Women in Maritime Today: North Star’s Gitte Gard Talmo 

Gitte Gard Talmo joined Scottish shipowner North Star as ceo in December 2024, bringing 22 years of experience from various roles at Norway headquartered Eidesvik Offshore. Having joined Eidesvik in 2002, Ms Talmo has witnessed the highs and lows of the offshore industry, including the eight-year downturn from 2014 that she describes as “a dark chapter in our industry”. Her career at the Norwegian shipping company saw her take on progressively senior roles, including as chief commercial officer and chief executive.

Ms Talmo joined North Star in December 2024 to lead this Aberdeen, Scotland-headquartered owner through its transition into new evolving markets, such as offshore wind, and oversee the company’s ambitious growth strategy, while strengthening teams and corporate redundancy.

She has become an inspirational industry leader and regular on panels at Offshore Support Journal events. We asked Ms Talmo about her career, achievements, challenges and advice to people wishing to also make waves through the maritime industry.

 

What inspired you to pursue a career in the marine industry?

Born and raised on the West Coast of Norway, I became interested in advanced offshore vessels and the maritime industry. Us west-coasters of Norway are very similar to the east coasters of UK; we are born and raised by the sea, with a tremendous respect for it. We are a maritime breed.

Maritime is the most dynamic industry in the world. It is international, dynamic and challenging, with stringent operational and safety criteria - which is great! No day is the same; it is simply the most interesting industry in the world, as I see it.

 

What are your responsibilities in your current role?

As chief executive of North Star my main task is to support my team in delivering on our strategy. This is in respect of delivering operational excellence to all our clients and also delivering on our ambitious growth strategy. I also monitor our in-house competence to ensure that we, as a fully integrated ship-owning company with 1,500 full-time employees, have redundancy in our organisation.  Redundancy means we always have someone coming up through the pipeline; and we build in-house competence and integrated skill growth here at North Star. As an example, we have the largest cadet training programme in the UK, with around 120 cadets per year.  

“Our industry needs people with a multitude of skillsets, on land and offshore”

Who most inspired or encouraged you in your career?

People inspire me, always. I have been surrounded by strong women all my life. Like my mum and my mother-in-law – women who worked and contributed in society every day. They are both very strong headed, yet kind. An inspirational combination of qualities. 

Also, I have had the pleasure of building my career serving international leaders (all men) who are gender blind and focused on building the leaders of tomorrow; meaning they have all invested time in me. They have inspired me and helped me understand what kind of leader I wish to be.

 

What have been your biggest hurdles along the way?

There are always hurdles in the industry, but not in building my career. In 2014 the entire oil and gas value chain ran into trouble, companies went bust and people became redundant.

This was a crisis which lasted for eight years. During that period a lot of competent people left our industry, and at the same time we were not able to attract young talent. Those eight years were more than a hurdle; it was a dark chapter in our industry.

We are now recovering and many companies, like North Star, have used that situation well and have transitioned into new evolving markets like offshore wind.

North Star has capitalised on its competence from oil and gas and used it to create market share in the offshore wind sector. This is impressive and says something about how adaptable shipping people are. We are the spunkiest breed there is, if you ask me.

 

What do you see as the biggest challenges, both for your company and the maritime industry?

The maritime industry, as all industries, needs predictable frameworks, policies, rules and regulations and predictable stakeholders. Uncertainty does not breathe growth, but predictability and vision does. Bringing me back to people again. If we want to attract competent people, they must see that our industry is an evolving and predictable one. Our industry needs people with a multitude of various skillsets, on land and offshore. North Star needs people to join us in bringing the maritime industry forward, be it in oil and gas or in offshore wind.

 

What would you say to young people thinking of a career in the maritime or offshore industries? 

Come! There literally is no other industry in the world as fun, challenging, international and brimmed with career and development possibilities as the maritime industry!

 

North Star key facts

Founded: 1886

Owns and operates the largest wholly UK-owned fleet

Engaged in the UK’s offshore industry in the North Sea

Runs an industry-leading cadet programme of 120 cadets per year

Fleet: 23 emergency response and rescue vessels, 18 multi-role, one patrol, one platform supply and eight windfarm support vessels, and 63 daughter craft

Offices: in Aberdeen, Newcastle, Lowestoft, all UK, and Hamburg, Germany

Workforce: 1,400 seafarers and onshore personnel

First energy industry contract: 1967 – an ERRV in the UK

North Star Renewables founded: 2018

Secured £425M (US566M) in debt investment in 2024 to accelerate its ambition of becoming a leading player in Europe’s offshore wind sector

Plans to add 40 hybrid service operation vessels to its fleet by 2040

Invested more than £5M (US$6.6M) in digital transition