About Mark

Maritime Executive Search and Workforce Adviser

Mark Charman advises maritime and shipping boards, business owners and senior leadership teams on executive appointments, leadership talent and the workforce issues shaping the future of the sector.

Mark founded Faststream Recruitment in 1999 and later established Faststream Executive Search to specialise in senior appointments across the global maritime and shipping sectors. Today, he leads the Faststream Recruitment Group and continues to advise organisations on critical leadership and people decisions.

​

With three decades of experience in specialist recruitment, Mark has built an extensive international perspective on how maritime organisations attract, appoint, reward and retain senior leaders. His work includes C-suite and director-level executive search, confidential appointments, succession planning, executive reward and leadership hiring during periods of growth and transformation.

​

Areas of expertise

• Maritime Executive Search

Mark works with boards, owners and chief executives on senior and business-critical appointments across maritime and shipping. His experience covers C-suite, board and director-level mandates, including searches requiring discretion, international market mapping and access to hard-to-reach leaders.

• Leadership, succession and organisational growth

Mark advises organisations on the leadership capabilities they need to support growth, transformation and long-term succession. This includes helping businesses define a role clearly, assess the available leadership market and build an appointment strategy around their commercial objectives.

• Executive reward and talent retention

Through Faststream’s market intelligence and senior executive research, Mark advises maritime employers on changing expectations around remuneration, benefits, flexibility, culture and career development.

• The future maritime workforce

Mark regularly examines how skills shortages, demographic change, technology, artificial intelligence, decarbonisation and changing employee expectations are influencing maritime employment. His focus is on the practical actions organisations can take to remain competitive for talent.

​

Who Mark works with

Mark typically works with:

• Company Owners and Investors;

• Chairs and Board Members;

• Chief Executives;

• Chief People Officers and HR Directors;

• Maritime and Shipping Leadership Teams;

• Organisations entering new markets or periods of significant change.

​

Typical situations

Organisations speak to Mark when they are:

• appointing a chief executive or senior functional leader;

• conducting a confidential or sensitive leadership search;

• planning leadership succession;

• expanding into a new geography or business area;

• struggling to access a limited senior talent pool;

• reviewing executive reward or retention;

• assessing future workforce and leadership requirements.

​

Mark’s perspective

“A successful executive appointment starts with understanding what the organisation needs its next leader to accomplish. The search strategy, candidate market and assessment process should all follow from that.”

​

Selected executive-search experience

Mark’s executive-search work has included senior appointments for organisations across shipping, cruise, ship management, maritime technology and related sectors.

Representative assignments include:

• Chief Executive Officer for an international cruise business;

• Chief Human Resources Officer for a growing maritime technology and advanced-energy organisation;

• Director of Ship Management for a global ship-management company;

• Marine Operations Director for a European cruise organisation.

Further anonymised examples can be viewed in Faststream’s Executive Search case studies.

​

Research and industry insight

Mark is the author of Faststream’s Senior Maritime Executive Report, which examines the priorities, pressures and expectations of senior leaders across the international maritime sector.

His areas of research and commentary include:

• Maritime Leadership and Succession;

• Attraction and Retention of Specialist Talent;

• Executive Reward;

• Workplace Culture;

• Artificial Intelligence and Technology;

• The Future Maritime Workforce;

• Changing Candidate and Employee Expectations.

Mark also speaks at maritime industry events and contributes commentary on global recruitment and employment trends.

​

Professional background

Mark founded Faststream Recruitment in Southampton in 1999. Under his leadership, the business expanded internationally, established operations serving EMEA, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, and developed specialist recruitment services across maritime, shipping and energy.

He is a Fellow of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and has completed executive education programmes at Wharton, Berkeley and Stanford Universities.

​

Speak to Mark about:

• Maritime and Shipping Executive Search;

• C-suite and Director-level Appointments;

• Confidential Leadership Hiring;

• Succession and Leadership Planning;

• Executive Reward;

• Maritime Workforce Trends;

• Speaking and Media Opportunities.

Planning a critical senior appointment or reviewing your future leadership requirements?

Contact Mark for a confidential discussion.