Gerwyn Tumelty joined us in the summer and he’s already got himself fully immersed in the business and he is full steam ahead driving our key projects. We caught up with him and asked him a few questions about what attracted him to Marine Power Systems, what he is working on now and what he thinks makes a Project Manager successful.
What attracted you to the role at Marine Power Systems?
Three things.
Creating a better future for generations to come is very important to me. The climate crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing the world and Marine Power System’s mission and ambition is very much aligned with my own personal values.
Between Gareth, Graham and the MPS team there is a real passion for the technology we have developed, what the business stands for and what it will achieve in the next few years. The business is growing rapidly, and I would like to think that my role will grow too.
Having served as an officer in the Navy for eight years and growing up on the Carmarthenshire coast I have an unshakable affinity for the sea. One of my previous roles was working in tidal energy and that has made me acutely aware of the largely untapped resource that marine energy represents.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am working as part of the team that are responsible for delivering the first megawatt scale commercial demonstrator at BiMEP (Biscay Marine Energy Platform) in northern Spain. This is very much in full swing and I am now working with multiple suppliers on a number of work packages. We recently completed the site survey and that will inform the final detailed design of the anchoring and mooring system.
I enjoy hitting the ground running!
How do you think your previous experience and approach will benefit Marine Power Systems?
I’m a chartered engineer and I have spent over 25 years working in engineering and construction projects across oil and gas, water and wastewater, combined heat and power and tidal energy. Whilst the project management handbook talks about managing time, resources and budget to achieve specific aims and objectives to a sufficient quality, I believe that skilled and experienced project managers bring so much more!
In a technical environment such as ours that includes working with a range of different specialists to help understand and find solutions to complex problems. That means you need to take personal responsibility for joining the dots and develop an ability to see solutions that others might not to deliver a project that is the sum of many parts. This is one of the things I really like about managing technical projects.
What about when you are out of the office?
Did I mention my three sons, Aled, 16, Carwyn, 14 and Steffan, 12?! I also love the outdoors and I am a keen hiker, trail runner and cyclist. We are so lucky living here in South Wales, it is a great place to be for our business but also to work, play and bring up a young family.