Lord John Browne, 70, formerly the dominant CEO of British Petroleum (BP), is joining the board of directors of Israeli company Windward, founded in 2010 by CEO Amit Daniel and VP product Matan Peled. The big-data company, based on Hashlosha Street in Tel Aviv, analyzes maritime risks through reliable mapping and analysis of all the information about maritime traffic on the oceans and seas. The information gathered from satellites and other sources is processed using big data technology and analytic forecasting.
Windward's technology has thus far been used mostly by government agencies for dealing with smuggling, protection of resources, and gathering information for strategic needs. At the same time, Windward provides services to organization dealing with maritime security and safety. The company launched maritime insurance activity a year ago, signing a cooperation agreement with Lloyds of London, which uses Windward's technology to identify high-risk areas, predict risks, identify fleets at high risk of accidents, etc.
Browne says, "Windward is a company I have esteemed for a very long time because of its vision, the way it cooperates with organizations in order to solve real problems in depth, and the way it uses technology to make the world, and the seas, safer. I expect to continue accompanying Windward's growth process and its becoming a global standard in maritime risk."
Daniel said, "We are proud to have someone with Lord Browne's experience and expertise join us. There is no doubt that the inexhaustible knowledge of someone who was one of the strongest people in the global economy will help us move the company forward following the dramatic steps we took last year (expansion into the insurance industry, N.Y.). Lord Browne is joining the consultant committee, which includes the most influential people in the industry in Israel and worldwide."
Windward has raised $22.5 million to date and has 70 employees. Its investors include the Aleph fund, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Horizon fund, former CIA director General (res.) David Petraeus, "Start-Up Nation" author Dan Senor, and former Thomson-Reuters CEO Tom Glocer. Former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and former Mossad director Tamir Pardo are consultants for Windward.
In recent years, Browne has been chairperson of L1 Energy, a company operating out of Luxembourg, founded by Russian Jewish billionaire Mikhail Fridman, that invests in oil and natural gas ventures. Browne was CEO of BP in 1995-2007 and president of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering for five years up until 2011. He holds a BSc in physics from Cambridge University and an MBA from Stanford University.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 24, 2018
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