Speakers

Kęstutis Sadauskas is a Lithuanian national. He holds a Master's degree from Vilnius University in Political Science/International Relations and Geography. From 1993 until 2006 he worked at the Lithuanian Foreign Service on multilateral issues. In September 2006 Kęstutis Sadauskas was appointed Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Vilnius. From April 2010 until October 2014 he was Head of the Cabinet of Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta responsible for Taxation, Customs, Anti-fraud, Audit and Statistics. From November 2014 until March 2022 Kęstutis Sadauskas was the Director for Circular Economy and Green Growth at the Directorate-General for Environment of the European Commission. Since 1st April 2022 Kestutis Sadauskas has been Deputy Director-General at the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission.

Jessica Brown is head of engagement at Back to Blue, an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation. Jessica leads Back to Blue's work on ocean chemical pollution and stakeholder engagement, including the recently published 'A global ocean free from the harmful impacts of pollution: Roadmap for action'. Jessica is also the co-founder of The Action Exchange, a thought leadership, research and stakeholder engagement agency specialising in sustainability, finance and technology.

Jean-Pierre Gattuso is CNRS Scientist at Sorbonne University and the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations. He studies the effects of global change on marine ecosystems and their services. He also investigates ocean-based solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. He co-edited the first book on ocean acidification and contributed to several IPCC products (AR5 and AR6).

Professor Dato' Dr Aileen Tan made a conscious decision at the beginning of her career to put community ahead of personal interest. For Aileen Tan, research is something that should be about creating impact, not just about academia publications for promotions. A pioneer in the area of green aquaculture in Malaysia, she has been a champion of mollusc culture for the last 35 years. Her work with mollusc culture, which is centred on providing an alternative livelihood for coastal communities, is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 1) of reducing poverty while aiming to stimulate actions to promote prosperity and protecting the planet to achieve sustainable development (in line with Blue Economy). Her track record in green aquaculture is testament that a balance between generating profit and looking after Mother Earth is possible.

Dr. Imogen Napper is a marine scientist focusing on the different sources of plastic pollution into the environment; this has helped to influence legislation banning microbeads in facial scrubs, investigated how we are polluting the planet through washing and wearing our clothes, demonstrated that biodegradable plastics bags could still hold a full load of shopping after being submerged in the ocean after three years and found the highest microplastics on Earth near Mt. Everest summit. Additionally, she focuses on the efficiency and feasibility of proposed solutions aimed at plastic pollution mitigation. Her research shows how small changes can make a big difference and that larger environmental commitments are needed by industry and governments globally.

Marc Simon brings 30 years of experience in the water industry and circulation economy in France and globally (Australia, China, Africa) for large municipalities and industries mainly as CEO, Project Development Director, Innovation Director. Through his career path, he developed a true conviction that smart business models can combine environmental protection, sustainable economy and reduced poverty. He also developed a passion for vision and leadership to embark and lead highly-committed teams, a deep sense of what makes the difference for impactful and competitive solutions alongside a strong expertise in water technologies, water cycle management and circular economy. His experience in establishing multi-stakeholder partnerships through large PPP infrastructure projects and open innovation programs is combined with a strong multicultural exposure in working with very diverse coastal communities for wastewater and storm management, urban cleaning services, seawater desalination, aquifer recharge, centralised wastewater facility on industrial parks. Marc is currently innovation and strategic project SVP at SUEZ France. Previously, he was a member of the Scientific Council of IHEST (Institut des Hautes Etudes pour les Sciences et les Technologies) and Foreign Business Counselor to the French Embassy in Australia and New Zealand.

Dr. Steven Thur is the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (NOAA). In this role, Thur oversees research activities at 10 laboratories and six research programs that focus on understanding the complex systems that support our planet. Dr. Thur’s career with the NOAA has focused on applying science to the management, restoration and conservation of marine resources. He has a particular emphasis on how both the biophysical and social sciences are used to sustain coastal ecosystems and the vibrant human communities that depend upon them for livelihoods, recreation and as a place for connecting with nature. Dr. Thur has also served NOAA in different capacities including as the director of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, and Economist for the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration. Dr. Thur received a Ph.D. in marine policy from the University of Delaware’s Graduate College of Marine Studies. He holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and economics from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Claire is Head of Unit in the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in the OECD. She is in charge of the OECD research and analysis on the economics and innovation dimensions of two important frontier domains: the ocean and the space environment. Many economic activities, as well as much science and innovation, are linked to the exploration and sustainable uses of the ocean and of the space environment. Claire Jolly has over twenty years of experience in business and policy analysis, supporting decision-making and strategic planning in public and private organisations in Europe and North America. She joined the OECD in 2003. She has authored and contributed to over fifty publications (books, reports, articles) focusing on the evolution and economic impacts of science- and technology-intensive sectors. Her background is in international economics (Univ. Versailles, Cornell University), engineering with a special interest in the space sector (ENSTA, Paris; ISU in Strasbourg). She is also an alumna of the French Institute for Higher National Defence Studies in Paris (IHEDN) and of the Singularity University in Santa Clara, US.

Dr. Sergi Tudela i Casanovas holds a Ph.D. in fisheries ecology from the University of Girona and two M.Scs. in biology and applied oceanology from the University of Barcelona and the University of Perpignan, respectively. After working for eight years as a scientist at the Spanish National Research Council, Dr. Tudela moved to the WWF, where he spent 15 years as head of its fisheries programme for the Mediterranean region. Dr. Tudela has authored dozens of scientific papers and some books on fisheries and marine issues and contributed expertise to international organisations, including the FAO. He has been honoured with the WWF Award for Conservation Merit (2013), the Catalan Fisheries Award (2015) and the Award of the Official Association of Biologists of Catalonia (2024). In January 2016 he was appointed Director-General for Maritime Policy and Sustainable Fisheries with the Government of Catalonia.

Atsushi Sunami is the President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, as well as the President of the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. He is also Director of the SciREX Center, Executive Advisor to the President at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), and Guest Professor at the Research Organization for Nano and Life Innovation at Waseda University, Japan. He is currently serving as a member of the Basic Policy Group under the Committee on National Space Policy in the Cabinet Office, also as Chair of the Space Utilization Promotion Round-table under the Minister for Space Policy in the Cabinet Office. In addition, he is a member of the Innovation Strategy for Security and Safety at the Cabinet Office and on the Advisory Board for the Promotion of Science and Technology Diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan. He holds a BSFS from Georgetown University and an MIA and PhD in Political Science from Columbia University.

Peter Mosby Haugan is Policy Director at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research and professor of oceanography at the Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen. He serves as Lead Expert of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy and was chair of IOC 2015-2019.

Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted is the Director for Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact Area Platform, CGIAR. She was awarded the 2021 World Food Prize for her ground-breaking research, critical insights, and landmark innovations in developing holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquatic food systems. She was awarded the 2021 Arrell Global Food Innovation Award for research innovation. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS), and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub. She was Vice-Chair of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Action Track 4 – Advance Equitable Livelihoods, and also a Food Systems Champion. In 2022, Shakuntala was appointed co-chair of the EAT-Lancet 2.0 Commission. She holds a PhD from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark. She holds Honorary Doctorates from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and The University of the West Indies.

Almotaz Abadi is the UfM Deputy Secretary General in charge of Water, Environment and Blue Economy since September 2022.

Previously, Abadi held the Water Managing Director position at the UfM, leading initiatives on the water political process in the Mediterranean, including a Ministerial Declaration and approving a regional water strategy, linking resource efficiency with bolstering investment and financing for the services sectors, including water and renewable energy.

Before the UfM, he was the director of the Aid Coordination and Management Unit with the donor community and the Government of Palestine in the water and related sectors. Also, he had a main role in the EXACT program, led by the State Department and coalition of Donors to enhance the socio-economic aspects, and helping build just and equal opportunities with the framework of the MEPP.

Abadi is an international and regional cooperation expert, engineering by training and accredited diplomat by experience. He developed his career during the last 20 years working with international donor agencies, international and regional organizations as well as policy advisers to governments in the region.

He holds a master’s degree in Water Resources Management and one in Governance, as well as a postgraduate in leadership and multilateral cooperation on resources and cross border arrangements.

Professor Dwikorita Karnawati currently serves as the Head of the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics of the Republic of Indonesia. Additionally, she is the Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and an WMO Executive Council Member. She also chairs the Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS). Furthermore, Professor Karnawati is a Steering Committee Member of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS).

Mark Heine joined Fugro in 2000 and served in various positions, including geodesist on various onshore and offshore survey projects, managing director Africa, regional manager Europe-Africa, Director of the Survey division, Executive Committee member and division director. He joined Fugro’s former Executive Committee in 2013, was appointed to the Board of Management in April 2015 and appointed to CEO in October 2018. Additionally, Mark is a member of the board of directors and chair of the Dutch marine contractor association IRO. He is also co-chair of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Corporate Data Group. He holds a master’s degree in Geodetic Engineering from Delft University of Technology.

Dr. Patricia Miloslavich is the Program Lead of the East Antarctic Monitoring Program with the Australian Antarctic Division. The program aims to implement sustained, long-term scientific observations of essential biological, physical, and biogeochemical variables in East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Between 2020 and 2023, Patricia was the Executive Director of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), an international body aimed to advance ocean science and address global issues requiring a multidisciplinary approach.

​She is a marine biologist with a PhD in Oceanography from the University of Quebec at Rimouski, and a retired senior professor from Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela. For the last 30 years, she has worked with international programs addressing scientific, technological, capacity development, and sustainability challenges related to marine biodiversity and biological oceanography.

She was the International Project Officer of the Biology and Ecosystems Panel from the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) coordinating activities to implement global sustained observations of marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Patricia played key roles with the Census of Marine Life program, the SCOR Executive Committee and with the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network of GEO-BON. She contributed to the IOC/UNESCO Ocean Sciences and Ocean Observations sections, the UN Ocean Conferences, the IPBES global assessment and the UN World Ocean Assessments I and II among others. She was the President of the International Association for Biological Oceanography (IABO). Patricia was the recipient in 2015 of the Venezuelan National Science Award.

Pierre Bahurel is the Director General of Mercator Ocean, international centre for the ocean based in Toulouse, France. He leads for IOC/UNESCO the development of the Ocean Decade Collaborative Centre for ocean prediction and chairs the GOOS international expert team on operational ocean forecasting. He is committed to the development of open and collaborative operational oceanography and leads the European Union's Copernicus marine service, coordinating a network of expert providers in Europe to serve thousands of users worldwide.

Ann-Christine Zinkann holds a PhD in marine biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She joined NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) as a Marine Policy Fellow in 2020 and is now a program manager with UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) working for NOAA's Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing (GOMO) Program in the United States. She works on international relations, strategic developments and alignment of activities of NOAA on the international stage. She co-leads the GOOS Ocean Observing Co-Design program, supports OCG (Observations Coordination Group), AtlantOS, Data Strategy development within her program, co-leads the Boundary Currents team development of observational requirements and observing system design, manage the US contribution of OceanOPS and works on AG Ocean to better integrate the ocean in activities of the World Meteorological Organization.

In addition to Chief Scientist of ESRI, Dr. Wright is a professor of Geography and Oceanography at Oregon State University, an elected member of both the US National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering, and in July 2022 became the first Black person of any gender to dive to Challenger Deep, deepest point in the ocean.

Kimberly Mathisen is a CEO and board member who loves the challenge of helping organisations find new sources of energy and growth and more innovative and sustainable business models. In January 2022, Kimberly became the CEO of HUB Ocean, a non-profit foundation aimed at becoming the world’s ocean data collaboration hub. Their goal is to change the fate of the ocean by unleashing the power of data, technology and collaboration. She has more than 25 years of experience in the private sector in digitalization and technology, branded consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals in North America, Europe and Asia, most recently leading a period of enormous growth and transformation as the General Manager of Microsoft Norway. She serves on the Supervisory Board of Bayer AG and the Board of Directors of Aker Biomarine, Aker Horizons and Aize. She has been named as one of Norway’s most influential leaders by Kapital and one of Norway’s top female executives in technology by Abelia and Oda Network.