Page 12: of Marine News Magazine (April 2013)

Chris Charman took over as Chief Executive of the In- ternational Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) in December of last year. IMCA?s Chief Executive leads the IMCA secretariat and is responsible for delivering the as- sociation?s extensive global work program. Charman, per- haps not widely known to our North American readership, nevertheless brings impressive quali cations to this impor- tant advocacy group for the international offshore, marine and underwater engineering sectors. Representing nearly 900 members in more than 60 countries, IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel op- erations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia- Paci c, Central and North America, Europe and Africa, Middle East and 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. Chris Charman?s working life began in the Royal Navy of cer. Embracing a key goal for IMCA members of manag- ing risk; Charman is a Fellow of the Institute of Risk Man- agement and an Associate member of both the Chartered Institute of Insurers and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. After leaving the Navy, he worked as a loss adjuster in Lon- don, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, trav- elling through most of the Asia Paci c region, dealing with the impacts of poor or failed risk management. Armed with this knowledge, he moved to the front end of the process, dealing with risk management and risk  nancing regionally for CURM in Singapore, returning to the U.K. as Man- aging Director in 1999 and overseeing the acquisition of the business by Thomas Miller. He has also served as the Interim Head of the Operational Risk Consortium at the Association of British Insurers. Charman?s passion for man- aging risk should be of special interest to offshore companies everywhere. As such, his words this month are especially ap- propriate in an edition focused largely on OSVs. You are the new IMCA Chief Executive, effective De- cember of last year. Tell our readers about IMCA, what it does and why. IMCA represents one of the most important industry sectors on the planet, providing risk management guide- lines, practices, (and even certi cation) to those who work in offshore construction. Without the work of the mem- bers, no oil or gas or electricity would  ow from offshore. IMCA represents the members? interests with governments, regulatory bodies and clients worldwide. We work with our members in a collegiate and inclusive style to deliver safer working practices (constantly wishing to raise standards), to pool knowledge and learn from each other in order to reduce risk, losses and damage to the environment. If you had to accomplish just one thing during your tenure at the top of IMCA, what would that be? Why? And, is it possible?To raise the global and public pro le of the members, their work, the way they work and their focus on ?doing the right thing? outside the energy sector. To give them the recognition they deserve as a major and vital component of the economy of the planet.INSIGHTSChris CharmanChief Executive, International Marine Contractors Association 12 MNApril 2013MN April2013 Layout 1-17.indd 12MN April2013 Layout 1-17.indd 124/1/2013 10:57:02 AM4/1/2013 10:57:02 AM