Please Welcome: Stephen M. Payne, OBE RDI

We're pleased to welcome Mr. Stephen M. Payne, whose career spans over 26 years as a naval architect. Read more about Mr. Payne, and share your welcome in this thread:

Royal Designer of Industry Stephen Michael Payne was engaged with Carnival Corporation for over 26 years culminating with the position of Vice President Chief Naval Architect. Stephen had a wide ranging role with Carnival and was instrumental in the design and construction of over forty passenger ships between January 1985 and December 2010.

Stephen’s greatest achievement was the design and project management of Cunard Line’s flagship Queen Mary 2. Evaluating market trends and consideration of the business model led to an epoch breaking design that has proven to be eminently successful in service. Stephen managed the project throughout, leading contract and specification negotiations with the shipyard in the pre-contract phase, monitoring construction and finally accepting delivery of the ship on behalf of Cunard upon her completion. In recognition of the success of the project he was awarded the title Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen and was awarded a Special Achievement Award by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Between July 2007 and July 2010 he was the President of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and in July 2008 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2010 he was appointed one of the eight trustees of the City of Southampton Cultural Trust and in 2011 he was appointed a trustee of the prestigious Webb Institute of New York.

Stephen graduated from the University of Southampton in 1984 with an Honours Degree in Ship Science. During his time at Southampton Stephen was a member of the University Royal Naval Unit (URNU), part of the RNR.

Throughout his career Stephen has been involved in the design, construction and marketing of over 40 cruise ships for Carnival Corporation. Apart from leading the Queen Mary 2 project from inception to completion, he was Project Manager and Owners lead designer for the new Holland America flagship MS Rotterdam (1997) and was the conceptual designer for Seabourn Cruise Line’s new Odyssey class.

Stephen is a Governor of Quilley School of Engineering (Eastleigh) and is a founding member of “Future Engineers”, an on-going programme to promote awareness of careers in engineering to youth. In July 2010 he was awarded the title of “Amazing Person 2010” by Solent Education Business Partnership for his work in promoting engineering careers to young people. In 2011 the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers awarded him their highest accolade, the Admiral “Jerry” Land medal for services to the marine industry and in the same year he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the prestigious Webb Institute in New York, America’s foremost school of Naval Architecture.

Stephen is a Freeman of the City of London, a Shipwright and a Chartered Engineer.

Ask Stephen a question: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=900 Edited September 16, 2013 by LauraS