#8 Bob Sanguinetti - A life in the Royal Navy, transitioning from UK Chamber of Shipping to Leading Aberdeen Harbour
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.Regarding lessons learned from COVID-19's impact on crew welfare and mental health within shipping chains, two main points stand out: first is recognizing the importance of shipping for everyday life while acknowledging seafarers' sacrifices during extended periods away from home; second is emphasising collaboration among different sectors such as ferries and cruises when faced with closures or significant changes in business models due to travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic.Bob discusses the importance of collaboration and the role of people in driving change. He outlines his main goals as the successful introduction of South Harbour into the port of Aberdeen and generating new business opportunities. Additionally, he emphasises Aberdeen's position as a key energy hub in Europe and its role in supporting the UK's national energy transition efforts. Bob encourages individuals in the maritime sector to push themselves and highlights the industry's significance globally.Timestamp:Chapter 1: Introduction and Career Overview00:: Bob introduces himself as Bob Sanguinetti, CEO of Aberdeen Harbour Board, and briefly mentions his career in the Royal Navy and Gibraltar Port Aut