SMS names new operations director for outfit and repair HQ
David McCarthy, SMS Group
SMS Group has appointed David McCarthy as operations director to its newly acquired interior outfit and marine refurbishment headquarters based in Southampton, UK.
McCarthy’s leadership career spans three decades and includes seagoing and land-based roles for P&O Cruises and Carnival UK. He also worked at award-winning London-based design agency AD Associates and has led teams at Independent Maritime Advisors for NCLH new building projects.
He joins the senior leadership team alongside Dan Lockyer, director of outfit, at the group’s newly refurbished 10,000 sq ft industrial and office complex is located in the heart of Southampton.
A strong advocate for the cruise sector, McCarthy has contributed to numerous panel discussions, including at the Cruise Ship Interiors Expo where he is a founding advisory board member.
Discussing SMS’s recent growth and the new appointments, Lockyer says: “Our growth story is somewhat unique. We’ve moved into new, dedicated premises perhaps 12 to 18 months earlier than we predicted, and our team, alongside our pipeline has grown considerably.
“To have someone like David join the business, at this key juncture, is genuinely exciting. We’re building something special, and I speak for the entire team when I say ‘welcome’, and we’re very much looking forward to working with David and seeing how we further enhance, improve, and grow the business.”
Lockyer adds: “Having dedicated warehousing, logistics and storage – perfectly integrated with the office suite – is a big help.
“So too are our meeting rooms, breakout areas and social spaces. It’s the perfect home to grow the business.”
McCarthy comments: “As operations director I look forward to developing the internal systems within the business further and supporting the continued growth of the company.
“I join SMS at an exciting time for the business, with a solid pipeline, including numerous major projects for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), a three ship, two-year, programme of works for AIDA, and many other work streams running right through to 2026/27.
“SMS has a great reputation and I relish the challenging of building the brand and helping scale the business.”
SMS Group is a marine engineering services provider and an interior outfitter, trading from eight locations in the UK and Miami in USA.
