Sam started his career in the Merchant Navy (commercial shipping) at the age of 17 as an officer candidate "Deck cadet" and worked his way up to Captain.  This career spanned 15 years and various shipping companies including oil giants Chevron and Shell.  As an extremely young Captain, Shell picked him as their global brand ambassador between 2004 and 2006 to showcase their industry leadership in LNG shipping.

Sam hung up his captain’s hat in 2007 and, after an MBA at Stanford Business School, he joined the commercial side of the Oil and Gas business.  Over the last 5 years Sam has managed the global aviation lubricant business for Shell and subsequently their global Sulphur business.  He retired from corporate life in 2011 to pursue his own entrepreneurial aspirations and is currently involved in a resources based business venture in Sub Saharan Africa