Meet the team: Phil Parry
Phil Parry
Phil co-founded Spinnaker in 1997 and is widely acknowledged for his extensive network and expertise within the maritime industry. Phil founded The Maritime HR Association in 2005, establishing the global shipping industry's leading source of compensation and benefits data. This initiative was expanded in 2017 with the creation of The Seafarer Employers' Association, providing reliable wage cost data for seafarers. Today, this coverage includes cruise hotel staff and represents over 55,000 shore-based shipping employees and 250,000 seafarers worldwide.
Phil has been integral to Spinnaker’s Executive Search services since its inception, successfully recruiting hundreds of leaders globally for a wide range of shipping-related organisations, including shipowners, industry bodies, trading groups, oil majors, consulting firms, banks, suppliers, law firms, marine insurers, and shipbrokers.
A regular presence at major industry events, Phil is frequently invited as a speaker, panellist, or attendee. He also hosts Spinnaker’s annual Maritime People and Culture Conference, one of the largest global gatherings of crewing and HR professionals, where key trends in maritime HR are discussed.
Before founding Spinnaker, Phil was a maritime lawyer with the distinguished firm Ince & Co, specialising in shipping and insurance law.
Phil’s contributions to the maritime sector extend to academia and industry leadership. He has served as an external examiner for Shipping master's degree courses, regularly writes and speaks on maritime and personnel matters, and represented BIMCO on the BIMCO/ISF Manpower Steering Committee in 2005, 2010, and 2015. In 2012, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Management by the University of Plymouth. His notable past and present appointments include:
- Trustee, Maritime London Officer Cadet Scholarship
- Director, Maritime London
- Chair, The OSCAR Campaign
- Chair, PYNDA (Plymouth Nautical Degree Association)
- Advisor, Henley Business School’s Maritime Master’s degree
Outside of his professional career, Phil is passionate about restoring vintage cars. He is also the founder and Chair of the shipping industry’s OSCAR fundraising campaign for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, which has raised over £3.4 million for leukaemia and bone marrow transplant research primarily through the OSCAR Dragon Boat Race.
It was definitely a pleasant experience working with your professional team for our global executive search. With our unique criteria and expectations on the candidate, Spinnaker was able to provide detailed assessment reports, highlighting the strengths, weaknesses and capabilities of the candidates in relations to our needs, which undoubtedly added immense values to our selection process. Your approachable attitude, tailored services and efficient manner throughout the period also impressed our management team. We’re pleased to share that the placement was successful and transitioning very well in the position. We have no hesitation in introducing Spinnaker as a desirable recruitment partner!