MEMBER NEWS: Rovco enters US market with strategic appointment

September 22, 2022
MEMBER NEWS: Rovco enters US market with strategic appointment

Rovco, an experienced global provider of subsea robotics and hydrographic survey solutions to the marine renewable and wider energy sectors, has its sights set on supporting the energy transition in the US market with the strategic appointment of Mitchell (Mitch) Johnson as the company’s new Director – Americas.

Mitch joins Rovco at an exciting time as the company seeks to expand its international offering, bringing operational excellence, learning and expertise from its extensive portfolio of offshore wind projects across the UK and Europe.

Mitch brings significant experience to the new role. With skills in offshore operations and project management, he began his career as a marine surveyor before moving to San Diego where, as lead surveyor, he worked on new construction ship building for the US Navy. Having lived and worked in Dubai, Singapore and West Africa and with a strong focus on subsea robotic vehicles and entrepreneurship, Mitch’s previous role saw him head up Oceaneering’s global subsea inspection business unit.

Located in New York, Mitch is ready to expand Rovco’s global footprint and will be responsible for seeding and growing the business, drawing upon the company’s culture and vast offshore wind experience to establish operations in the US, supporting the country’s transition to renewable energy sources.

Speaking about his new appointment, he said: “I see a lot of opportunity to adapt the operational excellence practices used in traditional oil and gas markets and apply them to the new, emerging energy mix here in the US. Rovco is a key player in this market, and it is an exciting time to move into the US.

“I am looking forward to working with such a talented team and to leading the next phase of growth for Rovco. As a company with a strong reputation as a leader in technology-focused subsea solutions, now is the time to expand our global offering.”

Brian Allen, group chief executive, added: “Mitch’s appointment prepares Rovco for the next stage of growth. We have a vast portfolio of subsea projects past and present in the offshore wind domain, enabling us to bring extensive knowledge and learning to the US market. Combined with Mitch’s business acumen and intimate understanding of US legislation, this appointment supports our ambitious growth plans to expand into international markets using indigenous talent and supporting local supply chain objectives.”

This further growth and organisational shift comes on the back of a successful series B raise, co-led by Legal & General Capital alongside Equinor Ventures. This saw an initial £15.2m raise complete in April, which has since grown to over £20.5m as other investors from Europe, US and the Middle East joined the round.

Rovco is recruiting for a number of new positions. Further details on all job openings can be found here

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AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce

The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy

Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall

Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise