MLL’s Senior Director of Innovation to Serve on BoD of United States Naval Institute

Maersk Line Ltd announced that Gordan Van Hook, MLL’s Senior Director of Innovation and Concept Development, has been selected to serve on the board of directors the United States Naval Institute.

The USNI describes itself as “an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write in order to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense.”

The election to the board of directors is a national one voted upon by all USNI members. Election to the USNI board is considered an honor in the U.S. Navy and defense community. It is a tribute to Van Hook’s intellectual rigor on matters of maritime and national security.

Van Hook is a third generation surface warfare officer. During his 29 years of naval service, Capt Van Hook had a distinguished and broad career. Three highlights include:

• Chief Engineer on USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG-58) when she struck a mine in the Persian Gulf in 1988 during the “Tanker War,” and he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for his actions to save the ship. The account is featured in two books: No Higher Honor by Brad Penniston and Inside the Danger Zone by Harold Wise.
• Commanding USS O’BANNON (DD-987) and serving as operations officer for Fifth Fleet to launch Operation Enduring Freedom into Afghanistawen after 9/11.
• Commanded DESTROYER SQUADRON 23

The insights he gained throughout his naval career were foundational to his work for the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), where he served as Executive Director of the CNO Executive Panel, a federal advisory committee of 32 civilian leaders from government, industry and academia that provide advice to the CNO on issues of strategy, policy, technology and innovation. Capt Van Hook also served as a program manager with the NATO C3 Agency and held other positions with the CNO, including working as a senior fellow for the CNO Strategic Studies Group.

His relationship with the USNI was strengthened in 2005, when they published his article, Creatively Bridging the Gap, in their monthly journal Proceedings. He continues to write and publish articles and has contributed book chapters to Maritime Private Security: A Customer’s Perspective and to Conflict and Cooperation in the Global Commons: Maritime Security Consortiums. The following list of articles shows the array of topics he covers.

• Focus More on Management and Less on Technology to Reduce Navy Energy Costs, Frontline Defence, Feb 2011
• Fueling the Future Fleet: Managing for Energy Efficiency, Vanguard Dec 2010/Jan 2011
• On the Horizon, C4ISR Journal, Oct 2010
• Irregular Sea Control, USNI Proceedings Jul 2010
• Seabasing for Counterpiracy; Vast Ocean, Boat Traffic Thwart Traditional Solutions, Defense News, 26 Apr 2010
• Maritime Security Consortiums, USNI Proceedings Apr 2009
• How to Kill a Good Idea, USNI Proceedings Oct 2007
• Creatively Bridging the Gap, USNI Proceedings Sep 2005

Van Hook has been with MLL since 2008. He currently advises U.S. maritime services on commercial best practices and innovation in energy efficiency, sustainment, sea-basing, commercial ship conversions, maritime security and counter-piracy. In 2009, he led the Maersk crisis action team in Mombasa, Kenya for the Maersk Alabama incident. He also develops and disseminates new concepts to U.S. government customers and partners for the advancement of a strong, ready and flexible U.S. Navy and armed forces.