The American Society of Naval Engineers, Central Gulf Coast Section
and
The Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers
From Backyard Boat Shop To Industry Leading Boatbuilder
by
Gil Romano
Vice-President, Engineering
Thursday, 19 MAY, 2022
Social Hour at 5:30pm, Dinner at 6:30pm, Presentation at 6:45 pm
Location: Augie’s Restaurant
6005 Jefferson Hwy.
Harahan, LA 70123
Phone: 504-733-3000
Reservations & Questions: Please e-mail to fcolangelo@cox.net
• Provide your full name and professional society affiliation; e.g. ASNE, SNAME, ASCE or other Society
• Finally, please state if you desire a PDH credit for attendance.
• Confirmed attendees who are a “No Show,” will still be expected to remit payment.
• Cancellations are accepted up to the registration deadline: Noon, Tuesday, 17 MAY 2022.
Price: All Professional Society Members: $31. A member can bring one guest: $31
Full Time Student members of SNAME/ASNE: $26
Non-members, walk-in’s and reservations after-deadline: $36
Checks payable to “ASNE”, cash, or credit cards accepted at the meeting.
Starters: House Salad
Entrées: ref: Menu and served with potatoes & vegetable medley
Dessert: Bread Pudding w/Rum sauce , or Chocolate Cake
Metal Shark, LLC Metal Shark has become one of the leading military and commercial boatbuilders globally. However, it wasn't always that way. We'll discuss the company's roots as a backyard boatbuilder, the company's growth, and our future focus. We'll also dive into some of the challenges of designing and building small boats – just because it's small doesn't mean it is without complexity. Quite the contrary, as 1,000 lbs. of stuff in a 10 lb bucket causes a great deal of planning, teamwork, and occasionally agony!
Gil started his "career" in boat design in 1990… at the age of 4. Growing up on Long Island, NY, he quickly developed a passion for the water, fishing, and boats. In chasing this passion, he pursued a degree in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering and graduated from the University of New Orleans in 2009. At Metal Shark, his love matured, having designed crafts from a 7m RIB to a 48m Catamaran Yacht. After a short stint in Washington DC, Gil joined Metal Shark as a Naval Architect in 2011.
Over the past 11 years, he expanded the yard's budding design group to over sixty designers and engineers as an in-house team, including establishing a 40+ person office in Europe to expand Metal Shark's capabilities further. In 2018, Gil led the effort to institute an Earned Value Management System to control project budgets and schedules. Since then, the design team has averaged 95% schedule and budget compliance.
Where walls were up and fingers swinging between Production and Engineering, Gil worked to break down the barriers and build bridges. His work has expanded beyond engineering during the past years and now focuses primarily on corporate culture and quality of life. While there is still much work to do, there is ever-expanding positive collaboration and rapport between the diverse shipyard entities.