SMI Marine Science & Technology Business Person of the Year 2021 Winner - Terry Sloane

The Award

The UK marine science sector is a vibrant industry epitomised by enthusiastic and successful entrepreneurs and innovative engineers whose expertise has created leading edge technology supported by world renowned research institutions. The Society of Maritime Industries, through its Marine Science & Technology Council, invites nominations for this prestigious biennial award which recognises individuals who have made a significant contribution to the business of the marine science and technology sector in the UK.

Previous winners of the award have been Versha Carter (Intelligent Exhibitions), John Partridge (Sonardyne International), Matthew Quartley (Valeport), Ralph Rayner (BMT Group), Brendan Hyland (WFS Technologies), Keith Birch (National Oceanography Centre), Roger Scrivens (RS Aqua) Dan Hook (ASV) and Claire Cardy (Nortek). All of whom have exemplified the spirit of this award through their flair, innovation and business acumen.

The Business Person of the Year Award recognises individuals who demonstrate outstanding entrepreneurial spirit, strategic business thinking and are regarded as leaders in their field. This Award also acknowledges and celebrates the personal and generous contributions by a Business Person and the difference their involvement makes to the Marine Science & Technology (MST) community overall. Individuals entering into this category can be self-employed or employed by a business.

We are delighted to announce that this years winner is Terry Sloane, congratulations!

Terry is Managing Director at EcoSub Robotics Ltd & Planet Ocean Ltd

For well over 20 years Terry has been an active member of the MST business community; representing his own companies and the UK MST capability at national and international events and trade organisations. Most notably, he has been part of the SMI MST Group for 16 years. The fact that this is an elected position is testament to how well respected he is within the industry by his peers.

Terry is a constant and consistent advocate of the wider MST community, representing the interests of all through his involvement in a variety of committees beyond the SMI MST Group. Terry is a willing participant at meetings and events with funding organisations - DIT, the MoD and wider industry groupings - advocating the importance of marine science and technology to the UK and international economy and the need for investment to ensure the UK holds its position as a world-leader in this space. In the formation of the NOC’s Marine Robotics Innovation Centre back in 2014-15 Terry was called upon as an industry expert to help shape the centre and he has since started up a company that he’s based from it. He has also been instrumental in the setting up of other national and regional initiatives, for example Terry was one of the key people invited to comment on the formation of the Solent MEZ.

Terry and his business endeavours are known and respected around the world and he has a reputation for connecting businesses and supporting innovation. He has an enduring and ever-presence on industry forums and at numerous industry events. Terry is always vocal and engaged and clearly has a passion for MST that is hard to feign. Over the years he has also taken on a number of staff and trained them up to a level that many of them are now in other senior positions for companies in the MST space. Terry is always happy to lend advice and offer insights and it is clear that his knowledge of the sector is substantial, spanning many decades.

Terry has a sound track record in marine technology start-up companies beginning in 1994 with Hydrosphere UK, a company which he subsequently sold in 2004. In the same year he set-up Planet Ocean which he has grown to become a successful manufacturer of a range of oceanographic equipment. Most recently Terry worked closely with the National Oceanography Centre to commercialise a range of highly-versatile, low-cost gliders/AUVs. In doing so he formed ecoSUB Ltd. Based at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, ecoSUB Ltd initially supplied multi-use, semi-bespoke equipment to early adopters but 2020 saw them scale-up production and increase their orderbook by offering more standardised production gliders to a range of new customer. Terry has been the driving force behind this and played a key role in promoting the ecoSUB on the international stage. His ability to scale-up a business during the Covid-19 pandemic against a backdrop of a changing funding landscape is admirable and demonstrates a clear determination and drive to succeed. Considering the size of the business in terms of staff numbers, I am always amazed at the reach that they have on a global scale and much of this is down to Terry and how he leads his team.