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II SUSTAINABLE
BLUE ECONOMY



INVESTMENT FORUM

OCT 4



CASCAIS - PORTUGAL

REGISTRATION



About


ABOUT

Introductory Remarks

Following the success of the first edition, held alongside the 2022 UN Ocean
Conference, Portugal is committed to organize the II edition of the Sustainable
Blue Economy Investment Forum (SBEIF) on the 4th of October.


This II edition of SBEIF pursues the previous objectives, aiming to mobilize
economic agents and scaling up the financing tools to promote a sustainable blue
economy, while raising awareness to innovative ocean action.


The ocean is a key driver for sustainable development in line with Sustainable
Development Goal 14 of the UN Agenda 2030, to conserve and sustainably use the
oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. Everyone without
exception is called to be an active agent towards this goal. The organization of
the II edition of the SBEIF is our commitment to sustainably develop a strong
economic growth together with a healthy ocean, creating blue jobs and
contributing to an equitable wealthy society.


The 10 principles of the UN Global Compact represent the commitment to human
development, calling for a precautionary approach by companies towards
environmental challenges, valuing prevention over reaction, in favor of an
initial preventive and environmentally more effective and efficient behavior.


SBEIF 2023 takes place after the historic decision reached at COP 27, held in
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which approved financial assistance for developing
countries to finance losses and damages in areas affected by climate change. It
was emphasized that the current global crisis cannot be a justification for
deprioritizing climate action.


SBEIF 2023 calls everyone to be an active agent with inspiring and game-changing
ideas.














Speakers


SPEAKERS








Main Auditorium

António Costa
Prime Minister of Portugal

António Costa Silva
Minister of the Economy and Maritime Affairs of Portugal


António Costa Silva was born in Angola in 1952.

He has a degree in Mining Engineering from the Lisbon University Higher
Technical Institute, a master’s degree in Petroleum from Imperial College
(University of London), a PhD in Petrol Reserve Engineering from Lisbon
University Higher Technical Institute and Imperial College.

He is professor emeritus at the Lisbon University Higher Technical Institute,
where he also taught Planning and Integrated Management of Energy Resources.

Upon invitation of the Portuguese Government, in 2020 he drafted the Strategic
Vision for Portugal’s Economic Recovery Plan for 2020-2030 and presided over the
National Steering Committee for the Recovery and Resilience Programme since May
2021.

Chairman of the Partex Executive Committee from 2004 to 2021.

He was Director of Reservoir Engineering and Production at Beicip-Franlab, the
corporate branch of the French Petroleum Institute (Paris, 2001-2003) and
Executive Director of the Compagnie Géneral de Geophysique in Portugal
(1998-2001). He began his professional career at Sonangol (Angola) in 1980, and
from 1984 to 1997 he worked at the Portuguese Service Company.

Throughout his career, he was charged with coordinating several international
energy projects, particularly the Middle East, Algeria, Mexico, Venezuela,
Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Angola.

He was selected in 2002 by the International Court of the Stockholm Chamber of
Commerce as the expert charged with solving the legal and technical dispute
between two of the major oil companies in the world in an oil rig on the China
sea.

Since 2018, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Aveiro University;
he was also Chairman of the Fuel Board of the regulator - ERSE, member of the
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Advisory Board and Chairman of the Water
Initiative Advisory Board at Católica University in Lisbon.

He was member of the ISCTE- Lisbon University Institute Board of Trustees and
the Advisory Board of the Gulbenkian Programme for Development Aid.

He was a guest speaker at international conferences on energy, energy and
geopolitics, and has published several articles and papers in the fields of
energy, strategy, geopolitics, and international relations.

Peter Thomson
UN Special Envoy for the Ocean


Ambassador Peter Thomson is the UNSG’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, in which
role he leads global support for the implementation of UN Sustainable
Development Goal 14, to conserve and sustainably use the Ocean’s resources. He
served as President of the UN General Assembly, 2016-17. He was Fiji’s Permanent
Representative to the UN, 2010-2016, during which time he led the Executive
Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS and was elected as President of the International
Seabed Authority’s Assembly and Council. He is the founding Co-Chair of the
World Economic Forum’s Friends of Ocean Action and is a supporting member of the
High-Level Panel for Sustainable Ocean Economy.

Hervé Berville
Secretary of State for the Sea (France)

Carlos Carreiras
Mayor of Cascais



He was vice-president of the Partido Social Democrata (PSD) between 2014 and
2016, vice-president of the Executive Committee of the Union of Portuguese
Speaking Capital Cities (2017/2019), vice-president of Cascais City Council
(2005/2011), president of the Congress and General Council of the National
Association of Municipalities (2013/2017) and president of the Francisco Sá
Carneiro Institute until March 2013.

He graduated from the Lisbon Institute of Accounting and Administration in 1987
and worked in Europe, South America and Africa in companies in the hospitality
and mass consumption sectors until 2005. It was then that he felt the call of
municipal politics.

Founder of the JSD and national leader of the PSD, Carlos Carreiras has been a
strong advocate for public policies dedicated to the promotion of talent and
entrepreneurship.

He has received several distinctions, such as the First Class National Defense
Medal, awarded by the Minister of National Defense, the First Order of the
Republic, awarded by the government of Moldova, and the National Medal of Merit,
awarded by the government of Romania. Carlos Carreiras was also awarded the
Medal of Recognition from AMI - Assistência Médica Internacional, in recognition
of his support for the organization.

For his work in fighting the pandemic and for the vision of sustainable
development applied to Cascais, Carlos Carreiras was nominated for the title of
"World Mayor 2021".

Carlos Carreiras writes the weekly column "Com Vista para o Atlântico" in the
"i" newspaper on Wednesdays.

He was born in Lisbon in 1961, but it wasn't long before he moved to Cascais,
where he never left. He is married and the father of five daughters.




Panel 1 - Ocean as a Clean Energy Source and a Sustainable Driver for World
Trade

Pedro Amaral Jorge
CEO at APREN - The Portuguese Renewable Energy Association

Pedro Amaral Jorge graduated in Mechanical Engineering at Instituto Superior
Técnico, and also has an MBA with focus on Finance and Operations, from IESE /
AESE.

In his previous professional experience, he worked as a specialist in
structuring and financing projects for the African Development Bank (AfDB), in
the areas of Infrastructure, Energy and Water and Sanitation.

In addition to his career, Pedro Amaral Jorge also has a history of developing
projects for public service concessions and BOT (Build Operate and Transfer) as
well as financing, planning, construction and management, accumulating more than
20 years of international experience, having worked and lived in different
markets, especially in Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East.

He has a total of 25 years of professional experience in top management
positions in companies such as Mitsubishi / METITO Utilities, Indaqua /
Mota-Engil Group, SACYR / SOMAGUE and IDOM.

He joined APREN in December 2018, serving as CEO.

Maja Markovčić Kostelac
Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency

Ms Maja Markovčić Kostelac took up the position of Executive Director of the
European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) on 1 January 2019. She is responsible for
the running and development of the Agency under the oversight of its
Administrative Board.

Starting out as a maritime lawyer, she has subsequently gained long-standing
experience in the maritime field in both the public and private sector.

Prior to joining EMSA, Ms Markovčić Kostelac was State Secretary for Croatia’s
Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. Her duties entailed
developing strategies, policies and legislation in the area of maritime
transport, maritime safety, security and environmental protection. In this role,
she also led the Croatian delegation in a range of international forums at the
United Nations, such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the
International Labour Organization (ILO).

During her time at Croatia’s Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure
she held a number of positions, including Director of the Maritime Policy
Directorate. She also served as Director of the Croatian Shipowners’ Association
(Mare Nostrum).

Since joining EMSA, Ms Markovčić Kostelac has established the Agency’s five-year
strategy (2020-2024) and organises its implementation. She has led EMSA’s work
on a range of strategic and operational issues, including the maritime dimension
of the European Green Deal, the development of enhanced digital solutions for
national level administrations and relevant authorities, and the provision of
support at international level to the European Commission and Member States at
the IMO.

Tor Arne Johnsen
EU Advisor, Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster


Tor Arne Johnsen is working as EU Advisor for Norwegian Offshore Wind, the
largest industrial cluster in Norway. He is in charge of EU policy in the
cluster and covers also several of the European markets in the cluster such as
Portugal, Spain, UK, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Greece.

He is a member in the advisory committee on offshore wind for the Greek
Government.

He has previously worked for Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry and has
also been CEO for an EU Consultancy firm in Brussels.

Mr. Johnsen has a master’s degree in Economics from University of Oslo.

Roland Roesch
Director, Innovation and Technology Center, IRENA


Dr. Roland Roesch has been Director at the Innovation and Technology Center
(IITC) in the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) since June 2023. In
this role, he oversees the agency's work on advising member countries on energy
scenarios and planning, power sector transformation, renewable generation, cost
and markets, technology status and innovation outlooks, and project development
guidelines. Before becoming Director, he served as IITC Deputy Director from
2018.

Roland joined IRENA in 2012 and has worked in multiple work programs since. For
two years prior to joining IRENA, Roland had been Professor for Energy Economics
at the University of Applied Science in Damstadt. Previously, he worked for 15
years in the oil and gas and utilities industries for Shell and E.ON, latterly
as General Manager Power with Shell and as Head of Division, Project Leader,
Project Executive and Technical Project Developer with E.ON. Previously, he
worked as an Energy Market Consultant for Lahmeyer International and as a
researcher in renewable energy. Roland has solid business experience in energy
markets, energy economics and strategies, renewable integration management,
energy project development and project financing.


Arsenio Dominguez Velasco
Director of the Marine Environment Division of International Maritime
Organization

Mr. Dominguez currently serves as Director, Marine Environment Division of the
International Maritime Organization (IMO), having served previously as Director,
Administrative Division and Chief of Staff. Before joining IMO in July 2017, Mr.
Dominguez worked for the Panama Maritime Authority starting in 1998 as Head of
the Regional Technical and Documentation Office for Europe and North Africa, and
as Alternate Representative and Technical Adviser of Panama to IMO from 2004 to
2014. In July 2014 he was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative of
Panama to IMO.

From 1998 to 2017, Mr Dominguez represented Panama at IMO, as well as at the
International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Oil Pollution
Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds) and the International Mobile Satellite
Organisation (IMSO). He also represented Panama at several shipping conferences,
forums, exhibitions, seminars and workshops.

Having chaired a number of meetings at international organisations, Mr.
Dominguez was elected Chair of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee
(MEPC) from 2014 to 2017, having previously served as Vice-chair from 2012 to
2013. He was also elected Chair of the Technical Committee at the 29th IMO
Assembly in 2015, Chair of IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) Working Group
on Maritime Security and Piracy from 2010 to 2014, and Vice-Chair of the
Subcommittee of Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) from 2009 to
2011.

Mr. Dominguez holds a Naval Architect degree from Veracruzana University,
Mexico; an MBA in Management from the University of Hull, and a Certificate of
Higher Education in International Law and European Politics from Birkbeck
University, both in London, England.

On 18 July 2023, Mr Dominguez was elected as the 10th Secretary-General of the
IMO at the 129th session of the Council of the Organization, with effect from 1
January 2024, subject to the Assembly’s approval, for an initial period of four
years from 2024 to 2027.

Pierre Tardieu
Chief Policy Officer at WindEurope


He leads WindEurope’s Policy Department covering advocacy, innovation, market
intelligence and stakeholder engagement. Pierre also co-manages the Renewable
Hydrogen Coalition, the Energy Storage Coalition and RE-Source. He joined
WindEurope in 2011 and has a decade and a half of experience in European Climate
and Energy policy. Pierre holds degrees from College of Europe, Paris Catholic
Institute and Strasbourg Institute of Political Science.

WindEurope is the voice of the wind industry, actively promoting wind energy
across Europe. It gathers over 500 members from across the wind energy value
chain: wind turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, power utilities and wind
farm developers, financial institutions, research institutes and national wind
energy associations.






Panel 2 - Ocean as a Catalyst for the Bioeconomy

Paloma Avila
Director Future of CNN Chile


Paloma Avila is a journalist with 19 years of experience in audiovisual
production, television, content development, strategic communication, and
scientific dissemination. She is graduate in social communication from the
Universidad Catílica of Chile

She worked in the independent audiovisual sector for 7 years as the commercial
director of Nueva Imagen and director of the project development department.

She had led teams and managed audiovisual projects for TV, from idea development
to on-air release, participating in creative processes, scripting, budgeting,
sales, and production.

She was an Executive Producer for films such as "Balmaceda" and "Portales" in
the bicentennial series for Canal 13, "Heroes: La Gloria Tiene su Precio";
documentary series like "Grandes Chilenos" in episodes about Gabriela Mistral
and Manuel Rodríguez, and children's series like "Cantando Aprendo a Hablar"
during her time in independent production.

At VTR, she was involved in creating their foundation focused on quality content
development and promotion of regional television. She developed documentary
series such us "Kulmapu," "Kulrapa," "Por la Razón y la Ciencia," "Liga de
Emprendedores," regional news programs like "Panorama Chile," and children's
animation series like "Locos Lab."

Currently, Paloma Avila is the Deputy Director of the Future Department at CNN
Chile, overseeing programs such as "Futuro 360," "Divergentes," "Minería 360,"
"Sana Mente," and serving as the Director of Content and Transmission for
Congreso Futuro.

Interested in developing innovative work models and original content that serves
a purpose and are a contribution, Paloma Avila has a strong orientation towards
teamwork and the development of stimulating work environments that inspire
people.

Carmen Van-Dúnem Neto dos Santos
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Angola


Carmen Van-Dúnem Neto dos Santos has a degree in Biology from the Faculty of
Sciences of the Agostinho Neto University and a PhD in Marine Biology and
Aquaculture from the University of Lisbon, Portugal.

She has professional qualifications in Marine Space Planning (Blue Print),
Germany and in Principles and Practices of Management and Planning of the
Coastal Zone by Universidade Nova de Lisboa and Universidade Agostinho Neto.

She was Coordinator of the Installation Committee of the University of Namibe
(2020/2022); Coordinator of the Installation Committee of the Namibe Fisheries
Academy (2017/2020); National Director of Graduate Training (Higher Education)
(2013/2017) and National Director of the Higher Education Assessment and
Accreditation Institute (2012).

Carmen Van-Dúnem Neto dos Santos has been Full Professor from 1988 and the
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Angola.

In addition, she is also Principal Investigator in several national and
international projects; Coordinator for Angola of the CPLP Energy and Climate
Forum and presenter of the “Hora de Agir” programme.

Kendra MacDonald
Chief Executive Officer 
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster 


Kendra MacDonald is the CEO of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, responsible for the
accelerated development and commercialization of innovation that will solve some
of the world’s biggest challenges in ocean.  Kendra is leading the change in the
culture of doing business in ocean from coast-to-coast-to-coast, increasing
collaboration across ocean sectors and growing Canada’s ocean economy in a
digital, sustainable, and inclusive way. In recognition of her leadership in
building the Ocean Supercluster from the ground up, Kendra has named one of
Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine for the last two
years and one of Canada’s Top Sustainability Leaders by Clean50 in 2022.

Prior to leading Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, Kendra was a Partner in Deloitte's
Risk Advisory practice and the Chief Audit Executive of Deloitte Global.

José Soares dos Santos
Fundação Oceano Azul President


Graduated in Marine Biology from Lisbon Classic University, in 1986, with
executive education at IMD (1995) and Harvard (1997), and Alumni Member of
Stanford (2000). Executive President of Sociedade Francisco Manuel dos Santos
B.V., the main shareholder of Jerónimo Martins, SGPS, S.A., since its
establishment in 2012. Member of the Board of Directors of Jerónimo Martins
SGPS, S.A. from 1995 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2015. He is a Non-Executive
Director of the Company since April 2019.

Chairman of Unilever Fima, Lda., Gallo Worldwide, Lda., JMDB Representação e
Distribuição de Marcas Lda. and miMed, Cuidados de Saúde S.A.

Chairman of Movendo Capital B.V., since 2017.

Since May 2020, he is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Fundação
Francisco Manuel dos Santos, of which he was a Board Member from 2009 to 2018.

Since September 2015, he is the Chairman of Oceanário de Lisboa, S.A., and,
since December 2016, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Board of
Directors of the Oceano Azul Foundation.

Markus Müller
Chief Investment Officer ESG & Global Head of Chief Investment Office
Deutsche Bank - Private Bank


Markus H.-P. Müller main research focus lie in the structural transformation of
economies and societies as well as in the area of sustainability. Markus
authored several books and articles on the transformation of society and
economies and is a columnist for the Global Policy Journal at Durham University.
Markus is currently Global Head of the Chief Investment Office of the Private
Bank, Deutsche Bank AG. In June 2022 he took over the role of Chief Investment
Officer ESG in addition to his current function.

Markus began his career at Deutsche Bank in DB Research as executive assistant
to the chief economist. During his studies at Münster University in Germany, he
acquired broad international experience with focus on China, later working as an
Economist at Allianz Life Insurance in Shanghai. Markus has held teaching posts
in corporate finance and economics, being a visiting scholar at the Frankfurt
School of Finance and the University of Bayreuth as well as at the Banking and
Finance Academy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

In January 2019 Markus H.-P. Müller published his first book under the title
„Neo-Ordoliberalismus – Zukunftsmodell für die Soziale Marktwirtschaft“ at
Springer-Gabler. His recent book he published in May 2021 under the title
“Deutschland und China zwischen Kooperation und Konkurrenz”. In 2023 he will
publish his new book on India on its transformation to a post-industrial
economy.

Jukka Kantola
Founder – the World BioEconomy Forum


Jukka Kantola has broad experience of the bioeconomy related industries. He has
held various executive positions in Europe and in Asia. Hence, he has a profound
understanding of the challenges and opportunities of these economies. Jukka is
well-known in the bioeconomy space and he is a passionate advocator of the
circular bioeconomy.

Through his companies he has advanced on the versatile valorisation of biomass
for innovative applications. He has played an active role in advocating the
bioeconomy in practice.

In the past years he has been involved in facilitating new biorefinery ventures,
a relatively new phenomenon in the industry. He has also founded the World
BioEconomy Forum in 2018, which has become one of the major platforms for the
circular bioeconomy.

Jukka holds a Master of Science degree from Aalto University, Finland. He also
holds an eMBA from Rutgers University. Jukka is married with three sons.




Panel 3 - Ocean as a Data and Energy Highway

Brian Helmuth
Professor of marine and environmental sciences at School of Public Policy and
Urban Affairs

Brian Helmuth is a Professor at the Marine Science Center at Northeastern
University in Boston, Massachusetts, with appointments in the Department of
Marine and Environmental Sciences and the School of Public Policy and Urban
Affairs.

Dr. Helmuth’s research and teaching focus on ecological forecasting in coastal
ecosystems including coral reefs, with the goal of informing policy and
conservation.

He is Chief Scientist for Fabien Cousteau’s Proteus underwater habitat,
envisioned as the International Space Station of the seafloor.

He currently serves as an author on the 5th US National Climate Assessment and
is a member of the U.S. National Sea Grant Advisory board.

José Barros
Senior Consultant for International Connectivity and Submarine Cables

Degree in telecommunications and electronics engineering from IST, Lisbon in
1983. Post graduations in management and leadership.

Jose Barros performed International Network Planning and Provisioning Managing
functions at CPR Marconi during 1984-2002.

At Portugal Telecom during 2002-2003, José Barros was responsible for the
International Network Administration.

At ANACOM, José Barros served as Director of External Relations Department
during 2003-2020, and as Senior Consultant for International Connectivity and
Submarine Cables during-2020-2023.

Jose Baros currently develops independent consultancy activities in
International Connectivity and Submarine Cables, particularly on the use of the
latter for environmental and seismic detection at the service of Science and
Society.

Bruce Howe
Chair of the international JTF SMART Cable initiative

Dr. Howe leads the Joint Task Force (JTF) SMART Cable initiative, (Science
Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications) to incorporate sensors into the
global submarine telecommunication cable system for climate, ocean circulation
and sea level monitoring and tsunami and earthquake warning.

Dr. Howe develops ocean observing infrastructure, including cable systems.
Projects have included basin-scale acoustic thermometry and planning,
development, and operation of cabled observatories. His long-term goals are to
integrate multi-purpose systems in ocean observing for ocean-basin scale
acoustic positioning, communications, timing, and tomography, and to develop the
(largely cabled) infrastructure to support this.

After obtaining engineering and oceanography degrees at Stanford University and
the University of California at San Diego, Dr. Howe worked at the Applied
Physics Laboratory, University of Washington 1987-2008, and is now at the
University of Hawaiʻi, Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering.

Philippe Dumont
CEO of EllaLink



Philippe Dumont is a member of ‘2020 Capacity Power 100’ an elite group of the
most influential people of the wholesale carrier community. He is a CEO with
over 25 years of international experience in the Telecoms industry. His strong
leadership style is supplemented with an entrepreneurial attitude and long term
vision.

Philippe was President & CEO of ASN (Alcatel Lucent Submarine Networks), a
worldwide leader for turnkey telecoms submarine cable systems, for 6 years and
has also served for 5 years as President of the Wireless Transmission activities
at Alcatel Lucent.

He is currently the CEO of EllaLink, a €180m project that has been designed to
satisfy the growing traffic demand between Europe and Latin America. The system
will offer the first ever large scale, direct fibre route between the two
continents, bypassing the congested routes of the North Atlantic.

Claire Boggis
Submarine Telecommunications Cable Market Specialist

Claire Boggis has 35 years experience in the submarine telecommunications
industry. She has spent most of her career at Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN)
where she was directly involved in managing all submarine telecom cable projects
delivered around the world by ASN (and formerly STC) over a 29 year period.
These totalled more than 200 such projects during this time, representing some
300,000 kms of cable. For most of her time at ASN, Claire worked in various
positions within the ASN Marine division delivering all route engineering,
project management and cable installation and maintenance services. She rose to
become Vice-President Marine for ASN and was also President of ALDA Marine, a JV
between ASN and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs that owned and managed ASN’s then fleet
of 7 cable ships and subsea equipment.

Since leaving ASN in 2017, Claire has remained within the industry working as a
consultant for a variety of players within the market. She specialises in all
aspects of marine related activities for submarine telecommunication project
planning and implementation, as well as general submarine telecommunications
project and commercial management.

Paul Gabla
President of the SubOptic Association


Paul Gabla is a highly respected executive with over 30 years’ experience in the
Telecommunications, Aerospace and Defense industries, including more than 20
years directly involved in the subsea cable networks industry.

Prior to his current position as Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at ASN (Alcatel
Submarine Networks), Paul has been Vice President, Asia Pacific for Alcatel’s
former Optical Networking division, and has also held senior management roles in
Sales & Marketing at Alcatel Alenia Space, Thales and Rockwell Collins.

Paul has been involved with SubOptic for many years, and currently serves as
President of the SubOptic Association. The SubOptic Association, which gathers
subsea telecommunications industry companies and professionals, aims to foster
sustainable development of subsea telecommunications networks.




Panel 4 - Ocean and Blue Communities

Joana Balsemão
Councillor in Cascais Municipality


Joana Presas Pinto Balsemão is a Councillor in Cascais Municipality, where she
is responsible for environmental, climate action and participatory policies.

She completed her Master's degree in Environmental Change and Management at
Oxford University.

She is member of the Urban Development Committee of the United Nations
Commission for Europe; member of the executive board of the Sustainable Growth
Platform think-tank; and also member of the Council for Environment and
Sustainability of EDP - Energias de Portugal.

She worked at the Permanent Representation of Portugal to the EU where she was
responsible for negotiating EU legislative proposals related to environmental,
climate and energy legislation.

Joana Balsemão has also worked as an advisor at the Ministry of the Environment,
on international files; she was coordinator of the Agenda 21 program at the
Municipality of Cascais; she was a researcher at the Technical University of
Lisbon in the area of education for climate change; and she worked at the Vale
of White Horse District Council in the UK, where she implemented the energy
poverty strategy.

Carlos Abade
President of Turismo de Portugal


Carlos Abade is the President of Turismo de Portugal (Portuguese National
Tourism Authority) since June 2023 and President of NEST – Tourism Innovation
Center.

Previously he was Turismo de Portugal´s board member since february 2016.
Between 2007 and 2016, he was Chief Coordinator of Turismo de Portugal
investment support unit.

Currently, he´s also non-executive board member of aicep Portugal Global - Trade
& Investment Agency, a government body focused on the development of a
competitive business environment that contributes to the globalisation of the
Portuguese economy, Turismo Fundos, a real estate fund manager company, focused
on tourism assets, President of the General Council of the Tourism and Film
Fund, President of the General Council of the Revive Natureza Fund, Vice-
President of the General Council of FIEAE, a special real estate fund, focused
on tourism and industry, member of the General Council of the mutual guarantee
fund and member of the General Council and Advisory Board of FINOVA, an
innovation support fund.

He has a degree in law and an executive master in finance.

Denis Aheto
Director for Centre for Coastal Management and the Africa Centre of Excellence
in Coastal Resilience at University of Cape Coast

Denis W. Aheto holds a PhD Degree in Environmental Sciences from the University
of Bremen, Germany. He also holds a Masters’ Degree in Tropical Aquatic Ecology
from the same University and another Masters Degree in Rural Development Studies
from the Swedish Agricultural University, Sweden. He is a tenured Professor of
Coastal Ecology and Interdisciplinary Ocean Studies and Director of the Centre
for Coastal Management- Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience at the
University of Cape Coast, Ghana, a Centre he was instrumental in its
establishment. He has been working in the field of coastal zone management in
Ghana for nearly two decades. Denis Aheto is a visiting Professor at the Faculty
of Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
under the 7-year Food, Climate and Biodiversity (FCB) project grant award from
the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC). He is a
technical advisor to West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program (WACA) of the
World Bank and involved in the evolution of the Blue Economy for Resilient
Africa Program (BE4RAP) through a visiting fellowship program of the World Bank
Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) initiative. He is UCC’s authorized
representative of several multi-million-dollar programs in his fields of
specialization funded by the World Bank, USAID, US State Department, African
Union and DANIDA among others. His research interests span across ecology and
management of coastal water bodies (estuaries and lagoons) and mangrove
wetlands. He has worked on many national and continental projects in the fields
of coastal resilience, maritime conflicts, fisheries governance, climate change
adaptation/mitigation, fisheries and aquaculture socioeconomics, marine
biodiversity, marine pollution management, anthropogenic impacts on the
hydrology, coastal urban planning, maritime regulation/policy and enforcement,
blue economy, social and ecological resilience of marine environment, marine
spatial planning and marine protected areas and has over 60 peer reviewed
scientific publications in these fields and several commissioned technical
reports for various development organizations.

Ana Rita Beire
Director of Innovation and Development at SOLVIT - Innovation in
Telecommunications

Ana Rita Beire, a co-founder of SOLVIT - Innovation in Telecommunications,
presently serves as the Director of Innovation and Development. With academic
credentials in Electronics and Telecommunications, along with a Master's degree
in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from ISEL, she is responsible
for the coordination of innovation projects, leading the R&D team dedicated to
the development of the products that compose the company's portfolio.

One notable ongoing project under her guidance is the Custodian initiative,
which aims to create a tracking system suitable for small vessels. This system
facilitates the monitoring and retrieval of fishing gear while streamlining the
mandatory reporting of lost gear to authorities. The Custodian system's mission
is to mitigate the loss of fishing gear, reducing plastic pollution and ghost
fishing.

Ana Rita Beire also holds expertise in radio planning for public and railway
mobile communications systems, as well as information systems. Beyond her role
at SOLVIT, she serves as a guest assistant professor at ISEL, where she teaches
in the field of information systems.

António Nogueira Leite
Chairman of Forum Oceano

António Nogueira Leite, Lic, MSc and PhD in Economics, is Professor of Business
Strategy and Governance at the Nova School of Business and Economics and has
been the Chairman of Forum Oceano (FO), since its inception in 2015. Prior to
this was Chairman of Oceano XXI, the original Portuguese Ocean cluster that
merged with another business association to create FO.

Antonio has taken several positions outside academia, both in Government
(Secretary of State of the Treasury and Finance) and business (Chairman of the
Lisbon Stock Exchange, Vice CEO of CGD, Board Member of Brisa, Efacec, Bondalti,
CUF and EDP Renewables, among others). Currently is also the Chairman of Mapfre
Insurance PT and Sociedade Ponto Verde.


Derek Klazen
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Namibia

Derek Klazen is the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Namibia.

Previsouly, he was a Member of the National Assembly (2015-2020) and Deputy
Minister for Urban and Rural Development (2015).

From 2010 to 2015 he was Member of Executive of the Association of Local
Authority (ALAN) and President of Mayor’s Forum between 2010 and 2012.

He was also a Member of Mayor’s Forum (2006-2008; 2010-2012); Mayor of Walvis
Bay (2006-2008; 2010-2010) and Member of Walvis Bay Local Authority Council
(2004-2014).

Ilana Victorya Seid
Permanent Representative of Palau to the United Nations

The Permanent Representative of Palau to the United Nations, Ms. Ilana V. Seid,
presented her credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on 16
September 2021. She is serving concurrently as a non-resident Ambassador of
Palau to Israel.
Before her appointment, Ambassador Seid was the founder and CEO of the online
e-commerce company Sunday Morning. Prior to launching Sunday Morning, Ambassador
Seid worked as a software engineer and technology project manager in New York,
and as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and Nomura Securities in Japan,
Hong Kong, Singapore, and New York.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University in the
United States.




Panel 5 - Ocean and Maritime Protected Areas

Catarina Canelas
Journalist



Catarina Canelas began her career in journalism in 2003, at TVI. In 2005, her
curiosity for the East took her to Macau, where she was a journalist at TDM -
Rádio Macau for three years.

Back to Portugal, she returned to work at TVI, especially on issues of social
relevance, signing several major award-winning reports and is the author of the
documentary series "Plástico, O Novo Continente" which has won several national
and international awards and distinctions, including the Rey de España
Ibero-American Journalism Award and the UNESCO Human Rights Journalism Award.

She is the author of the book 'A Hora da Partida: "Angola 1974/1975" and
Co-Author of the book "101 Vozes pela Sustentabilidade (Por um Desenvolvimento
Responsável).
She was also a news anchor for TVI24 and a guest professor at ISCTE-IUL. 

She is one of the founding journalists of CNN Portugal and currently works in
the main news block of the channel, Jornal da CNN.
In the last few years she has dedicated herself to volunteering with
environmental NGOs and also to participating in several national and
international events, as moderator and speaker, especially in the areas of
environment, sustainability and Oceans. 

She has a degree in Social Communication from the University of Minho.

Maria Damanaki
Former EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries


Acting as an independent consultant in global organisations, Maria Damanaki is
serving as an advisor for Oceans5 (USA), the Paradise Foundation (China) and
Rockefeller Brothers Foundation (USA).

She is a member of the Friends of Ocean Action of the World Economic Forum. She
co-chairs the network of the High-Level Ocean Panel and she sits on the Boards:
Monaco Ocean Foundation and Oceanographic Institute, European Marine Regions
Forum(Berlin), Global Fishing Watch (Partnership of Google and Oceana, USA),
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC-London), Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR UN
New York), Beneath the Waves (USA). She also serves as a visiting professor on
Marine Policy in NOVA University of Lisbon.

She served for five years as the Global Managing Director for Oceans at The
Nature Conservancy USA. She also served as the European Union Commissioner for
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Under her leadership, the Commission introduced
a new Common Fisheries Policy that brought fish populations back to healthier
levels—from as few as five sustainable stocks in 2010 to up more than 30 today.
She also served as a Greek politician for many years. She was the first woman
leader of a Greek political party, author of four books on Gender and Human
Rights issues, Education and European Policy.

Erik Wandrag
CEO of Oceans Finance Company



The combination of Erik’s passion for the natural environment and his deep
experience in large-scale, long-term investments in emerging markets, led to the
founding of Oceans Finance Company (OFC). Erik has over 20 years of
responsibility for organic and inorganic growth investments in infrastructure
sectors in emerging markets for various entities, with a cumulative project
value in excess of US$ 15 billion.

Featured as one of 10 people in the 2018 edition of Africa Power Elites. Prior
to founding OFC, Erik was part of the investment team at Climate Fund Managers.
He served as Senior Transaction Advisor for the U.S. Government’s Power Africa
initiative, and held the positions of Head of Energy at Harith General Partners
(in excess of USD 3 billion in funds under management), as well as the Head of
Business Development at Cennergi (joint venture between Tata Power and Exxaro
resources).

He has also provided management and strategy consulting services to various
entities including Sasol, Standard Bank, General Electric, Development Bank of
Southern Africa, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Royal Bafokeng Holdings,
Deloitte, Tetra Tech (a NASDAQ listed company), ESBi (Irish utility) and EnBW
(German utility).

On 9 May 2023 OFC concluded the largest debt-for-climate conversion in history
to protect one of the planet’s most important ecosystems: the Galapagos Islands.

The Galapagos conversion exchanged USD 1.628 billion in Ecuadorian government
bonds for a $656 million impact loan. The transaction will generate savings to
the Ecuadorian fiscus of USD 1.126 billion through 2041. In addition, USD 323
million is realised for the conservation of the Galapagos up to 2041 and the
establishment of a new endowment fund maturing to USD 227 million to finance
their preservation thereafter.

Carlos M. Duarte
Professor at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and
Executive Director of CORDAP

Widely considered one of the top marine ecologists in the world – he was ranked
as the 12th most influential climate scientist by Reuters – Carlos M. Duarte has
conducted groundbreaking research on marine ecosystems across all continents and
oceans. Currently, the esteemed Spanish scientist is a Distinguished Professor
and Tarek Ahmed Juffali Research Chair in Red Sea Ecology at the King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, Executive Director
of the G20 Global Coral Research and Development Accelerator Platform, and Chief
Scientist of Oceans 2050, a programme dedicated to restoring abundance to the
oceans by mid-century. Duarte’s particular focus is the role of seaweed
aquaculture, as well as the concept of Blue Carbon, the ecosystems that capture
and store a huge amount of carbon, one of the many nature-based solutions to
global challenges such as climate change that he has developed. Having studied
environmental biology, he went on to receive a PhD in limnology – the study of
inland water systems − from Canada’s McGill University (1987). Since then,
Duarte has taken up various professorships and research positions in marine
science in Spain, Australia and Saudi Arabia. In 2010, he led 700 scientists
from 18 countries on the Malaspina Circumnavigation Expedition that sailed the
world’s oceans to examine the impacts of global change on ocean ecosystems. With
more than 1,000 scientific papers and three books to his credit, Duarte has
garnered numerous honours, including, most recently, the BBVA Foundation
Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology (2020). In
2021, he was appointed to the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences for his seminal
contributions to further understanding of marine ecosystems.


Mamadou Diop
Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy of Senegal

Since September 2022 Mamadou Diop is the Head of Cabinet of the Minister of
Fisheries and the Maritime Economy of Senegal.

Previously, from February 2007 to July 2018 he was Inspector General at the
Presidency of the Republic. From 2003 to February 2007, he was Advisor to the
Director General of the National Agency of Civil Aviation of Senegal (ANACS) and
from February 1995 to February 2003, Public Management Delegate at the Ministry
of State Modernization.

From 1991 to 1995 he has worked as a Technical Advisor to the Minister
responsible for Modernization of the State and from 1989 to 1991 as Technical
Advisor to the Minister of the Interior. Between 1981 and 1987 e was an Advisor
at the Organization and Methods Office at the Presidency of the Republic.

Maxime Philip
Programme Lead, Global Fund for Coral Reefs

Maxime Philip is currently serving as the Programme Lead for the Global Fund for
Coral Reefs (GFCR) a United Nations multi-partner trust fund. The GFCR is a
blended finance platform serving to develop sustainable revenue streams for
coral reef and community resilience. Maxime has been instrumental in supporting
implementing partners to develop a blended finance strategy, leading to the
launch of programmes covering 14 coral reef countries.

Prior to working with United Nations, Maxime conducted socio-economic studies on
marine conservation initiatives and ecosystem service valuations to capture the
value of nature for people to support decision making for marine conservation.
He holds an M.S. in Oceanography from Université Pierre et Marie Curie and a
B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.



Closure session

Daniel Ali Bandar
Secretary General of the Government of Comoros

João Gomes Cravinho
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal



Gomes Cravinho was born in Lisbon in 1964. Before taking office as Minister of
Foreign Affairs, he held the posts of Minister of National Defence (2018-2022)
and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (2005-2011). He was
also European Union Ambassador to India (2011-2015) and to Brazil (2015-2018).

In his earlier academic career, he lectured International Relations at Coimbra
University’s Faculty of Economics and was Visiting Professor at ISCTE and Nova
University’s School of Law in Lisbon. He was a Consultant for the National
Defence Institute, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the European Commission,
and the World Bank. He presided over the Portuguese Cooperation Institute from
2001 to 2002.

As an academic, he authored the book "Visions of the World" (2002) and published
several papers in specialist academic reviews and journals on subjects relating
to defence policy, development cooperation, and international relations.

He holds a PhD in Political Science from Oxford University and both Master’s and
Undergraduate degrees from the London School of Economics. He completed the
Leadership for Senior Executives course at Harvard Business School in April
2018.

He is a Member of the European Council of Foreign Relations and was awarded the
French Légion d’Honneur, grade Commandeur (2021).































Agenda


AGENDA

02:00pm



Registration





03:00pm



Opening Session

Welcome address by the Mayor of Cascais, Carlos Carreiras

Secretary-General of the United Nations (video message), António Guterres

Prime-Minister of Portugal, António Costa




Keynote Addresses

Secretary of State for the Sea (France), Hervé Berville
UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson
Minister of the Economy and Maritime Affairs, António Costa Silva




04:00pm



Business and Pitch Break

More Info






04:45pm



Afternoon Panels Discussions

(held simultaneously any of them from the perspective of sustainable finance for
sustainable blue growth)



Panel 1 - Ocean as a Clean Energy Source and a Sustainable Driver for World
Trade (Offshore renewable energy and green shipping)

More Info



Panel 2 - Ocean as a Catalyst for the Bioeconomy (Blue bioeconomy: the
importance of financing for its leverage)

More Info



Panel 3 - Ocean as a Data and Energy Highway (Smart & power Cables: funding for
the digital use of the sea)

More Info



Panel 4 - Ocean and Blue Communities (Ocean, coastal areas, and ecosystems:
financing sustainable blue economy as a boost to the local development)

More Info



Panel 5 - Ocean and Marine Protected Areas (Conserve and manage the Ocean:
funding to protect the heart of our planet)

More Info





06:30pm



Closure session



Secretary-General of the Union of Comoros, Daniel Ali Bandar

Final remarks

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, João Gomes Cravinho



07:00pm



Cocktail reception





THE VENUE



Avenida Amaral

2765-192 Estoril

The event will take place at the Estoril Congress Center (Cascais) in f2f mode.
Like the first edition, SBEIF will be a one-day event and online broadcasting is
expected to happen.


In parallel with the sessions, space will be allocated to companies and
start-ups in the blue economy area, with the aim of presenting the Portuguese
business potential in terms of services and new technologies, enabling B2B
meetings that foster business development.


Venue

Registration


REGISTRATION



Places are limited, we would encourage all interested parties to register as
soon as possible



If you have any questions related to the II Sustainable Blue Economy Investment
Forum, we are here to help you. Contact Us


II SUSTAINABLE
BLUE ECONOMY



INVESTMENT FORUM



WHAT

II Sustainable Blue Economy

Investment Forum

WHEN

October 4,

2023

WHERE

The II Sustainable Blue Economy Investment Forum will take place at Estoril
Congress Center, located in the beautiful coastal area of Estoril and Cascais,
25km away from Lisbon airport



With support of:



If you have any questions related to the II Sustainable Blue Economy Investment
Forum, we are here to help you. Contact Us

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