Entrepreneur in Residence / CEO for Fleetward

Fleetward is building a maritime software platform designed to help vessel operators stay inspection-ready — without the last-minute scramble. Through a single, integrated workflow, crews and shore teams can prepare, document, and validate the evidence they need for PSC, SIRE 2.0, vetting, class, flag, and ISM/MLC inspections in one place.

The platform addresses a structural inefficiency across the maritime compliance sector: fragmented inspection preparation, inconsistent evidence quality, and disconnected ship-to-shore coordination used to manage inspection readiness. Fleetward enables operators to centralize their readiness process, review evidence quality in real time, and move from pre-inspection to closed corrective actions through a streamlined digital experience.

Starting from commercial fleet operators across maritime Europe, Fleetward supports crews in replacing paper checklists, WhatsApp photos, spreadsheets, and superintendent follow-ups with a scalable and intuitive platform. This foundation allows operators to reduce deficiency and detention risk, improve evidence quality, and progressively enable advanced use cases such as AI-assisted readiness review, fleet-wide readiness dashboards, and SeeVessel-style visual automation.

Fleetward is developed within a venture-building environment and leverages direct industry validation, with the ambition to scale across European markets as a core digital infrastructure for vessel inspection readiness.

Tasks

As Entrepreneur in Residence & CEO, you will:

• Drive the venture from early-stage product development to successful go-to-market execution
• Validate the business model and lead the first customer and supplier acquisition efforts
• Build and lead a high-performing founding team
• Manage relationships with vessel operators, ship management companies, and classification, flag, and vetting bodies
• Collaborate with venture building experts to develop financial models, pitch decks, and fundraising strategies
• Raise the remaining part of the seed round (50% already committed)
• Represent the company to investors and key ecosystem stakeholders

Requirements

• Strong entrepreneurial mindset and hands-on attitude
• Experience in early-stage start-ups, ideally as a founder or first hire
• Proven ability to raise funds from angel investors and VCs, and to craft compelling, investor-ready narratives
• 10+ years of professional experience
• Deep domain exposure to maritime operations, vessel compliance, ship management, or inspection & certification
• Excellent communication, leadership, and decision-making skills
• Fluency in English and Italian
• Willingness to re-locate to Italy and work on-site (optional Milan or Rome)

Benefits

• Founder-level equity in a validated, high-potential venture
• Access to Maritime Ventures' entire ecosystem of strategic partners, industry mentors, and investors
• The opportunity to lead a start-up that is transforming how SMEs access and finance industrial equipmentHands-on venture building support from Bridgemaker and Cariplo Factory
• Direct collaboration with CDP Venture Capital and major industrial and financial players
• A chance to shape the future of equipment access and capital-efficient business infrastructure

If you are ready to launch and lead a venture that could redefine how vessel operators stay inspection-ready across Europe, we would love to hear from you.

Apply now and let's build Fleetward together.