Norway-based maritime technology business, Shipnet, has strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointments of a new finance director and HR director.

Paula Summers, who joins as HR Director, boasts over 15 years’ experience within HR roles partnering with business leaders in the retail, manufacturing and nuclear energy sectors. This includes Ethel Austin, Glen Dimplex Consumer Appliances (including brands like Stoves, Belling, Morphy Richards and Roberts Radios) and Cavendish Nuclear.

Having departed Cavendish Nuclear in September 2023 to relocate to Queensland, Australia, Paula returned to the UK this year and joined Shipnet.

Paula said of the new role: “I am thrilled and proud to be a part of the incredible and talented team here at Shipnet. Our newly developed people strategy and initiatives will support growth, capability, engagement, and colleague experience, so we can keep the world afloat. I am thankful for the fantastic support and enthusiasm from all Shipnet colleagues on our journey so far and look forward to what we are going to achieve together in the future.”

Newly appointed as Shipnet’s Finance Director, Niamh Burns qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Ireland and then relocated to the Caribbean with EY. After transitioning into industry, she was in a number of roles within the telecoms sector across the Caribbean, overseeing the finance of startups and scale-ups in Bermuda, Turks and Caicos and British Virgin Islands. After returning home to Belfast, Niamh continued with various Finance Director roles in tech, most recently contributing to the successful exit of PE backed MSP NewCMI to BCN.

Of joining Shipnet, Niamh said: “I am delighted to bring my years of experience overseas to this truly global and vital industry. With his deep knowledge of the shipping industry, Terje is an inspirational leader, which is evident from the trust that the customers put in him, and the fantastic team that he has built around him, and I am proud to be a part of it. I look forward to assisting the team in building on its success as it launches its innovative new products and continues to grow its geographical reach. It is also great to know it has the solid backing of Volaris/CSI, with their buy and hold acquisition strategy, and its support in helping the business, and the team, grow.”

Shipnet CEO, Terje Kristiansen said: “We’re delighted to welcome Paula and Niamh to the Shipnet family as we look forward to further growth as a team and as a business. They have joined us at an exciting time as we further our mission to drive transparency and innovation in the maritime industry following the launch of Helix, a groundbreaking data analysis solution. Helix represents a significant leap forward in our mission to empower shipping companies with actionable insights. By creating a digital representation of your shipping business, Helix seamlessly integrates data from diverse sources such as safety records, freight rates and procurement data.”