“We were not really surprised, no, but of course we are tremendously proud of her selection,” says her team’s manager, Bente Lise Melås, VP Product Line Automation in Kongsberg Maritime.
The 10 Women to Watch award is an international diversity initiative to highlight female talent in the shipping industry to set gender diversity on industry’s the agenda. The ten selectees are all under the age of 40, and the top list was announced by YoungShip during Nor-Shipping in Oslo this year in the first week of June. It’s an impressive list of competence and talent.
Following the flower ceremony on June 5th, Jaquelyn herself took some time to reflect on her career with K-magazine. She was one of two among the nominees with background as a seafarer.
“I’m a qualified as a Master Mariner, and have sailed on cargo vessels and LNG and product tankers. In 2016 we experienced an engine room fire onboard, and the incident gave me time to reflect on what I wanted to do in the future. I had come as far as I could at sea without a long wait for further advancement, obtaining my Unlimited Master Mariner documents and sailing as Chief Officer. But, I was still curious to learn more and continue my professional development. So, I embarked on an executive MBA programme, and in 2018 I applied for a job with Kongsberg Maritime in Norway, and was happy to get it.”
Today Jacquelyn works as a Product Advisor in the Vessel Automation team in Horten. Bente Lise Melås said: “Having sailed to Chief Engineer myself, I understand how valuable her seagoing experience is for us. We need more firsthand knowledge that comes from being a previous a user of products we are continuously developing and improving for the end market.”
When asked about what she thinks has made Jaquelyn stand out from the crowd and make the top ten list, Bente Lise is clear: “She’s highly skilled, but she’s also visible and has the ability to explain complicated technology from a user experience point of view. She turns the complex technology we create into understandable knowledge for students and customers alike.”
Jaquelyn herself was happily surprised by the nomination. “I’m proud of course, but most of all humbled, to be on a list among such incredible women in the industry,” she said.
The 10 Women to Watch 2019:
- Madina Berdigulova Aaeng, Head of Customer Analysis Department, DNB Ocean Industries (Kazakhstan/Norway)
- Sarah Brooke, Assistant Vice President, Skuld (UK/Norway)
- Ayse Asli Basak, Mid-Ship Group (Turkey)
- Hande Ari, Commercial Manager, Seven Seas Group (Turkey/Norway)
- Emilie Christiansen, Senior Claims Executive, Skuld (Norway)
- Susanne Vinje, Head of Logistics, Hydro (Norway)
- Sandra Ness, Founder, Turnss, Founder/Impact Manager of the Arctic Whale project, and the (previous) Marketing Manager for Tamrotor Marine Compressors (Norway)
- Märtha Rehnberg, Partner and Co-Founder, DareDisrupt (Denmark)
- Hilde Søbstad Løvskar, Chief Legal Officer, Skuld (Norway)
- Jaquelyn Burton, Product Advisor Vessel Automation, Kongsberg (US/Norway)