Blue Tech Innovation | Ocean Community | Circular Economy Principles

Advisory board

Our advisory board consists of dedicated individuals with experience from a variety of industries. Finding strength in their diverse backgrounds, their passion for the ocean unites them. Our advisors support OCC with their expertise and ensure that we achieve our goals. They are all committed to delivering a successful program with significant impact and great results.

Business Coaches

César Couto Ferreira

Fábrica do Futuro

César is a Viacom and Vice Media Alumni and Co-Founder of Fábrica do Futuro in Porto Alegre, Brazil. This innovation hub mixes culture, arts and technology and has been granted a merit award from the city of Porto Alegre for its work with Innovation and Technology Development of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. César also Co-Founded ONG Instituto Fábrica focused on mental health and education. He is an Advisory Board Member of Enrich in Brazil and Co-Founder of TippingUP media activism organisation focused on SDGs2030. Mentor and advisor of several startups and scale-ups globally. César is a passionate scuba diver who embraces the ocean below the surface.

Tomé

Canas

BGI

Tomé is passionate about innovation and development of new ideas, with more than 12 years of experience in innovation areas in large companies. He is currently the Head of Open Innovation at Building Global Innovators (BGI), a Portuguese accelerator. With his experience of innovation ecosystems and great enthusiasm to work and motivate multidisciplinary teams, Tomé brings together several critical skills to realize innovative projects that create value.

Gonçalo

Faria

Beta-i

Gonçalo is a Senior Account Manager at Beta-i, responsible for the mobility, tourism and blue economy sectors. He currently leads the Bluetech Accelerator program to boost innovation in the blue economy with a focus on ports and logistics. Gonçalo has more than 6 years of experience in international project management with expertise in strategy, management consulting and innovation projects, in countries such as Portugal, South Africa and Angola, and in several sectors as telco, retail, public administration and energy. He holds a degree in Economics and an international MBA

Benjamin

Lesage

Sustainable Ocean Alliance

Ben is passionate about the ocean and is an expert in technology and innovation. He has been an active startups’ mentor at SOA since 2018. Prior to joining SOA full-time, Ben worked for the innovation studio of BNP Paribas in San Francisco. In this tenure, he would provide advisory services to the Bank and large European corporations on their open innovation and startup engagement strategies. Ben enjoys spending his free time sailing and surfing.

Ron

Tardiff

Sustainable Ocean Alliance

Ron currently Leads the UpLink Ocean impact pillar of Friends of Ocean Action at the World Economic Forum in Geneva. Prior to this, he worked for nearly two years with the Sustainable Ocean Alliance to build the world’s largest network of young ocean leaders. While engaging and empowering ocean youth from many angles, at the start of the pandemic Ron built the Ocean Solutions Microgrant Program, the first program in the world to provide small grants to youth-led ocean projects on a global scale. The program, now in its second year, has funded nearly 200 projects in more than 50 countries. Ron has conducted research, developed strategy, managed projects, and supported outreach for 11 organizations on issues ranging from fisheries governance to marine education. Ron is a marine ecologist by training with degrees in Marine Sciences, Maritime Studies, Aquaculture, Environment & Society, and is finishing up a Master of Advanced Studies in Sustainable Blue Growth. He has studied all things ocean at 8 universities and research institutions around the world and has lived, worked or studied in 10 countries. Ron is a scientist and policy wonk at heart driven to improve ocean governance and innovation, increase equitable access to marine resources and services, and to conserve and restore ocean biodiversity.

Pedro Cerdeira

Business Plug

Pedro is a mentor, advisor and business angel passionate about the startup ecosystem, bridging the gap between investors and startups and helping companies to scale and develop their business internationally. He has mora than 25 years of experience in the Enterprise IT market, held several senior international business development, sales management and alliances and channel management positions in Oracle, Brocade, EMC2, Compaq/HP, Alcatel and Accenture. He holds a MSc in Computer Engineering, and 2 post-grads, Advanced Management Program for Executives, and Advanced
Program in Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management.

Angel Investor Panel

Anette Nordvall

Keiretsu Nordics

Anette leads the OCC Jury Assembly and is an active early stage tech investor focusing on ICT and deep-tech science based innovation while adding global environmental goals into the mist.

Anette has received multiple recognitions; One of Sweden’s most powerful tech investors 2016, Nordic 100 most influential persons 2018 and mentioned in EBAN 2018 report on 200+ most active Business Angels in Europe. Anette was also crowned “Sweden’s nicests Business Angel” at Venture Cup Sweden 2018. Anette is a Partner at Stockholm Business Angels, Managing General Partner at Nordvest, Venture Partner at Butterfly Ventures, Chairwoman at “We Don’t Have Time”, Managing Partner and founding investor at Cross Nordic Capital and is the Chapter President and CEO of Keiretsu Forum Nordics.

Advisors

Carlos Lobo

EY Portugal

Carlos Lobo is a member of the OCC Executive Board with roots in the Silver Coast of Portugal and a strong advocate for SMART urbanization and digitalization of the Public Sector.

Carlos is a Partner and Manager at the Tax Department of EY Portugal and has held positions as Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, Deputy to the Office of the Minister of Finance and served as an Advisor to the Office of the Minister of Finance.

Carlos has a PhD in Law and is a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, where he has also held positions as the Vice-rector and Pro-rector.

Miguel Brandão

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Dr. Miguel Brandão is Associate Professor in Industrial Ecology and Life Cycle Assessment at KTH, Stockholm. He works with the use of hard systems approaches that can robustly support decisions towards sustainable development. His research has focused on the integrated assessment of bio-based systems, with emphasis on their impacts on climate change, resource depletion, ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Sérgio Leandro

SmartOCEAN Peniche and ESTM Polytechnic Institute of Leiria

Sérgio is the deputy director of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (ESTM-IPLeiria) and the scientific coordinator of SmartOcean Science and Maritime Technology park in Peniche, Portugal. He is also a member of the MAB UNESCO Portuguese national committee and Co-Manager of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Berlengas. Sérgio is also a member of the MARE research unit, and a principal researcher of FCT Portugal and FEAMP projects within Marine Ecology, Marine Biotechnology, Fisheries and Aquaculture and Ocean Literacy.

Mafalda de Taborda Lourenço

Nunes&TabordaLourenço Advogados

Mafalda is the first chairwoman of the OCC Assembly Board, and an innovative and successful attorney. Mafalda is passionate about justice, court procedures and environmental responsibility.

Mafalda has lived all her life by the ocean and is an active member of the Lourinhã coastal community and west coastal region in Portugal, contributing to ecological initiatives and promoting a zero-waste-lifestyle.

Victoria Ramm

GFI / The Good Food Institute

Victoria works in Development at The Good Food Institute, an international nonprofit organization working to transform the global food system to a system that is sustainable and just by promoting the development of competitive alternatives to animal-based meat, eggs, and dairy. Victoria brings a unique blend of both nonprofit and startup experience; Her career ranges from years at The Humane Society of the United States, where she managed emerging media communications, advocacy, and fundraising, to technology, where she held various roles in business development. Victoria takes pride in connecting innovative thinkers with innovative projects globally.

Malin Friberg

Capgemini Invent

Malin works as a Senior Management Consultant within Capgemini Invent’s Strategy Team in Stockholm and has acquired project experience from industries such as Fintech, telecommunications, software, media, logistics, aviation and energy. Being part of Capgemini’s M&A silo she is familiar with both buy-side and sell-side and has worked with new tech such as AI/machine learning, solar photovoltaics and next-generation telco solutions.

Through this joint perspective Malin has developed a passion for leading market change through the use of state-of-the-art technology. Malin holds a dual M.Sc. Degree in International Business and CEMS International Management at the Stockholm School of Economics and University of Sydney Business School.

Niklas Knutsson

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Niklas grew up on a peninsula in rural Northeast Sweden and is conscious of the need to find new business models that revive both the biodiversity of the ocean and rural coastal societies. He believes that the development of ecologically, economically and socially sustainable blue business is key to healthy ocean communities, and promotes those business models that are scalable. Niklas is based in Lisbon as Secretary-General of the Swedish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce.