Maritime and offshore system cyber risk management specialists, CyberOwl have appointed Ronald Spithout as a strategic advisor to the Board. Spithout, a renowned influential figure in the maritime industry, joins CyberOwl in its next phase of growth. The business intends to scale up customer and market reach, strengthen its service model, and enhance its product and technology offering.

Ronald Spithout brings extensive experience and knowledge in the fields of commercial strategy, technology and digital innovation in the maritime industry. In 2020, he was ranked 22nd in the Lloyd’s List Top 100 Most Influential People in shipping for his role in driving digitalisation at sea. He also won a SMART4SEA 2021 Leadership Award. Currently CEO at MariDISC, Mr Spithout was previously Maritime President at Immarsat with global responsibility for growth, strategic direction and partnerships.

Daniel Ng, CyberOwl’s CEO commented: “At this pivotal stage of CyberOwl’s growth trajectory, I am delighted to welcome Ronald Spithout to our board. We are serious in our mission to raise the tide of cyber risk management for the whole sector across the globe. This is where Ronald’s years of experience, and passion for maritime digitalisation can add significant value towards furthering our mission. ”

This new addition to the board marks CyberOwl’s accelerated expansion across the UK, EMEA and Asia Pacific, which has been strengthened by its recent round of funding. The company is currently expanding strategic alliances with local partners around the world, as well as building on the breadth and depth of its service capability.

The company has experienced significant growth since launching Medulla, a maritime cybersecurity monitoring and analytics solution for shipping systems, in 2019. Medulla supports maritime companies in managing the cyber risk of shipboard systems. It is currently utilised on approximately 2,000 vessels. As at the end of 2022, the growth rate was approximately 5x for deployed vessels, and approximately 3x in orders booked.

Ronald Spithout, said, “Driving sustainability through digitalisation at sea and the provision of consistent internet access for crew, have been close to my heart for years. Both of these maritime priorities can only be safely accomplished through robust cyber risk management. But this is often still a struggle for shipping companies lacking specialist technology, resources and talent. CyberOwl has the unique potential to be a true market leader and I’m excited to help the team fulfil this potential.”