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PROFILE FIVE MINUTES WITH JOE CORVELLI, CEO, GIBDOCK Can you tell us a bit about yourself? JC: I grew up in Smithtown (Long Is- land) New York, where I can blame the love of the sea on my father. I grew up sailing and boating, and attended Webb Institute, graduating with a Naval Archi- tecture and Marine Engineering degree. How did come to be CEO of a Gibraltar-based ship repair company? JC: After graduating from Webb, I started a job as a port engineer, and evolved to building custom commercial and pleasure yachts in south Florida. The maritime world, as you know, is a small one, and a classmate of mine knew the owners of the yard (Gibdock), and that they were searching for a new CEO. I moved out to Gibraltar, which is a great location with an incredible maritime community and history, in October 2007. What do you consider the most significant changes that have occurred within the maritime industry in the last five years? JC: There a number of them, but the biggest two, in my opinion, center on human resources and the environment. In ship repair, most of the ‘run of the mill’ work hasn’t changed much, but what has changed is the manner in which we go about our business. In terms of human re- sources, we have and continue to instill a culture promoting health and safety. We view ourselves very much as a service provider … we differentiate ourselves with outstanding customer service. But our policy is one that we don’t just want certificates on the walls and books on the shelves; we want, as management, for it to have a practical effect on the ground. On the environment, there has (and con- tinues to be) a tremendous growth in Joe Corvelli CEO, Gibdock 8 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Technology is driving ships to be more and more complicated, which is a big challenge for ship repairers. Some of the repairs require product spe- cific knowledge on specific systems. As things get more complicated and technical expertise gets scarcer, there is a heavier reliance on the OEM’s. Joe Corvelli An aerial view of Gibdock. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently spent time with Joe Corvelli, CEO of Gibdock, the Gibraltar-based ship repair and con- version company. Corvelli, a Long Island, NY-native and Webb Institute graduate, has in three short years helped to foster a safety and quality management culture at this fast-growing company. By Greg Trauthwein, Editor
