New President for IMCA

Biennial board changes at the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) see Andy Woolgar of Subsea 7 take on the role of President of the Council of IMCA, the association that represents the interests of over 750 offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies in 58 countries.

Andy Woolgar is vice president Group Projects and Operations at Subsea 7 S.A. following the combination of Acergy S.A. and Subsea 7 Inc which took place on 7th January 2011. In addition to becoming president of IMCA, he also becomes chairman of the association's Overall Management Committee (OMC).

"We are delighted to welcome Andy as our President and OMC Chairmanfor the next two years," says Hugh Williams, IMCA's Chief Executive. "Coming from an offshore operations background, he is well placed to support and steer the ongoing work of the association, which majors on providing international good practice guidance for offshore construction and associated marine operations. We look forward to working with him over the next two years. The industry was emerging from the recent global financial crisis and is now dealing with the post Macondo issues. But future prospects look bright and the last few years have seen significant investment in new vessels with a lot of new personnel – both subjects covered by the association’s guidance.

“Massimo Fontolan, vice president Commercial North Atlantic, Saipem Ltd takes over as our vice-president. Both Subsea 7 and Saipem are major players in the industry and significant contributors to IMCA."

Andy Woolgar has worked in the offshore industry for nearly 25 years. He is looking forward enthusiastically to his two years in the IMCA chair: "As an IMCA Council member I have been delighted to see the association's growth in terms of membership, visibility and recognition in the last few years. As president I will make every effort to ensure this continues.

"Safety and efficiency in our industry are fundamental. I applaud the work of IMCA in these areas, and want to encourage the global sharing and distribution of the IMCA materials. I also strongly support IMCA’s role as a forum for industry dialogue which remains vital if we are to continue to improve client/contractor/supply chain relationships, and be confident of sustaining the economics to continue to deliver technical improvement."

Andy Woolgar takes over the role of president and chairman from Johan Rasmussen formerly corporate vice president and general counsel to Acergy. "I would like to pay tribute to Johan’s hard work on behalf of the association," says Hugh Williams.

"The association has grown dramatically during his two year tenure, increasing membership by 200 and adding another international section to cover South America. As a lawyer, Johan naturally encouraged IMCA’s work on contracts and insurance, but his insight also reached into the technical areas. He also focussed on IMCA’s corporate governance and encouraged some restructuring to ensure the association is fit for the future which included creating a new limited liability company, IMCA Trading Ltd, as its principal operating entity. We thank him for his invaluable contributions and tireless work."