John Vickers is CEO of Blue Abyss
In October 2014, John created the outline and vision for Blue Abyss, said to be the world’s foremost extreme environment aquatic-based marine to space R&D and training facility. It promises to be “the world’s first commercial astronaut training centre”. One year after creating the plan to develop this endeavour, John set up SeaSpace Research with Dr Simon Evetts. From 2006-2014 Dr Evetts ran the multi-disciplinary Medical Projects and Technology Unit at the European Astronaut Centre. The objective of this linked initiative is to complement the Blue Abyss offering by facilitating research projects on behalf of SMEs.
Following eight years in the British Army, John joined a city-based management consultancy to work on leadership and management development programmes for Fortune 100 companies.
He moved thereafter to IBM, and was subsequently head-hunted to join GE Capital, John saw rapid promotion through regional sales management to General Manager-level heading up the company’s eBusiness initiative.
John has experience of two previous start-ups: an e-Business consultancy eventually taken over by IBM and as head of a company to develop the world’s thinnest insulation material.
John is a qualified Six Sigma Black Belt practitioner and believes in challenging the status quo. He is also a keen SCUBA diver and ran a SCUBA training club for the British Army in Cyprus during his last year in the army.
