A&P Australia strengthens board with strategic NED appointments.

A&P Australia (Atlantic & Peninsula Australia Pty Ltd), one of Australia’s leading marine engineering businesses, has recently appointed two new Non-Executive Directors to support its next phase of growth.

Rear Admiral Phil Spedding DSC, AM and Rear Admiral Mark Purcell AM have joined A&P Australia, bringing almost 70 years of naval experience to the company.

Rear Admiral Spedding’s naval service has included exchange appointments with the Canadian and British navies and command of patrol boats, a frigate and national and coalition task groups. His operational experience included domestic fisheries and border protection duties, service in Northern Ireland, the former Yugoslavia and Fiji, and multiple deployments to the Middle East.

After 33 years full time service, he transferred to the Naval Reserve in 2015. He continued to serve; leading the Australian Defence Stimulation and Training Centre, and the Programme Support and Infrastructure Branch in Navy Headquarters.

In 2020 he was promoted to Rear Admiral to provide specialist advice on Navy’s future infrastructure requirements. He also provides consultant advice to the Defence Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group on maritime sustainment infrastructure.

Rear Admiral Mark Purcell joined the Royal Australian Naval College as a Midshipmen in 1985 and graduated from the Australian Defence Force Academy with a double degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1989.

He retired from full time service in the Royal Australian Navy as a Rear Admiral, specialised in Naval Engineering and Information and Communications Technology. His last appointment in Defence was the Head of Maritime Systems in the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group.

Mark Purcell is passionate about working together with Government, Industry and Defence, as an innovative team, to provide capabilities for the nation.

Commenting on his appointment, Rear Admiral Spedding said: “I have been following A&P Australia’s work on HMAS Choules for several years and have been impressed at the high standard of in-service support and availability they have delivered for the vessel, and in particular the readiness of Choules for Operation Bush Fire Assist in January 2020.

“A&P Australia has an ambitious growth trajectory and I am looking forward to supporting the business in its next phase.”

Rear Admiral Purcell, said: “A&P Australia has risen to become an important part of the Australian defence community and is playing a key role in growing Australian sovereign capability through the development of its team and services in Sydney and by increasing the capacity of their supply chain.

“Identifying opportunities for Government, industry and defence to work more collaboratively is an area I am particularly interested and where I hope to add value to the business.”

David McGinley, Chief Executive said: “The board and I are delighted to welcome Philip and Mark to the team. They are respected leaders within the Australian marine defence industry and their knowledge and experience will be vital as we capitalise on the success of the HMAS Choules contract and continue our growth trajectory.”