Objective
Continue my career in Shipping and Maritime Security
Experience
February 2011 – September 2011 Maritime Intelligence Bureau / Gulf of Aden Group Transits
Operations Manager
• Supervised Operations Team consisting of 8+ personnel, main task to head up New Business Development
• Liaised with many CSOs from industry-leading Ship Chartering Companies
• Planned future armed transits by liaising with Movements and Logistics departments to guarantee kit and crew were available
• Communicated with GoAGT Armed Security Teams onboard vessels via email and SAT phone
• Monitored Piracy in the Indian Ocean and contacted vessels which were near high threat areas or zones where pirates were operating in real-time
• Coordinated with port authorities, ship Master’s, Armed Guards, and local authorities daily to guarantee all paperwork was in place(on average 15 ships in transit a day with 35-40 being planned)
• Followed Emergency Procedures during more than 12 attempted hijackings and forced boardings, no vessel was ever successfully hijacked while Operations Manager; offered phone support to Team Leaders and aided them through attacks
Special Projects Manager
Multi-tasking many projects concurrently including:
• Opening new areas of Operations: tasked with liaising with Port authorities, shipping companies, and officials in various countries in order to become legitimately operational in their ports and territorial waters. Successfully added South Africa to GoAGT’s operational theatre; saw project from beginning to completion with no guidance
• Creating Official Company documents for the IMO and for government officials in a variety of countries including the USA, Norway, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Germany, England, Italy, Malta, Denmark, and many more. Most documents dealt with answering questions posed by government officials in terms of new Shipping laws and flag state approval of carriage of weapons and guards. Documents reached upwards of 40-50 pages.
• Document standardization and accreditation for the company’s quest for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
• Creating and amending SOPs for all departments
• Auditing all department SOPs, practices, guidelines, and constantly found new ways to increase productivity
• Involved in daily Heads of Department briefs in order to assist in company planning and resolving daily problems
• Setup all necessary documentation for company to become an accredited IATA Travel Agency; liaised with Malta Tourism Authority and IATA
• In charge of some office equipment procurement including copiers, computers and accessories, computer software, and plastic ID card makers
• Provided additional support to Intelligence department by analyzing trends and gathering Intelligence, writing reports, and brainstorming ways for the Intel department to generate money
• Created GoAGT Employee Handbook
• Worked with Marketing department to create Company flyer, helped with design and final sub-editing
Gulf of Aden Group Transits, Santa Barbara Bastions Street, Valletta, Malta
Maritime Security
2007-2009 Brandner and Ponzini Law Firm
Law Clerk (3 month internship, upon completion of internship was asked to stay on while at University)
-Transcribed letters to various courthouses and opposing counsels
-Delivered important documents to courthouses and/or opposing attorneys, prepared incoming and outgoing mail/faxes,
- Edited correspondence, started and kept case files up to date, researched and fact checked.
- Worked closely with two prominent civil and criminal lawyers on cases both at federal and state level.
- Note-taker during depositions, inquired with opposing counsels regarding interrogatories, correspondence, and payment
-Gathered information on opposing side's finances’ including researching public records of land deeds, authenticating affidavits, and demanded additional discovery pertaining to any case's scope; verbal or written report would be turned into attorneys.
-Contributed to firm’s transition into paperless office by connecting home computers to their server eliminating need to print out files
Law
Law Offices of Brandner and Ponzini, Stamford, Connecticut, USA
2005-2007 Fjord Fisheries
Deck Hand/First mate onboard Lobster/Clamming/Oystering Vessel and Boatyard/Dock maintenance
In charge of deck, deck hands, controlled hydraulics and fishing cage, pressurized water system. Occasionally asked to navigate vessel, improvised fixes while at sea, stayed out even in storms until daily quota was met. 10 hour days at sea while also enrolled in University full-time. Also restored old Chinese Junk. On days when no fishing required worked in Fish shop as cashier and filleted fish.
Fishing/Maintenance/Catering/Shop
Fjord Fisheries, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
Education
University of Connecticut Graduate 2009
Bachelors Degrees in Political Science and English
Certification
Skils
Social skills and competences
- Strong Leadership skills refined while Operations manager, and Captain of my Varsity baseball team
- Ability to adapt to multicultural environments gained through my work experiences overseas
- Good communication skills gained through my experience as Operations Manager
- Highly personable and experienced in negotiating prices and deals from making routine calls to prospective and existing clientele
-Used to answering emails, writing emails, and picking up the phone and making calls most of the work on a daily basis; more importantly utilizing the phone as the preferred point of contact and emails as simply confirmations; I have always believed that a person will choose you or your company if you make a personal relationship with them; not superficial, but honest and friendly
Organisational skills and competences - Exceptional Self-management skills gained while Special Projects Manager
- Compliance skills gained from creating official documents destined for authorities of various countries
- Extraordinary time management skills gained not only at University but while Special Projects Manager in charge of projects with real-world timelines, all documents and amendments compliant to IMO, UN, and UK standards
Technical skills and competences -Trained in quality control processes gained while auditing departments, ISO internal Auditing
- Creating and amending Standard Operating Procedures as per ISO 9001 Document Control
- Implementing various strategies to increase productivity once accustomed to previous procedures utilizing various continuous improvement techniques
- Assisted the IT manager in finding and fixing bugs in an Armed Guard Software program; this program eventually cut costs while increasing productivity
Computer skills and competences -Highly computer literate in Windows XP, Windows 7, and many other platforms
-Above average IT skills gained from on the job experience, as well as 20+ years of using computers
-Excellent command of Microsoft Office Tools (Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.)
-Excellent command of Google Earth including AIS feeds, vessel plotting
-Excellent command of Shipping Explorer gained from learning software myself and subsequently training entire Operations Department and all other relevant personnel in this product
-Above average skills in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Photoshop c.s 5.5
-Experienced with AutoCAD
-Fluent in Wordpress blog software
Artistic skills and competences
-Experienced in Architectural drafting,
Other skills and competences - Extremely comprehensive knowledge of maritime and maritime security industries
- Knowledge of weapons procurement, storage, movement, and regulations
- Intelligence gathering regarding current piracy threats and trends, analyzing weather, route, and behaviour to predict potential dangerous oceanic regions
-Ambitious, highly creative, hard working, very flexible at work, capable of multi-tasking and reaching deadlines, perseverant, loyal, and secretive
-Accustomed to arduous work days, adapting to various environments, and overcoming dilemmas expediently
-Strong background in qualitative and quantitative analysis of data
-Diligent in the collection and gathering of information, historical records, and legal research in a firm that handled criminal, divorce, and litigation
Additional information
Awards - Diverse cultural exposure gained from travel to Asia ( India, China, Japan, Philippines, Guam, Singapore) Middle East (UAE, Qatar ), Latin America/Caribbean (.Mexico, Guatemala, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, ) Europe (UK, Ireland, Italy, France, Austria, Germany) and North America (.USA, Canada)
- Avid Reader, Roman Catholic, Scuba Diver
- 1st honors (3.82/4) in Political Science specializing in US foreign policy, international relations, comparative politics, political philosophy, economics, and public policy.
- 2.1 (3.4/4) Degree in English specializing in journalism, article writing, creative writing, story writing including dynamics, plot and character development, American/English literature, copywriting (UK sub-editing)
-Awarded colours in three Varsity sports in high school
-Phi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honors Society 2009 (USA)
-2003 runner-up AutoCad award in Aerodynamics, Weston High School, CT, USA
-2010 School Teaching Recognition Award, Nirmala Catholic School, India
-Five time recipient of Scholar Athlete Award, Weston High School, CT, USA
-Voted Captain of Varsity Baseball Squad, Weston High School, CT, USA
-6+ years of Jazz Band, Weston High School, CT, US