Dredging innovation seminar 2023

John Brien

John worked for civil contractors mainly on bridges, industrial buildings, and sea defences before joining Harwich Haven Authority in 1986, initially as an assistant and then harbour engineer.

The work at Harwich included four or five maintenance dredging operations per year, and several capital dredge projects to deepen and widen the harbour and channels. The role also covered the Authority's own infrastructure and environmental responsibilities - particularly in relation to gaining consent for the marine projects.

For the last two years, John oversaw the Authority's largest-ever capital project - the deepening of the harbour and channel to -16.0m CD. John retired from the Authority in October 2023.

Jake Storey

Jake joined Harwich Haven Authority in August 2017. He has over 25 years’ experience in the shipping industry and prior to joining the Authority, he was a strategic advisor to the anti-bribery business TRACE International.

Starting his career in the maritime industry working for Hill Samuel Merchant Bank, he worked for and advised Wallems, Escombe Lambert, Gellaty, Lambert Brothers, Lavino Shipping, and the Wescol group.

Jake has also held senior positions with Gearbulk Group as their chief risk officer and with Inchcape Shipping Services UK as chief financial officer.

He holds a MBA from Manchester Business School and is a chartered accountant and a qualified corporate treasurer. He also has a BA Hons in history and politics from Keele University.

Alex Schofield

A chartered civil engineer, Alex Schofield has been part of the coastal engineering community for more than two decades.  

She started her career in consultancy, mainly delivering coastal flood and erosion risk management projects for local authorities and the Environment Agency.

In 2020 Schofield joined Van Oord as a pre-contract manager, leading its acquisition of dredging and marine construction projects in the UK and Ireland. She is also the firm’s marine and coastal framework manager, with oversight of its work for the Environment Agency.

James Maclean

James Maclean is the CEO of leading wet civil engineering firm Land & Water Group, which has a 30-year history of providing a range of civil and environmental solutions to the UK’s network of rivers, streams, wetlands and waterways.

Having founded the Group in 1994, alongside its chairman Richard Melhuish, Land & Water has since grown into a family of businesses including Land & Water Plant, providers of specialist machinery, a national specialist contracting business (Land and Water Services ltd) and a remediation business building London’s largest wetland habitat ever.

With a focus on innovation and dedication to safeguarding the environment, James is influencing change within the civil engineering and construction industries by reconsidering the way projects are planned and delivered with whole carbon impacts as part of the decision-making process.

He has been a driving force when it comes to our own and industry thinking on managing and reducing waste in everything we do and even how we think.

With the combined effects of an ever-increasing global population and climate change, James alongside his team at Land & Water Group is driving new ideas and strategies to ensure the world is left in a better place.