Management

Officers and Directors

Gregory P. Stemm, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors since January 2008, is responsible for strategic planning and general execution of our business plan. Mr. Stemm co-founded Odyssey Marine Exploration in 1994 with his business partner, John C. Morris, who has since retired. He previously served as Co-Chairman since February 2006 and as a Director and Executive Vice President since 1994, responsible for research and operations on all shipwreck projects.

Entering the field in 1986, Mr. Stemm has extensive experience in managing all aspects of shipwreck exploration operations, including deep-ocean search and robotic archaeological excavation. A pioneer in the emerging field of deep-ocean exploration, he has played a primary role in the development of new technologies and the development of private sector standards for underwater cultural heritage resource management.

A panelist at the 1998 Law of the Sea Institute, Mr. Stemm was appointed for four consecutive terms to the United States delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) expert meeting to negotiate the "Draft Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage." He was also selected as a Fellow of The Explorers Club, and was the founder and past president of the Professional Shipwreck Explorers Association (ProSEA). Mr. Stemm served as a founding director (1986-93) and international president (1992- 93) of YEO (Young Entrepreneurs Organization) and was also a founding member of the World Entrepreneurs Organization, where he served on the International Board of Directors (1997-98).

Greg Stemm’s detailed bio

Greg Stemm’s articles and publications

Mark D. Gordon was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Odyssey Marine Exploration in October 2007 and joined Odyssey's Board of Directors in January 2008. He joined Odyssey in 2005 as an independent consultant before serving as Director, Business Development and Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development, where he was responsible for the Attraction, Business Development and Retail Merchandising operations for the Company.

Prior to joining Odyssey, Mr. Gordon started, owned, and managed four different entrepreneurial ventures from 1987 to 2003, including Synergy Networks which he founded in 1993 and served as CEO until September of 2003 before selling the company to the Rockefeller Group. He continued serving as President of Rockefeller Group Technology Services Mid Atlantic (RGTSMA), a member of Rockefeller Group International, until December 2004. Past work experience also includes a two-year tenure as a Management Consultant at Andersen Consulting.

Mark Gordon received a B.S./Business Administration in 1982 and an MBA in Finance in 1983 from the American University. As a shipwreck diver with the National Diving Center in Washington DC, he has conducted hundreds of dives and explorations on shipwrecks and was the first person to discover and dive on the wreck of the S.S. Proteus, a ship that had been missing since the early 1900's.

Dr. David J. Bederman was appointed Lead Director in 2008 and has been on the Board as a Director since January 2006. Dr. Bederman is a professor of law at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Since 1991, he has taught international law, admiralty, international institutions, law of international common spaces, legal methods, customary law, as well as seminars on international environmental law and foreign relations power. In addition, he is the Director of International Legal Studies at Emory's Law School. Dr. Bederman also leads a private practice and has provided legal counsel to Odyssey since 1998. In private practice, he has been involved with many cases involving the law of the sea, maritime law and shipwreck disputes, and has represented clients in the federal court of appeals, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prior to joining Emory, Dr. Bederman practiced law in Washington, DC, and worked as a legal advisor at the Iran/United States Claims Tribunal at The Hague. Dr. Bederman has published extensively on diverse legal topics, including legal history, constitutional law, and international legal theory and practice. He has lectured widely and was a visiting professor at New York University and the University of Virginia, and was a Fulbright Distinguished Chair at Osgoode Hall in Toronto. Dr. Bederman holds degrees from Princeton University (A.B.), the University of Virginia (J.D.), and the University of London (M.Sc. and Ph.D.), as well as the Diploma of The Hague Academy of International Law.

Bradford B. Baker re-joined Odyssey's Board of Directors in January 2008 after a first successful tenure from February 1997, prior to the Company going public, through December 2000. Mr. Baker has held multiple leadership roles both in the private sector and the government since starting his first company in 1979. He currently serves as CEO of Nexus Biometrics, Inc., a leading fingerprint biometric company he founded in 2004. He is also President of Bramar Developers, Inc., a large scale real estate development company which he founded in 1998.

In 1988 Mr. Baker was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as one of the youngest White House Fellows ever. In 1989 he was appointed Corporate Secretary of the newly-established Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) by George H.W. Bush. RTC was established to reorganize the entire thrift banking industry, and Mr. Baker served alongside co-panelists Alan Greenspan, Nicolas Brady, and Jack Kemp. In 1999, Brad Baker was tapped by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to serve as Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, a public/private state corporation responsible for granting almost $1 billion in government grants to promote affordable housing. He has also held several senior executive offices in high profile companies, including Comcast Cable and Sterling Financial, Inc., and served on Dobi Medical's Board of Directors as Chairman of the audit committee from 2003 through 2007. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Nova University.

Dr. David J. Saul has served as a member of the Company's Board of Directors since October 2001. Dr. Saul was Bermuda's Minister of Finance from 1989 to 1995, and Premier of Bermuda from 1995 to 1997. In addition to his political background, Dr. Saul held two senior posts with Fidelity Investments, from 1984 through 1995, as the President of Fidelity Bermuda and Executive Vice President of Fidelity International. He retired from the firm in 1999 but remains a Director of Fidelity's main international Board, and a Director of some 40 other Fidelity Companies around the world - including the U.K., Bermuda, Jersey, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Taiwan.

Dr. Saul's professional activities also include two stints as a Director of the Bermuda Monetary Authority and he currently serves as a Director of Lombard Odier (Bermuda), a subsidiary of the Swiss Bank, and a Director of the London Steam Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association (Bermuda) Ltd. A keen oceanographer with a passion for shipwrecks and the sea, he is a founding Trustee of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, a founding Director of the Professional Shipwreck Explorers Association, and a Fellow of The Explorers Club.

Jon D. Sawyer joined Odyssey’s Board of Directors in November 2009. Mr. Sawyer has been of counsel to Jin, Schauer & Saad, LLC, a Denver, Colorado law firm, since March 2009. From January 1996 to March 2009, he was a co-owner of a privately held financial services firm, where he was employed in various capacities, including as president and general counsel. From November 1996 to June 2007, Mr. Sawyer was a partner in Krys Boyle P.C., a Denver, Colorado law firm where he specialized in securities law and mergers and acquisitions.

In prior years, Mr. Sawyer served as a trial attorney with the Denver regional office of the SEC where he handled enforcement cases and reviewed registration statements. Mr. Sawyer holds a B.S. degree in Statistics and a J.D. degree from the University of Wyoming, and served in the U.S. Navy.

Laura L. Barton was appointed Vice President in November 2007. She joined Odyssey Marine Exploration in 1998 after spending more than 15 years in the broadcast marketing and promotion arena. Ms. Barton has served as Director of Communications and Marketing for Odyssey since July 2003, directing the Company’s marketing and corporate communications activities and media content development. During her tenure, Odyssey has built relationships with Disney, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and countless news organizations around the globe.

Prior to joining Odyssey, Ms. Barton was President of LLB Communications, a marketing and communications consulting company that provided services to a variety of broadcast networks, stations and distributors, as well as the Company. She also taught “Writing for Radio and Television” as an adjunct instructor at the University of South Florida. Prior to founding LLB Communications, she served in various marketing, promotions, publicity and creative services staff positions in local and network television since 1983. She received a B.A. degree in Mass Communication in 1983 from the University of South Florida.

Michael J. Holmes has served as Chief Financial Officer since May 2004 after joining the company in March 2004 as Controller. Mr. Holmes has spent more than 25 years in financial management positions with Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., including Vice President Finance at SeaWorld Orlando; Vice President Finance at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay; Corporate Controller, Metal Container Corp in St Louis, MO; Vice President Finance and CFO for Exploration Cruise Lines in Seattle, WA, and Director Internal Audit Services for Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis.

Mr. Holmes received his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Missouri and his MBA from Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College in Orlando, Florida. He has also served as an adjunct professor of Accounting at the Rosen School of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida in Orlando and been active in community leadership positions to include board member of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, the ETC of Central Florida (International Drive Transportation Group) and Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay. He is currently serving on the Crummer Graduate School of Business Alumni Board and is a graduate of Leadership Tampa.

Melinda J. MacConnel was appointed Vice President 2008. She joined Odyssey in March 2006 as a Legal Consultant and became Odyssey's General Counsel in January 2007. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. MacConnel practiced law as a Litigation Consultant, providing counsel to attorneys in all areas of law. She has also served as a professor of legal research and writing and has worked as a congressional assistant for the United States House of Representatives, in Washington, D.C. Since joining Odyssey, Ms. MacConnel has been successful in negotiating several key agreements and contracts for the Company, as well as overseeing all admiralty porceedings and manageing a team of international legal consultants.

Ms. MacConnel graduated cum laude from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame in 1986 with Bachelors Degrees in International Government, French and Theology. She received national recognition for excellence as a member of the University of Notre Dame Speech and Debate Counsel. She also attended the UniversitAc Catholique de l'Ouest in Angers, France where she received her Alliance FranAaise degree. In 1990, Ms. MacConnel received her J.D. degree from the University of Florida College of Law. She is a member of the Florida Bar and the Hillsborough County Bar Association, and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

David A. Morris has served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Company since August 1997. Mr. Morris was employed by Seahawk Deep Ocean Technology in Administration from 1994 through 1997, and as manager of the Conservation and Archaeology departments from 1990 through 1994.

Prior to 1990, Mr. Morris was employed for ten years at a lubricant blending and manufacturing company, where he rose to the position of General Manager and President. He also served as President and General Manager of a Florida construction firm for four years. Mr. Morris graduated with a B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University in 1974.

Jay A. Nudi has served as Principal Accounting Officer of the Company since January 2006 after joining the Company in May 2005 as Corporate Controller. Mr. Nudi has over 20 years of accounting and management experience and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Prior to joining the Company, he served as Controller for The Axis Group in Atlanta since 2003. From 2001 to 2003, he served as a consultant to various companies on specific value added tasks. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Nudi was Director of Financial Reporting for OneSource, Inc., a leading provider of facilities management. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Corporate Controller for Acsys, Inc., a national recruiting firm that was publicly held until it was acquired in 2000. Mr. Nudi received a B.S. degree in Accounting from Penn State University in 1985.

John C. Morris, along with his partner and Co-founder, Greg Stemm, founded Odyssey Marine Exploration in 1994 and served as Chairman of the Board and CEO until his retirement in January 2008. Mr. Morris continues to provide consulting services to Odyssey.

Prior to launching Odyssey, Mr. Morris was an officer and director of Seahawk Deep Ocean Technology (SDOT) from 1989 until 1994. As President of SDOT, he helped lead the first deep-ocean archaeological recovery of a deep-ocean shipwreck, salvaging a Spanish wreck from approximately 1,500 feet of water near the Dry Tortugas. The recovery yielded nearly 17,000 artifacts consisting of gold, silver coins, pottery, pearls, jewelry, and numerous other artifacts.

Mr. Morris was also President of Seahawk, Inc., an Alabama corporation engaged in leasing the Research Vessel "Seahawk", a deep-water search and inspection vessel. From 1992 until 1997, he served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Aquarium, a not-for-profit corporation operating a $90 million aquarium facility in Tampa, Florida. Prior to his involvement with Seahawk, Mr. Morris was engaged in the real estate and construction business.

John C. Morris and David A. Morris are brothers.