In our special column this time, we are delighted to feature an interview with Debbi Bonner, Managing Director at JLA Media. As part of a dynamic PR and media service, Debbi has the privilege of working with—and learning from—clients across a wide range of disciplines within the maritime industry. This role allows her to engage in diverse conversations around evolving topics such as safety, sustainability, and security.
Debbi observes that while the maritime industry faces many areas in need of change, it is equally important to recognise and embrace the opportunities that already exist within the sector. Drawing on her professional experience, she describes maritime as a vibrant, global, and rewarding industry. She also shares her advice when choosing a career: Prioritise doing something you enjoy and always keep an open mind.
SAFETY4SEA: How did it come about that you joined shipping industry and your field of expertise specifically?
Debbi Bonner: I joined the maritime industry in 1988 without any expectations of the sector. At the time, I wanted to get into media or PR, and the specific industry wasn’t so important to me. I found, however, that once you get a taste for the global maritime industry, you never want to leave!
S4S: What about your current job/ role most excites you and why?
D.B.: As MD of JLA Media, my role involves working with maritime and offshore clients all over the world in order to deliver a full range of PR and media services. Of course there’s the day to day running of the business but I also account-manage for a number of those we look after, and liaising with clients and press is probably the part I enjoy the most. I am privileged to work with an excellent team – people I genuinely like and respect hugely, and knowing that we are working together towards a common goal is perhaps the most important reason for job satisfaction.
S4S: Who is/was the most influential person/mentor to you & why?
D.B.: I’d probably say my two former bosses at The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, at the very start of my career – Gillian Smyth and Mike Wake. While I had previous work experience, my career in maritime started at a young age; older and more experienced colleagues were role models and they were crucial to my development. Both were wonderful to work with in terms of supporting me and my ‘maritime education’. They had a major impact on who I am, both professionally and personally today.
S4S: In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your business life?
D.B.: A number of personal losses have demonstrated that life is short and things can change in an instant – and that doing something you enjoy should be the first consideration when choosing a career. In terms of impact on my business life, perhaps that sense of how precious time is has also taught me to say No to things more often.
S4S: What would you like to change in the current maritime landscape and your area of expertise specifically and why?
D.B.: I work with and learn from clients from multiple disciplines across the maritime industry, and we are involved in a huge range of conversations on changes to safety, sustainability and security. These are conversations that take in everything from ship design, operations and management, to seafaring, regulation, insurance, technology and all points in between. We’re also privileged that we work in an industry that is so compelling, so fulfilling and so dynamic that it retains journalists throughout their careers, so that they have the experience, knowledge and insights to hold our industry to account. This is a vibrant, global and rewarding industry. While there is plenty that we can change in maritime for the better, I’ll always work towards getting that message across to a wider audience.
S4S: What is your personal motto?
D.B.: Keep an open mind, at all times. The minute you reject ideas and beliefs that are out of your comfort zone, you limit your full potential.
The views presented are only those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
