Blue Economy - Investing in the future of our ocean communities

Speakers

Dr. Sylvia Earle

President & Chairman
Mission Blue

Dr. Sylvia Earle is an American marine biologist, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence since 1998, as the first female chief scientists of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Time named her its first Hero for the Planet. She is President and Chair of Mission Blue / The Sylvia Earl Alliance, a coalition dedicated to supporting marine protected areas.

Bill Tai

VC, Athlete, Chairman
ACTAI

Bill Tai has been funding companies as a Venture Capitalist since 1991 and has had 22 companies he backed at the early stage grow to become listed companies. He has served on 8 public company boards from his portfolio and was the first investor in Zoom, Canva, and Wish. He is also Chairman of ACTAI Global - a 501(c)3 uniting Athletes, Conservationists, Technologists, Artists & Innovators supporting 'active conservation' of our environment and economic empowerment via entrepreneurship.

Achim Steiner

Administrator
UNDP

Achim Steiner became United Nations Development Programme Administrator on 19 June 2017 and will serve for a term of four years. Mr. Steiner is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which unites 40 entities of the UN system that work to support sustainable development. Over nearly three decades, Achim Steiner has been a global leader on sustainable development, climate resilience and international cooperation. He led the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), helping governments invest in clean technologies and renewable energy.

Nikola Simpson

Head of Exploration
UNDP Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Accelerator Lab

Having been born and raised in the small island nation of Barbados in the Eastern Caribbean, the Ocean has always been a key part of Nikola’s life. From learning to swim before she could walk, Nikola is passionate about the Ocean, its diverse ecosystems as well as the people whose livelihoods depend upon it. She is currently head of the UNDP Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Accelerator Lab where she seeks to co – create solutions to challenges in sectors of the blue economy such as fisheries, waste management and renewable energy through innovation at the grassroots level.

Ehsan Gul

Head of Experimentation
UNDP Pakistan Accelerator Lab

Ehsan is a social innovation strategist and an entrepreneur with a passion to maintain and further sustainability goals and innovative practices in businesses. He has a Masters in Sustainability and Innovation Management from the University of Nottingham, UK. Ehsan institutes rapid learning to emerging development challenges such as plastics pollution by designing and running portfolio of experiments in close coordination with teams at the United Nations and local communities in Pakistan while forging ambitious partnerships with the private sector to identify strengthened innovation solutions.

Javeria Masood

Head of Solutions Mapping
UNDP Pakistan

Javeria leads the systemic design, strategic foresight, and ethnographic front of the Accelerator Lab in Pakistan. She focuses on reimaging, restructuring and iterating on disruptive localized solutions team to run experiments through tactical approaches. She is a social development specialist and an expert in organizational transformation, with experience in the fields of urbanism, social innovation, academia, and design thinking.