Alumni

Geoff Moore

Career Path: Managing Director, West Nautical
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

I have a background in both commercial shipping and yachting as a Class 1 Master Mariner with an honours degree in Marine Operations from Northumbria University. I have sailed up to the rank of Chief Officer on commercial vessels; varying from passenger ships, ferries, dredgers, bulk carriers and deep-sea tugs, along with having served onboard 6 superyachts.

Moving ashore in 2011, I worked in the technical division of part of the world’s largest shipping company, before moving back into the superyacht sector when I was the General Manager for a boutique yacht management company. In 2014 I moved to West Nautical as their Managing Director with the objective to raise the company’s profile into a worldwide trading full-service provider to the luxury yacht industry. Offering a full suite of services from operational management to corporate structure, charter and sales, West Nautical strives to deliver maximum satisfaction from the ownership of a yacht, on time and on budget. With a diverse maritime background and having first hand experience of all walks of superyacht operations, both ashore and afloat, I enjoy the variety his role at West Nautical brings.

What are you doing now?

I am Managing Director of a company called West Nautical where I joined in 2014 as part of their rebranding exercise in their effort to engage more with the superyacht industry. My appointment was to head up the first UK office in Newcastle and lead the team to ensure we offer best in class services to our clients and deliver customer satisfaction of excellent value. We have several yachts under management and in build, as well as holding the central agency listings for various yachts for sale or charter. In my time we have expanded to have an office in France and my role in the company is very diverse ensuring we deliver on time and on budget.

What was it about Northumbria that made you decide to study here?

Northumbria was known to me as having an excellent reputation and known for academic excellence. Newcastle is regularly named as being one of the best cities to study for students and I was keen to explore this university as a result.

What was it like studying at Northumbria?

My course was very hectic - lots of lectures and time in the library. The seminars and team projects were also excellent, involving fellow students that I would not have had the opportunity to have worked with otherwise.

What impressed you most about our academic staff?

The staff were always really knowledgeable about their topics, they allowed us to be creative and to work individually, but were always on hand to offer advice and assistance when needed.

How connected was your course with industry?

The course had some good field trips, I remember one to a local sewage plant in North Shields as part of the ‘Waste and Pollution Management’ module, which was not the most glamorous of trips, but it was very educational and glued a lot of the theory from the classroom together.

What was the best thing about your course?

The lecturers were great but my lasting memory is strangely the library. When writing my dissertation, the library was a huge source of inspiration and motivation by reading old dissertations and using the reference section massively, which played a large part in my result.

How did studying at Northumbria help give your career an edge?

Northumbria University helped to take my skills to the next level as their courses are very much designed in line with industry experts. All skills learnt at Northumbria are real life skills that you can use throughout any employment.

Which skills/knowledge did you learn on your course that you use most now throughout your career?

Learning how to be part of running a shipping company was the objective, and that was well delivered and is exactly what I am doing now, so it's hard to identify one learning objective that stands out the most as the course was vital for my career success.

What did you enjoy most about your time at Northumbria University?

The satisfaction in handing in my completed dissertation!

What advice would you give somebody who is thinking of studying at Northumbria?

Newcastle has everything to offer a student - the famous city offers everything from good nightlife to iconic attractions. Northumbria University is in the heart of this city offering many opportunities and most of the buildings for study are new or recently refurbished. They have courses to suit everyone, operate on a global scale and give knowledge to students to transform their lives. I work in a global industry and have been surprised at the level of understanding when discussing my degree of where Northumbria Uni is and its credentials, which has a knock-on affect to myself and the validity of my qualifications.