JV

Regional Head of Business Development, Americas  ·  Weathernews Inc.

Jesse Vecchione

Weather and climate intelligence at the operational edge. Twenty years turning forecasts into decisions across shipping, aviation, energy, agriculture, logistics, and government — and the API customers building on the data.

Braintree, Massachusetts  ·  Boston-based, globally on the road

LinkedIn Email
Jesse Vecchione

01  ·  About

From Cape Cod to Tokyo, and back.

I was born about a hundred meters from the ocean on Cape Cod. The water has been part of my life from the start. I studied meteorology in Vermont while working at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — one of the most respected ocean science institutions in the world. That pairing of atmospheric science and oceanography became the foundation for everything I've done since.

I joined Weathernews more than twenty years ago — as a forecaster and voyage planner, working the operational end of the business. That foundation shapes everything I do commercially: I can read a weather situation the way a captain reads it, and translate that into a conversation with a fleet owner or C-suite buyer. Over time I moved into operations management, then strategic development in Japan from 2009 to 2015, then Director of European Operations — where I built offices in Copenhagen and Athens and led the commercial work that secured the WNI–Maersk agreement in 2015, one of the most significant weather-routing partnerships in commercial shipping at the time. I've spent the last several years building the Americas business from Boston.

Along the way I've visited more than thirty-five countries, met with operators on every kind of vessel imaginable, walked terminals and trading floors, sat in ministry offices, and developed a working perspective on what is common across global industry — and what is specific to each market.

02  ·  What I do

Turning weather into action — across industries.

My job is to find the places where weather and climate are driving operational and financial decisions — and help the people there make better ones. That spans shipping, aviation, energy, agriculture, logistics, ports, commodities, and government. I also run the weather-API and data business for the Americas, working with companies that want to embed weather intelligence directly into their own platforms. The clients range from global shipowners and canal authorities to airlines, growers, energy operators, trading desks, and federal agencies — across North, Central, and South America. The conversation is always different. The question is always the same: how do you turn a forecast into a decision?

Jesse Vecchione at the Weathernews operations center
At the Weathernews operations center — Chiba, Japan.

03  ·  Selected highlights

A few things I'm proud of.

  1. 01

    Twenty-plus years at Weathernews

    Roles spanning European operations, Japan-based Value Creation and Planning, and Americas business development leadership.

  2. 02

    U.S. Senate statement for the record

    Submitted formal testimony to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries in support of the SHIPS for America Act — advocating for revitalizing U.S. commercial maritime.

  3. 03

    Conference speaking

    London International Shipping Week (2023) · Nautical Institute US Branches Conference (2024, 2025) · SHIPPINGInsight Forum, Houston (2025) · Deep Tech Innovation Forum, New York (2025) · Maritime Reporter TV interview (2026).

  4. 04

    External Reviewer, MassCEC

    Engaging with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center's offshore wind and clean energy ecosystem.

  5. 05

    Pioneered industry-standard routing methodology

    Led development of an Optimum Ship Routing methodology during the Japan years that became the de facto industry standard for the following decade — directly reducing fuel consumption and emissions across the global fleet.

  6. 06

    Americas market leadership

    Doubled Americas revenue between 2019 and 2024. Built new service solutions for non-commercial maritime operators, established connections with federal agencies and governmental entities, and developed Weathernews' commercial presence across shipping, aviation, energy, and government markets across the hemisphere.

  7. 07

    $6.9M+ ARR in named competitive wins

    Personally closed over $6.9M in annual recurring revenue across seven named competitive RFPs — winning against entrenched incumbents across tanker, bulk, container, and commodity segments over 22 years.

04  ·  Writing & press

Talking shop in public.

In the press

On LinkedIn

05  ·  How I think about the work

Four ideas, after two decades in the industry.

Weather is decision intelligence, not data.

Data is cheap. Good decisions in complex operational environments are not. The companies that win are the ones who turn weather into action.

Human-in-the-loop is a feature, not a limitation.

I've worked alongside Japanese forecasters and engineers long enough to know that craftsmanship and judgment, paired with technology, produce outcomes that black-box algorithms can't match.

Every industry I touch is being reshaped at once.

Decarbonization, AI, geopolitical reshuffling of trade routes, climate risk hitting operations directly — every conversation, in every sector, touches at least one of these. The industries that move physical things — ships, planes, cargo, crops, energy, commodities — need partners who can think strategically and technically at the same time.

Proximity to customers matters.

I spend a lot of time in person with the people who actually run vessels and operations. It's the foundation of every credible commercial strategy I've built.

06  ·  Outside of work

What I'm into when the laptop closes.

My roots are on Cape Cod and in Woods Hole, and I still feel most at home near salt water. Beyond that, a handful of things keep me curious year after year.

Music
Playing, recording, and going to concerts. A lifelong thread.
Onsens
Two decades of work in Japan turned me into a serious connoisseur of hot springs.
Hiking
New England trails, mountain ranges abroad, the long quiet kind of walk.
Critical theory
Reading widely across philosophy and social theory — the stuff that asks why, not just how.
Futurology
Where technology, climate, and geopolitics are heading next — and what it means for the industries I work with.
Land development & investing
A long-standing personal interest. My work as an external reviewer for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center keeps me close to where offshore wind and clean energy infrastructure are actually being built.
Japanese language & culture
Constantly practicing Japanese — and going deeper into Japanese business culture, which rewards patience and precision in ways that most Western markets don't.
Travel
Thirty-five countries and counting, mostly through work, occasionally on purpose.
On a rooftop in Rome
At the Pantheon, Rome
Espresso at a Paris café
In the streets of Mumbai
At the Roman Agora, Athens
On the bridge at Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome
Near The Shard, London
A quiet temple garden in Japan
Wearing a formal kimono in Japan
At a rural train station in Japan
At Takeoka station, Japan
Off-duty in Japan, holding a giant yuzu citrus
Overlooking Alicante at sunset, Spain
Panoramic view over a Spanish city
In Copenhagen, Denmark
At the Tower of London
In the Vatican Museums courtyard, Rome
At the summit of Mt. Oyama, Japan
On the road in Rio de Janeiro
Taking a break somewhere in Scandinavia
A snowy day in Hamburg, Germany

07  ·  Get in touch

Always open to a good conversation.

Whether you're exploring a partnership, considering a speaking invitation, looking for advisory input on weather or climate intelligence strategy, or just want to talk through what's happening in the industry — reach out.

LinkedIn /in/jvecc Email jesse.vecchione@gmail.com
Based in Braintree, Massachusetts
Company Weathernews Inc.