Shep McKenney

Co-Founder & Chairman of the Board

Throughout his career, Shep McKenney has always sought to turn the world as we know it upside-down. Shep began his career as a corporate lawyer, but left law to unleash his inner entrepreneur. His first game-changing innovation came in 1972, when he founded All-Suites Hotels, the first extended stay suite hotel chain. After expanding the chain to fourteen locations, he sold the business to DoubleTree Hotels and followed his passion for life on the water into the marine industry.

In 1982, Shep acquired Hinckley Yachts where he established his drive to remove the intimidation from boating. At Hinckley he introduced their line of Picnic Day Boats. He then pioneered the company’s JetStick technology, the first joystick control system for jet-driven recreational boats. JetStick allowed skippers to simply and intuitively maneuver in tight spaces, removing the anxiety of docking for the boating world.

Shep teamed up with John Adams in 2003 to found Seakeeper. Their mission was to change the fundamental experience of being on the water. They knew that if they could eliminate boat roll and the seasickness, anxiety, and fatigue that go with it, boating would be open to a whole new world of boaters.

When Shep is not revolutionizing the boating industry, he enjoys fishing and bird hunting. He divides his time between the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf Coast of Florida, with an occasional trip to Cape Hatteras to fish with his grandchildren in the waters he fished as a child.

John Adams

Co-Founder & Board Member

John Adams is a naval architect who has devoted much of his career to stabilizing boats. As owner of Maritime Dynamics, he pioneered the company’s ride control systems. These devices used software to control externally mounted fins, foils, and trim tabs to dynamically control pitch and roll on high-speed vessels. But all along, John’s interest in Elmer Sperry’s early 20th-century incarnations of gyroscopic stabilizers was simmering.

John knew there was a better way to harness the power of gyroscopes. A way that would make gyroscopic stabilization a reality for smaller boats, not just massive cruise ships. He introduced Shep McKenney to the concept and together they launched Seakeeper in 2003 with the goal of improving the performance of gyroscopes to bring stabilization to boats of all sizes. Even though Seakeepers have been on the market since 2008, John hasn’t stopped improving on their performance and quality.

While John loves stabilizing vessels on the water and cruising around in his catamaran, John also enjoys spending time on land with his grandchildren on his family farm in Kentucky.

Andrew Semprevivo

President & CEO

Andrew Semprevivo has been working in the marine industry since he was thirteen. What started out as a summer job at his local marina turned into a lifelong passion for boating. Between the local marina and his tenure at Seakeeper, Andrew served as International/West Coast Sales and Project Manager for the Viking Yacht Company.

Andrew joined Seakeeper in 2008, just as the company was bringing their gyros to market, and led the charge in developing the company’s global customer base as well as its first-class global sales and support network. Since joining Seakeeper he has held various positions from Inside Sales Manager to VP of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, Andrew was promoted to President & CEO in April of 2018.

Andrew’s love of boating is not limited to his work! He is passionate about fishing and enjoys spending his free time cruising around the coast of New Jersey on his Seakeeper-equipped Bluewater 2850.

Rebecca Smitha

Chief Financial Officer

Rebecca Smitha has been in the accounting world for over twenty-five years. Rebecca got her start in public accounting, where she acquired her CPA. She then shifted to the private sector where she found her niche working for manufacturing and communications companies, particularly in upgrading their resource planning and accounting systems. Rebecca earned an MBA in Finance while simultaneously working in manufacturing industry.

Rebecca found her way to Seakeeper while working at Landmark Communications. The owner of Landmark was an investor in Seakeeper and connected her to Shep. The rest is history! She is one of Seakeeper’s longest-standing employees, as she has been with the company for over ten years!

Bob Moser

Vice President of Manufacturing

Bob Moser has over twenty years of manufacturing, machining, and assembly experience. For much of his career, Bob owned and operated Joma Machine Company, a precision CNC shop that served customers in the aerospace and energy industries, among others.

When Seakeeper sought a machine shop that could produce products that met their extremely demanding tolerances, Joma was the only shop up for the challenge. As Seakeeper’s success began to take off, Joma continued to expand alongside it. By 2011, Joma’s operations were solely devoted to producing Seakeepers and that year Joma officially became a part of the Seakeeper organization.

Bob enjoys running and swimming when he is not thinking about gyros.

Will Cimino

Vice President of Growth & Strategy

Will Cimino grew up offshore fishing in North Carolina, a state with rich boat building history. It was here that he found his love for boats and being on the water.

Before joining Seakeeper, Will worked at the Carlyle Group in Washington, D.C. where he focused on private equity investing in the industrial and transportation sectors. With his love for boating, Seakeeper was a perfect fit, and Will’s experience in strategy and growth was key to making him an integral part of the Seakeeper team. Now, as Vice President of Growth & Strategy, Will charts the course for the worldwide sales and marketing teams.

In his spare time, Will stays true to his passion for fishing. He gets just as much excitement catching a brook trout as he does landing a blue marlin. Will is based in our Leesport, Pennsylvania factory.

Maggie Meredith

Vice President of People, Culture & Brand

Maggie Meredith came to Seakeeper with a wealth of knowledge from areas outside of the marine industry, but with similar niche audiences. With marketing and media experience in fields from baseball to fashion, Maggie was drawn to Seakeeper for its growth and innovative spirit. She was excited to become a part of a company completely changing people’s boating experience.

As the Marketing Manager, Maggie led Seakeeper’s strategic rebrand, creating the company’s image that’s recognizable by so many today. Now, as the Vice President of People, Culture & Brand, she's a jack of all trades that leads the team responsible for talent acquisition, employee experience and culture.

Maggie and her husband have two young kids, so she spends most of her free time chasing them around and soaking up all the craziness motherhood brings! Maggie is based in our Leesport, Pennsylvania headquarters.

Nick Troche

Vice President of Engineering

Nick Troche grew up sailing on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York and became a certified sailing instructor with a passion for all things boating (he even proposed to his wife on a sailboat!). In choosing his career path, he set his sights on the marine industry and did whatever he could to get himself there.

When Nick began his tenure with Seakeeper, he sat in a commercial garage with a boat next to his desk. Now, as Vice President of Engineering, he leads a team of engineers who are pioneering new technology for future Seakeeper products. He has helped lead Seakeeper into areas that were previously thought to be impossible and has played a major role in creating the best, smallest, tightest and most efficient packages that we have ever built.

When he’s not working on making the smallest Seakeeper ever made, he still enjoys sailing, as well as skiing, traveling, trivia and the occasional karaoke night. Nick is based out of our Leesport, Pennsylvania factory.