MIAMI—National Marine Manufacturers Association president Thom Dammrich this morning presented the Alan J. Freedman Memorial Leadership Award to Giuseppe Carnevali, whose many accomplishments in the marine industry included developing the first chartplotter.
“The world’s first electronic chart navigator was put on the market 35 years ago by this year’s recipient, Giuseppe Carnevali,” said Dammrich.
The Freedman award is intended to honor individuals who’ve made outstanding contributions to the marine accessories industry through leadership, creativity and personal motivation.
Upon receiving the award, Carnevali said he couldn’t believe that “100 percent of navigation equipment uses our technology.” In addition to building Navionics to a company with more than 400 people in offices in three countries, he also developed the 34 app in the iTunes store. Today, there are millions.
Carnevali earned a Doctor of Mechanical Engineering and Naval architecture from the University of Genova in 1971. After spending time in the Italian Navy, he became the production manager for the Benetti Shipyard and was the project manager for the megayacht Nabila. Following this he launched a company that introduced the first CAD-CAM technology and computer graphics programs for Italian shipbuilding.
In addition to his success in the marine industry, Carnevali, who is a father and great grandfather, founded the Carnevali Foundation to help build schools for children in underprivileged countries. In India, the foundation operates an orphanage and six schools that educate 2000 girls who otherwise might have grown up without an education.
