OUR TEAM

We are passionate about serving our customers’ logistics needs, remaining dedicated throughout the logistics process and loyal to developing long-term relationships. Our team members come from all walks of the marine sport, leisure, events and freight forwarding sectors, and are united by their common resilience, commitment and know-how to deliver your requirements across the globe, on time, on budget.

International

Our international success has been built on long-standing values, strong industry knowledge and a shared passion for the event world and the sport of sailing. The GAC Pindar team is made up of professionals from seven countries and operates in key international time zones. We have worked on major events in more than 60 locations around the world and have delivered freight to hundreds more. Our core team speak German, English, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Meet the Migration Experts

If you’re in town, why not visit us at our Control Tower in Southampton on the south coast, right on the waterfront and at the heart of the UK sailing industry. From there, we manage global events and freight movements, carefully sourcing the right solutions to meet your needs, drawing on the reach and resources of GAC’s global network of colleagues and trusted agents. We will come to you if you need us to, providing tailored on-ground services right to your doorstep.

Qualified

Between us, we have decades of industry know-how gained in the event field and out on international waters. Having worked on global events such as previous editions of The Ocean Race, the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, our team of sailors, logisticians and freight forwarding experts draw on a wealth of knowledge and understanding continuously problem solving, providing solid results.

Our staff are fully qualified in their areas of expertise. Members of our technical team are certified in lifting operations, cargo survey and cargo lash and load, and they hold IPAF and forklift licenses. Members of our operations team are IATA Dangerous Goods trained and have solid experience in ATA Carnets, and import & export procedures by land, sea and air.

GAC Services (UK) Ltd holds ISO 9001:2015 certification in quality management and all our procedures are compliant with ISO 45001:2018 health and safety standards. Read our Group policies here.

Industry Disruptors

We are here to serve you. To shake up the freight forwarding sector and provide viable alternatives for the marine sport, leisure and event world. We are here to think differently, to be more than a freight forwarder, to share your passion.

Nick Browne

Managing Director, GAC UK

Nick joined GAC UK as Managing Director in January 2023 after working in Dubai for 10 years as Global Director for GAC Bunker Fuels. More recently he was head of GAC’s Sustainability Working Group where Nick committed to a goal of zero conventional oil-based bunker sales by 2030. In 2021, the pledge contributed to Nick being named one of 20 top young maritime professionals by Seatrade Maritime’s #20Under40 Award. Continuing his efforts to pave the way for change in the maritime industry, he’s passionate about helping GAC Pindar and our customers monitor & reduce Co2 emissions.

Andrew Pindar OBE DL

Founding Partner

Andrew’s first foray into sailing sponsorship was in 1980, supporting a North Sea Race starting from his hometown of Scarborough. His name and the Arctic Tern logo are now synonymous with sailing having circumnavigated around the world seven times, and his industry knowledge, commitment and passion are key to the ongoing growth of our logistics business.

Andrew has worked at the forefront of the drive for equality in sailing for over four decades, promoting the interests of female athletes and those with disabilities around the world. A previous ambassador to The Ocean Race, a patron of Sail4Cancer and a trustee of The Magenta Project, Andrew continues to champion women in sailing and the reintroduction of the sport to the Paralympics.

Mark Horton

General Manager, Freight Services, GAC UK

Mark has 25 years’ experience working in logistics and 19 years with GAC. A fully multimodal freight professional with extensive hands-on experience, he is a master at creating highly motivated teams delivering best-in-class logistics to customers with a focus on solutions, service delivery and value. As the General Manager for GAC UK’s Freight Services division, he oversees in excess of 100,000 shipments per year serving diverse sectors including Aerospace, Automotive, Energy, FMCG and temperature-sensitive goods.

Martin Molloy

Head of GAC Pindar

Martin has over 17 years of combined freight forwarding and event logistics experience. He heads up our specialist marine leisure, sports and event division taking the team into its second decade of operational excellence. He has been with GAC UK for over ten years, most recently expertly managing our third consecutive outing as the official logistics provider for The Ocean Race. He skilfully orchestrates complex, end-to-end logistics processes, collaborating with event partners and suppliers to deliver sustainable, cost-effective solutions.

Nick Crabtree

Head of Business Development

With almost four decades of sailing experience, Nick played a founding role in the GAC Pindar business and was instrumental in securing our first major contract with the Extreme Sailing Series, and later the 2014-15 edition of The Ocean Race. His market knowledge is built on his experience working and sailing with major international sailing teams and multiple Ocean Race Teams. He is experienced across all commercial aspects of sailing and still actively participates in regattas and superyacht racing globally, whilst continuing to develop the GAC Pindar business from Auckland, New Zealand.

Harry Spedding

Commercial Manager

Harry has 20+ years of management experience, working with offshore race teams and foiling events, covering technical and race management for global sporting events, advising on Public Investment Funds and commercially sponsored projects. Before joining us, Harry was General Manager for an innovative ocean robotics company. Based in the UK, Harry looks after our business development across Northern Europe.

Hervé le Quilliec - Business Development Manager

Diogo Diniz

Business Development Manager

Hailing from Portugal, Diogo joined the GAC Pindar business in 2014. With over 30 years of sailing experience working with various classes including SB20s, Moths, Dragons, youth and Olympic classes, GC32s, RC44s and an extensive period working within the superyacht sector, Diogo brings a wide spectrum of knowledge to our team. He speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish and French and is an instrumental part of our ‘on-ground’ team at major events.

Hervé le Quilliec

Business Development Manager

Our native Frenchman, Hervé was a professional sailor before moving across to shore team & operations management for various sailing teams participating in previous editions of The Ocean Race. He was part of the Bermuda organising team for the 35th America’s Cup and part of the organisation of the 36th America’s Cup series in Italy. He has been part of the GAC Pindar project team for the last two editions of The Ocean Race and remains focussed on expanding our business in the French ocean race market.

Beth King

Operations Manager

Beth has 25 years of experience working in event, exhibition and marine-focused logistics. Previous projects include the sailing phenomenon, SailGP, the past two editions of The Ocean Race, the America’s Cup World Series during AC35 and six editions of the Extreme Sailing Series. Beth is an English, French & Russian speaker and manages our operations team and local agents from our Control Tower in Southampton.

Verity Springer

Project Manager

Verity is a logistics operations specialist with a passion for the marine leisure sector, moving race yachts, equipment, and spares around the world. Managing freight forwarding requirements for sailing teams, private owners, and premier sailing events, she has been trusted to organise shipments for the America’s Cup and on-site logistics for SailGP. Speaking fluent German and English, Verity is an extremely knowledgeable member of the GAC Pindar team.

Olly Smith

Site Operations and Project Manager

Long-time sailor and yacht skipper, Olly has racked up over 100,000 sea miles managing ocean race boats. For 13 years, he learnt of the positive impact of well-organised logistics on sailing teams and events, and that insight shapes his approach to managing freight logistics and onsite operations for leading global events such as the SailGP, previous editions of The Ocean Race and the America’s Cup World Series. Specialising and certified in lifting operations, cargo survey, lash and load, Olly also consults on the technical side of yacht shipping as well as container conversions and modifications.

Aaron Lush

Project Manager

Aaron knows what it takes to keep the wheels of the freight world turning. He has over 19 years of experience working in the freight forwarding sector, successfully managing logistics for UK exporters through, arguably, the most challenging period the global freight industry has seen. With a solid grasp of multiple worldwide freight moves, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the GAC Pindar team. Discovering a love for sailing as a child at Sea Scouts, Aaron is excited to apply his freight forwarding expertise to the requirements of the marine leisure, sport and event sector, working on The Ocean Race 2022-23 project delivery.

Katie Watts

Marketing and Communications Manager

Katie joined GAC Pindar in 2015, after working in television and sports logistics since 1999. From her base at our headquarters in Southampton, Katie is responsible for marketing the GAC Pindar brand as we aim to make our logistics offering more streamlined and cost-effective for our customers. She liaises with our sales and operations teams, continuously evaluating and improving internal commercial processes and is part of GAC UK’s Sustainability Working Group.

Luz Baldelomar

Key Account Manager – Spain

Luz’s career in freight forwarding began when she was living in Bolivia almost twenty years ago. Her experiences there, a highlight of which was working on the Land Rover G4 Challenge in 2006, shaped her career path and brought her to GAC Pindar in 2013.
Luz loves working on sailing event logistics, and, for many years, has carefully coordinated World Sailing and Olympic requirements for Member National Authorities (MNA’s). Luz is now located in Barcelona, Spain, and looks after our customer requirements for the America’s Cup. She is fluent in Spanish and English.

Justyna Lang

Operations Coordinator

Justyna joined the team in 2023 after a career in hospitality and events. She’s an expert at handling the fast-paced environment common in event logistics and looks after several key accounts, coordinating shipments out of the UK to worldwide destinations for our UK based marine leisure customers. She is fluent in English and Polish and was drawn to a career at GAC by the versatility of our offering and the company’s sustainability values across people and planet.