Meet our Managing Director- Edwin Cras

As MD of both Castor Marine and Castor Networks, Edwin is a very busy man but one who is never too busy for customers. Still very hands on in the sales, indirect channel and our Superyacht division he is an example to us all in relationship building and customer focused thinking

Describe your role as Managing Director of Castor Marine.

As MD of Castor Marine, I am focussing on the overall strategy for Castor Marine as well as heading the Superyacht division. That includes an active role in sales and managing the indirect channel as well as the satellite capacity in use for Superyachts.

You’ve been with Castor for 13 years, tell us about these years and how things have grown and changed for you and the organization.

When I started with Castor in 2007 we had no experience with VSAT.  We only started the iDirect platform in 2009. We also abstained from the maritime industry because we had 2 large Teleport customers with whom we did not want to compete: MTN and Elektrikom.

In 2012 we started our first marine business with Superyachts and later that year the first commercial vessels, when we made a deal with Watum to supply connectivity. Establishing Castor Marine became a crucial element of our growth strategy and we acquired Watum which helped us win Wagenborg, proving ourselves  in the Maritime industry. The organisation also transformed with less focus on teleport engineers and to a growing NOC team to support our VSAT customers. The organisation grew quite a bit but the Castor mentality of “we can do it”  is still something that we are proud of as the complexity of the business continues to grow exponentially.

Why are you passionate about what we do?

I find Satellite technology very  fascinating as with just a small parabolic antenna you create connectivity which allows you access the Internet or enjoy TV programs anywhere.

Years ago, I installed a TVRO on the 12th floor of my apartment building so that I could watch all the TV channels and now anywhere in the world, Castor provides connectivity. To think that our “little” company can do this successfully in a world of major international players is just amazing.

Describe yourself

Energetic, customer-focused, relationship-builder, optimist

Tell us more about your first job in your career?

After finishing my degree in business economics I did not really know what line of  business to work in.  So I started as an Accountant at one of the big 4 American firms, Coopers & Lybrand. I had chosen them because they started with a 2 week training course in Portugal. When auditing you get to see a lot of companies. I learnt a lot but I knew that it was not a life time career.

What traits do you value most in yourself and your team?

Each member of the Castor Marine team is extremely driven and passionate in building and supporting our business, in their own roles. Whether it is signing the customer, getting them online, processing the administration or the rapid follow up and support from our NOC, you will always find our team happy and pleasant to deal with. I believe this is why we have such solid relationships with our customers. 

You handle our Superyacht Business and Team, can you tell us what unique value we offer our Superyacht customers?

The unique value for Superyachts lies in our support and flexibility with, of course, good service quality.  Support because we are very knowledgeable about the antenna/ACU onboard and we have a yacht expert who can assist the Captain/ETO in challenging situations. Flexibility for fast upgrades and responsiveness with competitive pricing, taking into account the high quality of service.

Want more information about Superyacht connectivity ? Reach out to Edwin on e-mail or connect with him on LinkedIn