William Busey is Vice President of Technical Sales at NORBIT Subsea and brings more than 20 years of experience in coastal geophysics and bathymetric surveying. He currently serves as Chairman of the Houston Chapter of the Texas Hydrographic Society and works closely with ports, dredging contractors, and survey professionals to deploy next-generation sonar technologies in challenging sediment environments. At NORBIT, Bill focuses on enabling reliable access to true 3D data of the navigable bottom, particularly in fluid mud conditions through advanced multibeam systems and automated subsurface detection.
Archive for the ‘Speaker’ Category
Daniel Strosnider
Providing strategic advisory support to clients on topics such as policy, energy infrastructure, resilience, business strategy, and technology innovation. Dan advises private and public sector clients on their strategic objectives, collaborating to promote business partnerships and optimize strategic development and innovation objectives. Skilled in Energy Infrastructure, Strategic Development/Delivery, R&D, Implementation, Project Management and Business Development, he currently leads on the North American Growth Strategy with a focus on Canada, US and Caribbean advisory services.
Josh Ley
Josh Ley has over 28 years of global experience in electric powertrain technology. A former executive at Danfoss Editron and UQM Technologies, he specializes in scalable electrification, electric machines, power electronics, and production ready system development.
Sharon Beemer
Sharon currently serves as an Independent Director for BWC Terminals, a portfolio company of the Infrastructure Investments Fund.
Sharon has worked with both domestic Fortune 500 companies and international organizations. Most recently, Sharon was Managing Director for Vopak Americas. She began her career as a pipeline and project engineer for various companies, including The Williams Companies, Sun Pipeline, Delhi Gas Pipeline, and P66 (formerly DCP Midstream).
Sharon earned a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Tulsa. Sharon’s achievements were recognized by the Oil & Gas Diversity Council in 2020, awarded “Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Oil & Gas”, in addition to the Houston Business Journals, “Women Who Mean Business in Energy” in 2020.
She has served on various industry boards and is currently a board member of Rice Business Partners at the Jones Graduate School of Business, and a former Chair for the Executive Advisory Council for Port of Houston Partners in Maritime Education, a former board member of the Greater Houston Port Bureau, and International Liquids Terminal Association
Martin Curtin
Martin founded Curtin Maritime Corp. (CMC) in 1997. Martin is a tugboat captain by trade, but his knowledge of the marine landscape is much broader than the view from the wheelhouse. The evolution and growth of CMC is the direct result of Martin’s vision and vast industry knowledge. Over his 28-year career, Martin has successfully designed and executed projects of all kinds. From complicated tows, large and small vessel salvage, deep water work, subsea cables and pipelines to dredging, Martin brings needed innovation to existing practices. This constant evolution of process and creativity captures efficiencies and drives value for the customer.
Shaun Davison
Shaun has a proven track record originating successful LNG projects across the value chain, including several FSRU projects while at Excelerate Energy and NextDecade. Those FSRU projects include: Israel, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. His LNG project development experience also includes: Cove Point, Rio Grande LNG & Rio Bravo pipeline in Brownsville, and small-scale LNG development in Texas City. Shaun has over 30 years’ experience in the energy industry focusing on pipelines, underground storage, LNG terminals and LNG shipping. He also has proven abilities in strategic planning, regulatory & permitting, project management and business development.
Jonathan W. Cook
Jonathan Cook has served in Executive Management positions at Excelerate Energy LLC, TMS Cardiff Gas LTD, Flex LNG LTD, where he was responsible for the development and execution of Corporate, Marketing, and Business Development strategies. In addition, he has directed the implementation of sophisticated operational and technical innovations across a broad range of LNG shipping initiatives.
Jonathan is currently CEO of Navergy Infrastructure Partners LLC.
Navergy in partnership with Seapath Goup is developing a small-scale LNG terminal dedicated to providing LNG fuel for the maritime sector in the Houston, Galveston region.
As one of the founders of Excelerate Energy LLC, Jon served as COO where he was directly involved in the pioneering of LNG Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRU), providing construction oversight, and directing fleet operations. He also managed the commercial negotiations for the long-term charter contracts for eight FSRUs.
Prior to his LNG activities Jon managed the Chartering and Voyage Operations teams at The Coastal Corporation, coordinating all petroleum shipping requirements for both crude supply and product marketing.
Jon has over thirty (30) years’ experience in the LNG, marine transportation, and energy sectors, and has a wide range of skills in strategic planning, contract negotiations, market analysis, resource management, and operations.
Jon graduated from Texas A& M University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Transportation, has over eight (8) years sea going experience, and earned a USCG Unlimited Master Mariner’s license.
Jeff DeCoux
Jeff DeCoux is the Founder and Chairman of the Autonomy Institute and President/Chief Executive Officer – ATRIUS Industries, Inc. The Autonomy Institute is a 501c3 consortium of over 100 industry, government, and academia organizations.
Its core focus is accelerating the “Path to Commerce” for Intelligent and Autonomous Infrastructure and autonomous systems. His past positions include: Founder and CEO Hangar Technologies, Inc., eCustomers, Inc., SMART Technologies, Inc., and SMARTNAP.
Mr. DeCoux has over 30 years of experience within the high-tech industries where his attention has been focused on Founding companies that enhance business productivity through automation. During that time he has raised over $100 million for venture and business operations.
Investment in a 21st-century Intelligent & Autonomous Infrastructure is among the highest priorities for stimulating economic expansion, job growth, national security and resilience. Edge computing, 5G wireless, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), and an ultra-resilient electrical grid will drive the largest infrastructure buildout in our nation’s history.
This next-generation infrastructure will enable the digital and physical, autonomous world fueling a trillion-dollar economic expansion. This infrastructure will create new highways to support more efficient mobility, automated city services, autonomous cars and trucks, autonomous shuttles, air taxis, inspection drones, and many newer intelligent city applications.
Mr. DeCoux is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ATRIUS Industries, Inc. With the unprecedented advancement in autonomous robotics, ATRIUS was founded to leverage these new innovations effect massive change across the industry. ATRIUS is working with an ecosystem of partners to develop the Highways and Byways to support more efficient mobility, automated city services, autonomous cars, and trucks, autonomous shuttles, air taxis, inspection drones, and many intelligent city applications. ATRIUS works with leading partners that focus on smart cities, autonomous systems, advanced wireless networks, radars, UTM, position-navigation-timing, and Intelligent infrastructure supporting autonomy.
Jeffrey DeCoux was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hangar Technology, Inc. Hangar had a goal of achieving a $100 billion savings by 2025 by producing dramatic impacts on productivity and driving efficiency across some of the most demanding industries. Hangar worked with the leading ENR400 companies that focus on construction, infrastructure, telecommunications, and mega projects worldwide. Hangar developed the leading autopilot software used in 195 countries, by over 100,000 operators and executed one million missions worldwide.
In his prior experience, Mr. DeCoux was President and CEO of eCustomers, Inc. a leading provider of Enterprise Customer Response software. eCustomers raised over $30 million in financing and developed a leadership Board that included visionaries Allan Loren (Executive VP at American Express); Bobby Martin (CIO, President of Walmart International); Lou Hughes (President of GM International) and Gerald Storch (Vice Chairman of Target). eCustomers was acquired in 2002.
Mr. DeCoux was a Founder and President/CEO of SMART Technologies, a leading provider of Enterprise Relationship Management (ERM) software. Mr. DeCoux led SMART through its incredible growth to hundreds of employees; the recruitment of a strong management team and board including Jimmy Treybig (founder of Tandem), Andrew Heller (IBM Fellow) and Peter Solvik (CIO at Cisco). Investors included Goldman Sachs, SAP and Austin Ventures and worked with Fortune 100 corporations as customers. Mr. DeCoux assured the acquisition of SMART Technologies by i2, which amounted to over a billion-dollar acquisition.
SMART Technologies had also created a subsidiary called SMARTNAP. SMARTNAP Corporation was the largest colocation provider of Internet services in Central Texas. SMARTNAP provided dedicated fiber connections into BBNet, AT&T, MCI, and Time Warner. In 1998, SMARTNAP was successfully acquired by Level 3 Communications.
Mr. DeCoux holds a deep knowledge of the technology industry and a lifelong passion for innovation. He enjoys working with young engineers that have a passion for new innovation or product advancement. He also has a passion for hands-on technology, embedded systems, robotics, and most of all – anything autonomous. He is active in his communities and serves as Director for his Community Association.
Brian P. Hill
Brian Hill serves as the U.S. Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Director of the Western Gulf Gateway Office based in Houston, Texas, since late 2011. As MARAD’s Western Gulf Gateway Director, Brian’s area of responsibility includes all the ports, waterways, and intermodal connections and corridors in Texas and Oklahoma. In this position, the Gateway Director works with local Texas and Oklahoma ports and other intermodal industries and responsible agencies, to improve and strengthen the U.S. marine transportation system. Brian retired as a Coast Guard Commander and brought a diverse maritime transportation, port security, regulatory, planning, and maritime/admiralty law background to the U.S. Department of Transportation and MARAD.
Brian’s most recent position prior to MARAD with the U.S. Coast Guard was as the Chief of the Eleventh Coast Guard District’s Ports, Waterways and Coastal Security Section from 2006 to 2011. In this position, he oversaw overall planning for the port security mission in all ports in California, including Los Angeles/Long Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco/Oakland. His duties also included ensuring waterside security protection for military outload vessels loading equipment in California ports in support of the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and planning with DOD and federal partners for joint operations.
Brian is also an experienced maritime law and Coast Guard (JAG) attorney. Among other positions, he served as a Coast Guard attorney in their Seventh District Office in Miami where he worked in maritime law cases, environmental crimes, and maritime security issues. Brian also worked several years as a Maritime and Admiralty Law attorney with a large law firm in Miami. During this time, he became one of only 56 attorneys in Florida that is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a Specialist in Admiralty and Maritime Law. After a few years with the law firm representing shipping and port facility interests, he returned to active duty with the Coast Guard until his retirement.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Government from Florida International University, a law degree (J.D.) from the St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami, and a master’s degree in Security Studies (Homeland Defense and Security) from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.
Curtis D. Spencer
Mr. Spencer is the CEO of IMS Worldwide, Inc. (IMSW) and Bloodhound Tracking Device, Inc., (BTD), headquartered in Houston, Texas. Mr. Spencer is a nationally regarded expert on matters related to:
- Logistics and Intermodal Shipping Trends, Ports, Inland Ports and Rail-Served Logistics Centers and how they Impact Industrial Real Estate;
- Development and Utilization of Foreign-Trade Zones for Importers and Exporters; and
- Impact of E-Commerce on Logistics and Supply Chains and Industrial Real Estate
After spending 22 years searching for a tracking and security solution, in 2021 Mr. Spencer launched BTD with a pair of NASA engineers and Mr. Steve Schellenberg, another IMSW alumni. BTD is now the leading track, trace and security device for containers, trailers and chassis.
