Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey, a Norwood, N.J.-based provider
of marine surveying and data collection services, announces the following
changes to its executive leadership: Robert Mecarini has been promoted to
President of the company, and Gino Mecarini assumed the role of chairman. This
planned succession, the company says, enables Robert Mecarini to take on all
day-to-day responsibilities of the company, and Gino Mecarini to provide
ongoing consultation while transitioning toward retirement.
“As a father-and-son team, we have had the luxury of time to
make this transition,” says Robert Mecarini, Alpine Ocean’s executive vice president, in a company press release.
“Alpine Ocean has been a family-run company for more than 20 years, and I look
forward to continuing on the successful path that my father has established.”
“The time is right for this transition. For all intents and
purposes, Robert has been running the company, and it is time for us to make it
formal,” says Gino Mecarini, chairman, Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey. “The company is profitable, has a solid financial
partner, and exciting projects on the horizon. Robert is ready to take the
company to the next level.”
Gino Mecarini has been with the company for 45 years, and
became president when he purchased it from its original owners more than 20
years ago. In 2009, he sold a controlling interest to Gardline Marine Sciences
Group, a UK-based marine services company, to enable Alpine to expand its
services portfolio and have access to capital for growth.
Robert Mecarini joined Alpine in 1991 as a deckhand, and has
since worked for the company in every capacity, including as navigator and
project manager, before most recently serving as executive vice president. “I
give my father a lot of credit for requiring me to work in every part of the
company,” says Robert. “I had to earn my stripes.”
The financial investment from Gardline enabled the company
to launch R/V Shearwater, a 110-foot multi-use research vessel designed
specifically to support the fast-growing U.S. market for offshore renewable
energy projects, including tidal and wind. The partnership also enables Alpine
to expand its portfolio of marine services to include environmental data
acquisition and geotechnical services.
“Our partnership with
Gardline was a conscious decision to access the expertise and capital we needed
to approach new markets and bring the company to the next level,” Robert
Mecarini says. “Renewables represent the largest developing opportunity on the
Eastern Seaboard. I am eager to take the company to these new markets and to
continue to drive toward becoming the premier, full-services offshore marine services
provider in the United States.”
“Having worked for
many years with Rob and Gino, it gives me great pleasure to see both of them
move into new and pivotal roles that will help to secure the long-term future
of the business,” says Phil Durrant, managing director of Gardline
Environmental Limited. “Gardline looks forward to continuing to work with them,
and the rest of the team at Alpine, to build on its excellent reputation and
portfolio of solutions.”