Team
The team
Intelligence tradecraft, forty years of marine operations, environmental science and field production, brought together to find the wrecks that matter and look at them properly.
On the shore at Rabaul, October 2026
Founders and principals
Project Guardian leadership
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Ian Usher
Founder, Project Guardian
Ian is the founder and architect of Project Guardian. He developed the Wreck Environmental Risk Prioritisation method and the intelligence platform behind it, bringing more than a decade of intelligence and emergency-response experience to a domain that has historically been managed reactively.
His career began in emergency response, in policing and counter-terrorism, moved through cyber security, and now sits in maritime intelligence and incident response in the Middle East. The common thread is building intelligence functions for governments and multinationals: the teams, methods and systems that turn scattered information into something a decision-maker can act on before an incident rather than after it. He currently serves as Senior Manager, Intelligence at Mubarak Bridge alongside his Project Guardian work.
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James 'Jay' Usher
Chief Operations Officer, Deeptrek. Co-Principal, Project Guardian
Jay is the co-principal of Project Guardian and the Chief Operations Officer of Deeptrek, the marine specialist operation that delivers Guardian's in-water capability. He brings more than forty years of marine industry experience across diving, ROV and USV systems, custom subsea tooling and senior project leadership.
Deeptrek's operating lineage traces back to 1986, when Jay founded the first iteration of the team under the name Discovery, working marine projects around the UK coast. The company has since reformed across jurisdictions, in Florida, Texas and most recently the UAE, with the team and the operating philosophy continuous throughout. Notable past projects include the Shell BC10 deepwater project in Brazil, managed from bid to first oil for Subsea7, leadership of unmanned surface vehicle operations across the Middle East for Fugro, and the 2011 Sir Francis Drake expedition off Portobelo, Panama, which located two sixteenth-century vessels believed to be Drake's final ships.
Operational team
Deeptrek's in-water capability
Subsea operations, ROV systems, environmental science, expedition logistics and field production.
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Gregg Mikolasek
Director of Expedition Logistics
Marine operations specialist, project manager and technical diver with more than 25 years in challenging environments. Holds an MS in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Science specialising in remote sensing and environmental science, with deep experience across underwater survey, sonar and remote sensing, marine salvage, expedition logistics and international field production for more than 20 film crews.
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Steffan Schulz
Head of Media, Producer and Director
Award-winning producer, director and underwater cinematographer with more than 35 years of international production experience across environmental documentaries, underwater filmmaking, television and commercial production. He created and produced Destination Diving, a 13-episode series filmed across 14 countries. For Project Guardian, Steffan leads media capture on deployment and the proposed documentary.
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Bob Curtis
Senior Subsea Operations Specialist
More than 40 years across commercial diving and deep operations: rescue and recovery, mixed-gas and saturation, and atmospheric suit systems. Bob has designed submarines and advanced offshore ROV technology and trained pilots for the US Navy and NASA.
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Derek Corley
Remote Technology Specialist
More than 30 years in subsea and marine operations: commercial diving on air and mixed gas, ROV completions, offshore survey and construction, with a reputation for deepwater expertise and subsea tooling.
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Warwick Green
Offshore Operations and ROV
More than 40 years across diving, salvage and marine construction, as diver and instructor, before moving to deepwater ROV operations. Has worked alongside Deeptrek's leadership since the company's first iteration.
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Dr Michael Haley
Environmental Consultant and Marine Specialist
More than 45 years in environmental consulting and marine science, with a focus on artificial reefs, ecosystem enhancement and salvage, and extensive experience with research submersibles and survey technologies. PhD Biology (UCSC), MS Biology (Lehigh), BSc Zoology (UWI).
In the field
Rabaul, October 2026
Partner organisation
Marinas Guardian
Marinas Guardian is a charitable partner of Project Guardian. Its leadership and advisers are listed for reference; the operational mission is delivered by Project Guardian and Deeptrek.
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Alexandra Dempsey
CEO-designate, Marinas Guardian
Marine scientist with more than 15 years in coral reef conservation, global partnerships, scientific initiatives and policy engagement. Expeditions in more than 25 countries, 20 publications, and a recognised voice in community-driven conservation.
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Mark Prendergast
Strategic Adviser, Marinas Guardian
Business leader and entrepreneur with more than 25 years in business transformation and global growth, including scaling Harris Pye through a management buyout to an exit across 25 countries. Now a non-executive director and strategic adviser specialising in M&A strategy and operational excellence.
Work with the team
Partnerships, scientific collaboration, or joining a deployment.