SubMates AS brings the hard lessons of submarine command to the people who keep the world’s shipping moving.

Why SubMates?

We are a small team of former submarine captains and maritime executives who have spent our careers making high-stakes decisions with imperfect information, selecting people we could trust our lives to, and building teams that perform under pressure. We founded SubMates AS because the shipping industry deserves the same rigour — and because we have spent decades doing exactly this kind of work in commercial maritime organisations. We are not theorists. We have been there.

What we do

Leadership training

Development and delivery of practical programmes built on real command experience. For ship officers, management teams, and executives.

Personnel selection

Structured, evidence-based methods for finding the right people — and knowing why.

Management for hire

Interim leadership from people who know the maritime world from the inside.

Employee surveys

Satisfaction surveys designed for seafarers and shore-side teams alike.

General consultancy

Straight-talking leadership and management advice from people with nothing to prove.

Ready to talk? We would love to hear about your organisation.

Who we are

SubMates AS was founded by three former submarine captains who, between them, have commanded at sea, taught leadership at universities, built HR functions in global shipping companies, and run maritime operations as CEO. We started the company because we kept seeing the same problem: organisations with good people, unclear on how to select, develop, and lead them well.

We have spent our careers in environments where there is no margin for the wrong person in the wrong role, and no room for leadership that does not hold under pressure. That experience shapes everything we do.

We work as partners, not vendors. We take time to understand your organisation before we offer anything — and we tell you plainly what we think, even when that is not what you hoped to hear.

Captain 1

Operational psychologist & educator

A career in naval officer education and operational psychology, combined with professorships at two universities. Brings deep expertise in how people think and perform under stress, and what that means for how organisations should lead and select.

Captain 2

Shipping industry executive

Thirty years inside international shipping — personnel management, operations, and organisational development — rising to vice president level. Understands the commercial realities of the industry and the human challenges that sit behind them.

Captain 3

CEO & HR specialist

Officer education across 35 nations, followed by senior roles in HR and quality development, and a tenure as CEO of a marine operations company. Brings an international perspective and practical experience of building organisations that work.