Staff Profile: Sam Wilson, Business Development Manager

In the latest instalment of our Meet The Team series, we catch up with Sam Wilson, who joined Rovco in January as Business Development Manager. Having spent the majority of his career working offshore, including 10 years in the renewable energy industry, Sam brings a well-honed set of skills to understand what new and existing clients need and how Rovco can support them.

We caught up with Sam to chat about how he started out in the industry, his experience at Rovco so far, and the most challenging aspects of his role.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you arrived at Rovco?

I have spent most of my career working offshore, and for the past 10 years I’ve worked in the offshore wind sector. My first job was in the superyacht industry, after which I eventually moved on to work for companies such as Green Marine Solutions, James Fisher, CWind and more recently RWE, where I gained experience working on several large offshore wind construction projects, including Triton Knoll.

Rovco had been on my radar for a few years before I joined the company, as I had worked with them at CWind. Consequently, when my previous contract came to an end, I decided to get in touch. Following Rovco’s recent expansion, I was eager to learn more about the company’s future plans; it also seemed like a logical transition for me to work there after my interactions with them at CWind.

Can you provide some insight into your role at Rovco?

My primary responsibilities include meeting with new prospective clients and exploring new opportunities in the rapidly growing offshore wind sector. Naturally, business development involves not only maintaining existing customer relationships, but also identifying and developing new prospective business opportunities in the UK and globally.

What attracted you to Join Rovco?

I was curious to learn more about Rovco’s recent growth, the technological advancements it has made, as well as its future roadmap and global aspirations – it’s exciting that the business is going places and isn’t standing still.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?

Now that the world has opened-up again, I do enjoy going out and meeting people, networking and tracking down potential opportunities, as well as gaining a better sense of what is going on in the industry. It’s great to chat about new technologies, innovations, and new developments that are driving improvements within the sector. The role is varied; you’re always speaking to different people and discussing fresh opportunities – it’s a diverse workload and you’re not doing the same thing every day.

What is the most challenging aspect of the job?

The most challenging part is matching our solutions to our clients’ requirements, which can be very specific. It’s important that we really get to understand what our clients need and want, so that we can provide them with the best solution possible. That’s the hardest part, it’s not off-the-shelf.

What do you most enjoy about working at Rovco?

We have a great company culture; although I’m based in Chester, we have weekly company-wide calls which really help to keep remote staff like myself well integrated and informed.

Now that things are beginning to get back to normal after the pandemic, I’ve had the chance to meet most of the team face-to-face. The company seems to make a real effort to help people get to know each other better, fostering a strong culture within the business. I think it’s quite important to get to know people as much as possible and not just get lost in the noise, especially with the company growing as fast as it is!

Is there anything that you would want prospective clients to know about us?

The key message that I would want to get across is that we are not simply an ROV company – we offer a broad range of complete solutions for the offshore industry, and now deliver these on a global scale, not just locally. We are currently very focused on the global offshore wind market and how we can support its development.

In your opinion, what makes Rovco stand out from the crowd?

Above all, our technological advancements keep us at the forefront, as well as our commitment to developing these rapidly – including our highly impressive 3D modelling using SubSLAM X2, and our roadmap to providing fully autonomous solutions.

There is a real focus on continuous development, and our team is constantly working on improving our portfolio of solutions, all with a view to reducing costs and increasing efficiencies for our clients, which is the ultimate objective.

Is there anything on the horizon that you are particularly excited about?

I’m really excited about our plans for international expansion, as we are starting to develop within emerging markets such as APAC and the US. Although we’re still in the early stages of this, we are making huge progress and there is significant interest from these regions, which is great to see.

Following the completion of our Series B investment round, we are also expanding our capabilities through the acquisition of new cutting-edge equipment and technology, which I’m also looking forward to.

In your own words, what would you say Rovco is trying to achieve as a business?

Rovco is striving to become a leading global provider of subsea solutions. We are an incredibly ambitious business with ambitious objectives, which is clear when you look at where the business was a couple of years ago, compared to where it is now and where it’s heading.

Are there any departments within the business that you admire?

I find the work we are doing in autonomy very fascinating – it’s over my head and out with my remit, but I’d like to learn more about it where I can!

What do you get up to off-duty?

Beyond working hours, I have kids so I try to spend as much time with them as possible. I get involved in sports now and again – mountain biking is at the top of my list, along with rugby. I used to play rugby myself a few years ago, but now my kids play it and I follow the sport quite closely, which costs me a small fortune!

Follow Sam on LinkedIn here