Meet our speakers
Ali is a qualified Air and Closed Bell Diver, a Dive Supervisor, and a highly experienced Diver Medic. During his career Ali has assisted the Health & Safety Executive in the UK and other authorities in investigating diving incidents and has been called as an expert witness due to his specialist knowledge.
Experienced in training, assessment, and verification, as well as dive project planning and risk assessment, Ali’s initial remit was to ensure that IMCA-endorsed training providers around the world delivered quality training to the offshore diving industry.
Akshay Paul graduated in Electrical Engineering from VJTI - Mumbai in 2014 and later completed a postgraduate program in Operations Management from IIM Kozhikode in 2022.
He has been actively involved in retrofit and upgradation projects at Akshay Controls & Systems Private Limited, a marine automation and control company incorporated in 1996, delivering solutions for systems related to engines, thrusters, propulsion, boilers, power management and alarm monitoring…you name it. He led the indigenous development of the Electronic Fuel Monitoring System (EFMS) VESPER, designed to meet ONGC charter requirements. Today, Vesper has the largest installation base for EFMS on ONGC offshore vessels, operating on over 30 vessels.
Bill joined IMCA in November 2021 and has 25 years of experience in the commercial diving industry.
Prior to joining, Bill spent 12 years at the Health & Safety Executive in the UK regulating the safety of divers working in the offshore energy and other sectors of the diving industry. During his time at the HSE, Bill also worked as a decommissioning specialist.
Bill worked as an air and saturation diver on a wide range of diving projects and also held a variety of topside positions, including project engineer and project manager.
He holds a BSc (Hons) in Geography; an MSc in Marine Resource Management; and an MSc in Decommissioning.
In January 2024 Bill was promoted to Diving Manager.
Giulia holds a BSc in General Biology from UC San Diego and an MSc in Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation from the University of Exeter.
An Italian marine biologist with a global outlook, she has worked and volunteered in diverse marine research projects across the US, Italy, Costa Rica, Portugal, the UK, Cyprus, and Slovenia. Her primary focus is on cetaceans and their conservation, with significant experience in marine bioacoustics research.
Now at IMCA, Giulia is shifting her expertise towards the environmental and sustainability aspects of the offshore industry. Passionate about marine conservation and sustainable practices, she is dedicated to supporting the industry's transition to a more sustainable future. She collaborates with Members and internally to meet IMCA’s sustainability objectives.
Lieutenant Commander Mathews Rajan was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 25 May 2015. He volunteered for and completed the Clearance Diver course in Jan 2018. He further specialized in Saturation Diving thereby expanding his expertise in deep sea diving operations. He served onboard INS Nireekshak as a Saturation Diving Officer from 2021 to 2023. During this tenure, he participated in numerous diving operations. Notably, he supervised two of the deepest salvage operations undertaken by the Indian Navy from depths of 219 and 120 meters showcasing proficiency in high risk maritime environment.
Sonali is the first lady marine engineer of India. She passed out of – DMET, Class of 1999, thus becoming the first lady in India to formally undertake a maritime training and become India’s first lady marine engineer. She sailed on Oil Tankers and Bulk carrier s(Onbd Mobil shipping company and Fleet Mngt Ships) until she cleared her MOT Cl-.
Sonali became the first lady in the history of Indian Mercantile marine to be awarded with the highest sailing license of Chief Engineer. She served as a manning Superintendent , with MSC Ship Mngt India, as a Tech Manager with Samson Maritime, managing the Diving support Vessels and the SPMs of Reliance. She is currently serving as a “Principal Surveyor” to the Indian Register of Shipping.
Sonali is an advocate of Gender equality and diversity. She is co- founder of the Federation of Global Maritime Community, a Fellow and an Executive Committee member to the Institute of Marine Engineers ( India ), Mumbai Branch.
She was awarded the achiever of the year by Rotary Prayagraj and the personality of the month by Maritime Union of India.
Yash holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Business from Amity University, India, and a Master’s degree in International Maritime Law from Swansea University, Wales. He is an Indian-qualified lawyer with prior experience at maritime and offshore-focused City law firms in London.
At IMCA, Yash spent a year contributing to multiple strategic initiatives, including leading the Ports IQ Project for the GHG Committee. His work on the Next Generation Campaign encompassed research, strategic design, advisory support, decision-shaping input, and execution planning. This work helped establish a practical framework through which the Board can operationalise one of IMCA’s core pillars: future talent development.