and gas and marine renewables projects around the globe that quite literally fuel the global economy.
- Fuller biographical details on Allen Leatt available on request from judithpatten@jppr.uk.com; Tel: +44 (0)20 8241 1912, also a high resolution jpg
- Issued on behalf of IMCA by Judith Patten @ JPPR – judithpatten@jppr.uk.com and +44(0)20 8241 1912 from whom further information on IMCA is available, and who is always happy to talk about tailor-made articles on any aspect of IMCA’s work
