Exploring Thought Leadership and Positioning in the Maritime Industry: A Conversation with Asbjorn Severin, Danelec's newly appointed VP of Marketing & Communications

At Danelec, we are dedicated to delivering the infrastructure for the digitalization of the global maritime industry. We firmly believe that validated, high-frequency data will pave the way for a sustainable transition and increased safety at sea.

Today, our CEO, Casper Jensen, has the pleasure of sitting down with Asbjorn Severin, our newly appointed Vice President of Marketing & Communications, to delve into his new role, thoughts on thought leadership, and how Danelec is positioning itself as a thought leader in the industry.

Asbjorn, we're excited to have you join the Danelec team. Before we dive into your thoughts on the industry, can you share a bit about your background?

Thank you for the warm welcome. I am thrilled to be joining Danelec and bring my experience from consulting, branding, and communications to the table. Over the past decade, I have had the opportunity to work across various disciplines – from creative lead to account executive, and strategic director, but always with a soft spot for B2B tech companies.

I have spent several years working as a consultant and advisor to private equity held companies and been involved in numerous major transformations, facilitated large M&As, and built truly relatable brands. During my career, I’ve grown to take a role as sort of an evangelist for the human touch in a space where bits and bytes often tend to take the driver’s seat. And I guess striking that balance is what really attracts me to B2B tech firms.

What attracted you to the maritime industry?

What attracted me to the maritime industry is its vast potential for transformation. The intersection of digitalization, sustainability, and infrastructure development presents an incredible opportunity to drive meaningful change. By leveraging my skills and expertise, I humbly strive to contribute to creating a sustainable and safer maritime industry for the future and maybe add a bit of that human touch.

Enhancing safety and making the maritime industry greener via digitalization and infrastructure development are key focus areas for Danelec. How do you envision these factors shaping the future of the maritime sector?

There’s no doubt that the maritime industry is lagging well behind the global economy when it comes to key metrics on sustainability, productivity, and safety. In my mind, digitalization is the catalyst for progress in the maritime sector. Achieving reliable connectivity at sea has always been challenging, but as we are seeing major breakthroughs enabling global, rapid, and cost-effective connectivity, we are also witnessing vast interest from new stakeholders and new players in the market further democratizing maritime connectivity.

In short, the maritime industry has reached a tipping point of digitalization. The train is leaving the station but in order for the market to pursue the massive potential, a proper infrastructure is essential to provide all stakeholders with validated quality data. And that’s where Danelec comes into the picture.

As the VP of Marketing & Communications, what is your vision for positioning Danelec as a thought leader within the industry?

The industry has gained a lot of attention during the past couple of years, but it’s clear that there are a lot of unknowns in the transition the industry is witnessing. While we welcome all the newcomers who have joined the market to solve some of the massive issues around sustainability and safety in the industry, we at Danelec have years and years of industry knowledge and insights – and we really want to make it all available to the market to help nurture transformative initiatives and to catalyze new solutions and business models.

To do so, I believe it is our responsibility to invite the industry in through thought leadership initiatives. We want to gather the brightest people of the industry to share insights, expertise, and success stories, inspiring stakeholders to embrace digitalization, sustainability, and infrastructure development.

How do you envision that we can gather the industry and challenge the proprietary culture that is so engrained in the maritime industry?

We’ve been testing formats for industry-wide discussions with both partner and customer sessions in Singapore this spring and will be following up with an event in Greece this fall. Anyone interested in joining a session to spark a conversation on the solutions we need, to drive the safe and sustainable transition, are welcome to reach out to me directly.

By fostering collaboration and actively contributing to industry discussions, we want to not just contribute to, but to actively shape the narrative, influence best practices, and guide the maritime sector towards a brighter future.

Asbjorn's appointment as the Vice President of Marketing & Communications marks an exciting chapter for Danelec. His strategic vision, combined with his passion for sustainability and digitalization, positions him as a driving force in our mission to deliver the infrastructure for the digitalization of the maritime industry. Through thought leadership and effective communication, we are confident that Danelec will continue to lead the way towards a sustainable, connected, and secure maritime future.

Stay tuned for more updates and insights from Asbjorn and the Danelec team as we embark on this transformative journey together.