Welcome
Revenue is not a function. It is a system.
And commercial strategy is the discipline of designing that system.
About Noya Charmanidou
Mission
I’m a commercial leader in maritime SaaS, helping technology-driven companies turn complex products into scalable growth. This is my blog about commercial strategy, SaaS growth, and real-world lessons from building and scaling businesses in the maritime and B2B tech space and from life itself.
Bio
I work at the intersection of global maritime, shipping, technology, and industrial economics.
Over the past 15+ years, my career has moved between traditional shipping companies, venture-backed technology firms, and entrepreneurial ventures. Much of my work has focused on how complex operational industries adopt new technologies — translating operational challenges into scalable commercial opportunities and helping emerging solutions move from early pilots to enterprise-wide deployment.
In recent years, I have been particularly involved in scaling maritime technology platforms, structuring commercial frameworks, negotiating long-term agreements with global shipping companies, and building business development functions from the ground up. My work often sits between engineering, product, and commercial strategy, turning technical innovation into viable business cases for customers operating in highly regulated and operationally demanding environments.
Earlier in my career, I founded and scaled a maritime services company that was later acquired by an international yachting group. That experience gave me firsthand exposure to company-building, international expansion, and the strategic and financial realities of growing and exiting a business.
Alongside industry work, I have also been involved in academia, lecturing in shipping economics, commercial management, and supply chain topics at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Teaching has been an important part of how I reflect on industry practice and connect it with broader economic and strategic frameworks.
My academic background is in shipping economics and management engineering. My recent research focuses on the adoption of digital technologies in maritime operations and their impact on operational efficiency and maintenance practices.
More broadly, I am interested in the economics of industrial technology adoption, maritime decarbonisation, infrastructure platforms, and how innovation spreads within complex global industries.
Outside my professional work, I have spent much of my life in competitive sport. As a lifelong athlete in track and field and fencing — both as a competitor and coach — sport has shaped my mindset around discipline, resilience, and a culture of hard work and goal-oriented thinking.
Snapshot
Education
- Brunel University London — MSc Management Engineering (2024–2025)
- University of Piraeus — MSc Shipping/Maritime Economics (2006–2008)
- University of Piraeus — BSc Shipping/Maritime Economics (2002–2006)
Teaching
- Lecturer in Shipping Studies Undergraduate and Postgraduate level (University of Greenwich / Solent University partner colleges)
Focus Areas
Business development • Partnerships • Commercial strategy • Enterprise accounts • Maritime SaaS • Team leadership
Languages
English, Italian (excellent) • French (very good) • Turkish, Spanish (good)
Professional Blog
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