Mark's relationship with the sea began many decades ago; when as a child growing up in Dublin, he was inspired by seeing programmes featuring Jacques Cousteau on the television. Anxious to try it out for himself, he developed an interest in watersports and says he was always at his happiest when away from dry land.

So when figuring out what to study in college, the answer was simple and Mark travelled to Galway in 1978 to study marine science at NUI, Galway. He immediately fell in love with both the city and the course and decided to prolong his studies by undertaking a PhD in marine science also. Since then, Mark has had an "odyssey of careers" but it all began when he travelled out to Ros Muc to begin fish farming with Camus Fisheries.

"I started on Friday the thirteenth, and at the time, I thought to myself 'is this some kind of an omen?' Luckily, I loved the job, and while I started on the technical side of things, I progressed to production manager over the five years that I was there," he explains.

With the skills he developed over his time in Ros Muc, Mark then decided to cross over to the Irish Seafood Producers Group, where he was taken on as a technical intermediary. This was a great post for Mark as it allowed him to combine his marketing skills and marine knowledge. Working in such a dynamic environment made Mark realise that he loved the "cut and thrust of the business world" and in 1995, he decided that he wanted to find a more commercial technical post. However, this proved to be easier said than done.

"In 1995, the whole technical industry was booming and I set out to find a new post. But despite my skills and experience, everywhere I turned people were thinking 'You look like fish, you smell like fish, you are fish!' So after a period of uncertainty, I found out that the newly opened Marine Institute were looking to take on people as the first set of programme managers. I got the position and it was a wonderfully exciting time."

While Mark thoroughly enjoyed working at the Marine Institute, he had always intended to go back into the private sector and in 1999, he joined Pat Hartigan to develop Nowcasting – a global marine forecasting company. He soon took the mantle of managing director and the company has gone from strength to strength ever since. According to Mark, the biggest challenge was making people aware of the reliability of their information as many sailors were inclined to use more established services such as Met Eireann.

"It was an interesting time and a great challenge. I don't think we realised just how big of a challenge it was going to be, to be honest! Weather is so critical when you are out on the sea and people worry about credibility, so the first couple of years were tough. Luckily, the tide turned and we have been the fastest growing met-ocean company in the country for the last three or four years. We have also started offering a new service called askmoby.com, which is a completely free weather service that can be accessed on the Internet and on mobile phones. It offers very specific information for areas like Athenry and Oughterard so it can provide targeted measures of wind and waves for those who need it."