Following the leadership transition in November 2024, David “Chip” Wasson assumed the role of CEO at Sea Machines.

With a diverse career spanning military service, investment banking, and corporate strategy, Chip brings a distinct perspective and background to the company as it enters its next phase of growth. This profile offers an in-depth look at his background, leadership philosophy, and vision for the future of Sea Machines as it continues to pioneer advancements in autonomous maritime technology.

Born in Mississippi, Chip attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he earned a commission as a naval officer and pursued a career in carrier aviation. Over eight years of active duty, he flew missions off the USS Eisenhower and served as an admiral’s aide, gaining invaluable insights into naval strategy, resources, and the maritime commons.

Following his military service, Chip transitioned to finance, earning an MBA from Vanderbilt University before joining Bear Stearns. There, he worked on high-profile mergers and acquisitions during the post-Cold War consolidation of the U.S. defense industry, developing a keen interest in emerging tech companies.

In 2018, Chip became Head of Strategy and M&A at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), where he led the grow the Mission Technologies division, including investments in unmanned systems. It was through this role that he first introduced to Sea Machines’ leadership at the 2019 Workboat Show.

Following his tenure at HII, Chip founded Summit Strategic Advisors, offering guidance to innovative maritime and defense companies. His advisory work with Sea Machines evolved into a formal role, culminating in his appointment as CEO in November 2024. With a career spanning military service, investment banking, and corporate strategy, Chip is leading Sea Machines into a new era of autonomous maritime innovation.

“I’m a big believer in excellence—not perfection—but excellence and continuous improvement,” says Chip, reflecting his leadership philosophy. At the heart of his approach is integrity, which he views as the cornerstone of success. “Whether in the military, in uniform, or in the business world, integrity is critical, fundamental.”

Chip’s strategy for leading a tech company through challenging times is centered on three key pillars: reinforcing a collaborative culture, putting the right people in the right roles, and maintaining a disciplined focus. He prioritizes a people-first approach, ensuring the team is aligned, resourced, and supported, while also keeping an eye on measurable business goals to ensure steady progress.

With his background in national security, he believes it is a key responsibility of industry and government to pursue advancements that enhance efficiency, safety, security, and sustainability. The promise of Sea Machines’ technology to transform multiple markets, and its potential impact on the naval and maritime industry, deeply excites him.

Chip’s short-term goal for Sea Machines is to continue the development of its autonomy and computer vision product lines while remaining well-attuned to the consumer’s voice. “We need to and are spending time trying to listen to the customer, trying to help the customer understand what we have to enhance their effectiveness and address their problem sets. Their success translates into our success including growth in our top line, which becomes a flywheel, giving us more resources and the ability to continue advancing our solutions and technology.”

In the long term, Chip envisions Sea Machines reaching self-financing, building on the strong support from investors and the vision set by founder (now President and CTO) Michael G. Johnson. “We’re at an inflection point to enjoy the rewards of all this early and daring investment,” he notes. Ultimately, his goal is to continue building a great company that satisfies the customer’s needs.

The core differentiator that makes Sea Machines stand out is its foundation in being created for those who have served at sea, by mariners, naval officers, sailors and seaman. “At the heart of it, it’s the culmination of the work of experienced naval and maritime professionals like Michael (Johnson, President and CTO), Peter (Holm, European Director), Phil Bourque, Adam Woods, Lauren Lamm, Erik Hedval, Ben Galdo and others who have been out there and done that, who have been on the water and understand the challenges,” Chip explains. “With this experience and creativity, our world class engineers and product developers are able to translate this into a system that delivers enhanced efficiency, safety, security and sustainability to naval and maritime fleets, from small work boats and patrol vessels to large scale tankers and cargo ships.

Sea Machines’ focus on autonomy systems, perception systems, and the recent release of SELKIE as an autonomous platform marks a key milestone in its development. “A unique Sea Machines capability is that we can autonomize or enhance with pilot assist functions effectively any boat/ship. We have taken this a step further by designing and producing a turn-key USV solution in SELKIE.” says Chip, highlighting the company’s capability to deliver across defense and commercial sectors as a distinct advantage.

Operating in a competitive environment, Chip sees this as a motivator to improve. “We need to embrace the competition. It’s an incentive for us to make things better.” To that end, Sea Machines is on the cusp of making autonomy mainstream, setting the stage for broad adoption of its technology.

Chip’s life philosophy, rooted in the three Rs—relationships, respect, and responsibility—guides both his personal values and leadership approach at Sea Machines. He emphasizes the importance of caring for the team, listening to customers, being accountable, and growing together. “It’s a virtuous circle,” he says, where the success of customers, employees, and stakeholders drives the company’s collective achievements. For Chip, this shared success is the ultimate measure of Sea Machines’ progress.