Victor Vescovo
Victor Vescovo is not your typical boat owner – if there is such a thing. Like a few first-time buyers, the Texan private equity investor has enjoyed considerable success on Wall Street, and was looking for an exciting new toy.
Acting as an intelligence officer for the US Navy Reserve for 20 years, he was vice-president of product development at a company called Military Advantage, which helped Americans with military associations to access recruitment services, educational opportunities and more. The platform was sold to careers giant Monster in 2004 and he then went on to co-found Insight Equity, a Texas-based private equity firm.
The toy he ended up with, however, was no fresh-from-the-yard pleasure boat. It was DSSV (deep submersible support vessel) , a 68.3-metre former US Navy ship intended for serious business. Refitted to accommodate 47 people – including 19 crew and 12 technical specialists – it’s got dry and wet science labs, full ocean-deep sonar, and an 11.2-metre Triton 36000/2 submersible. Called , it’s the only submarine in the world that’s able to do multiple dives to the very bottom of the ocean floor, and has a “depth unlimited” rating – something that’s been put to the test recently, as Vescovo, EYOS Expeditions and Nekton Mission journeyed together to the very bottom of each of the
