SAFETY4SEA is pleased to announce that Mr. Giampiero Soncini has received the 2018 SMART4SEA Personality Award at the prestigious 2018 SMART4SEA Awards Ceremony which successfully concluded on January the 30th, the evening ahead of the SMART4SEA Conference, at Yacht Club of Greece in Athens.
Mr. Giampiero Soncini received the SMART4SEA Personality Award, sponsored by Macgregor, for his outstanding passion and motivation towards a digital future for shipping. Throughout his career, especially as CEO of Spectec he has been responsible for numerous projects related to technology innovation with the aim to enhance ship and shore connection.
Presenting the award Mrs. Athena Kanellatou Managing Director, Macgregor Hellas stated: “A Good personality is not rare, but still you need to find it out in ONE person.A man of personality can formulate ideals, but only a man of character can achieve them! In Maritime Industry, we acknowledge Mr. Gianpiero Soncini as a Veteran, a seasoned professional, an innovator, a man who has not lost his child like heart and his curiosity, a talented and motivated technology expert who creates opportunities to act on ideas and digital dreams!”
Accepting the award Mr. Giampiero Soncini, Senior Advisor, Marine Innovation, RINA, said: “I am 64, I started my career at age 17 when i joined the Italian Navy, as soon as I finished high school. 47 years is a long time and I have not stopped yet. A lot of people told me that I was destined to be in shipping. I installed the first GPS in a ship in 1986, which was very big, but technology has changed in the last years, and it has made me very happy because I always loved technology and ships. I think that shipping is not a job, it is a disease and all of us have it, because otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”
Giampiero Soncini started his maritime career in 1971 by joining the Italian Navy. Promoted officer in 1974, he then graduated in Electrical Engineering at Pisa University with the second ever thesis in Italy on Optical Fibers, in 1979. From 1979 to 1983 he was involved in the construction of the “Maestrale” Class Frigates, the first Navy ships in the world to have a fully computerized Machinery Control System. He then served from 1983 to 1985 Chief Engineer/Electrical on the “Grecale”. In 1986 he left the Italian Navy to join NATO Undersea Research Centre, dedicated to Anti-Submarine Warfare. In 1989 Mr. Soncini became responsible for the technical management of the vessel, until 1998; in 1995, he designed and supervised the installation of a totally revamped Integrated navigation System, hosting one of the first ever ECDIS systems. In 1998, he resigned from NATO to become the Managing Director of the Italian office of the SpecTec Group, a company specialized in Fleet Management Software. Between 1998 and 2005 he opened and managed several South European offices, as VP South Europe; he later became VP Sales worldwide. In 2005 he became CEO of the SpecTec Group. In 2011 he received a Honoris Cause degree in Public Administration by the US Massachusetts Maritime University, together with Senator (and later Secretary of State) John Kerry. In 2012, Volaris Group of Canada bought the SpecTec Group with Mr. Soncini still in charge as CEO. In September 2016, Volaris decided to further invest in the Marine IT business and created a new Marine Division, with Mr. Soncini as Division Director. In October 2017 he resigned from Volaris, and joined RINA, the Italian Classification Society, to act as Senior Advisor Marine Innovation.
Find photos from the awards ceremony at Flickr and explore more about the nomination & voting procedure and the winners of 2018 SMART4SEA Awards at awards’ dedicated webpage at https://www.safety4sea.com/2018-smart4sea-awards/
