Shoreside Ship Management

JOHN “CHIP” CALLAN ’88 knows ships, business, and people.

Callan sailed briefly in the commercial fleet after graduating, but decided to steer his career ashore. He worked his way up to increasing levels of responsibility in the U.S. Navy fleet maintenance and modernization defense industry for 24 years, internationally and stateside. During this time, he called Washington, D.C., Norfolk, San Diego, and Sasebo, Japan home.

“Those were exciting times,” he says, “being able to move on-site for six or seven months and meet interesting people and learn from different practices and customs.”

In 2012, Callan and his wife, Michelle, by this time both successful industry veterans, started Invictus Associates—he as COO and Michelle as Owner—headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia. The company specializes in providing senior- and mid-level maintenance management to both commercial and government customers. The company has a track record of achievement in technical marine engineering, life cycle reviews, program management, ship operations, new construction, and vessel repair experience in the commercial maritime and naval government sector.

“We bring demonstrated experience in estimating, planning, and execution of validated maintenance and modernization requirements for in-service U.S. Navy surface ships, both internationally and stateside,” says Callan.

Current projects range across the globe, from ship system and shipyard technical oversight in Norfolk to maintenance management in Bahrain.

Key to the company’s success is its team of professionals. “We are approximately a 50/50 split between recently graduated engineers and retired government service and military personnel,” says Callan. “This is a great combination to leverage and increase peer learning.

“The collaboration between our recent grads (three of whom are MMA alumni) with their classroom experiences and comfort with IT systems,” says Callan, “and our salted individuals who have operated and maintained ships for 20 or more years, leads to a quick understanding of responsibilities, best practices, and communication skills.

“Our team is tight, and they look out for one another in their daily responsibilities on the waterfronts.”

Callan attributes his base skills to his education at MMA. “It taught me how to interact and understand multiple viewpoints directly and to develop sound recommendations for all stakeholders.”
Standing watch on the TS State of Maine was the beginning.█

Photo: Michelle Callan

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