In December 2021, OceanWise said a huge fond farewell to a legend of the industry: John Pepper who took the final leap to retirement and stepped down from his post as OceanWise Chairman.
John has 50 years’ experience working in the Geospatial Information industry, joining Ordnance Survey from school where he first trained as a land surveyor, and then transferring to the UK Hydrographic Office, before joining Mark, Caroline and Mike at OceanWise just after the company was founded almost 12 years ago. John has been a key figure in promoting the need for the OceanWise marine mapping products, having helped establish, and then chairing the IHO’s Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure working group from 2008 – 2014.
In parallel, John drove forth the OceanWise business development and marketing portfolio and helped create and deliver the world-renowned Marine Data Management training courses and free annual workshops.
John leaves OceanWise to pursue his passions in travel, sports and food and wine and spend more time with his wonderful family.
John will be sorely missed by all the team at OceanWise and those who knew him within the industry. He is wished all the very best in his retirement and his future travels.