Ralph Rayner

Conference Chair, Oceanology International, Professorial Research Fellow, London School of Economics

Jyotika Virmani

Executive Director, Schmidt Ocean Institute

Susan Hunt

Offshore Wind Catapult Program

Oliver Steeds OBE

CEO, Nekton

Oliver is the Founder and Chief Executive of Nekton and the serving Director of the Ocean Census. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022, Oliver was recognised with an OBE for services to research and conservation of the marine environment.
Prior to founding Nekton, Oliver was a critically acclaimed broadcast and investigative journalist, reporting for Channel 4, ABC, NBC, Al Jazeera, Discovery Channels and others. Oliver serves on the Council of The Royal Geographical Society, and an Explorer-in-Residence at Kensington.

Cristina Garcia-Duffy

SUT President, Director, Research & Technical Capabilities, Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult

Cristina Garcia-Duffy is a member of ORE Catapult’s Executive team and as Technical Director, leads the strategic development of our technical capabilities and new areas of innovation. She was formally Head of Technology at the UK Aerospace Technology Institute with accountability for the sustainability strategy, bringing together UK industry and government to address the environmental impact of the aviation industry. This included the development of international relationships to progress towards zero net carbon aviation. Cristina also led the development of the UK National Aerospace Technology Strategy, which determines the priorities for government investment in aerospace research & technology (in the order of £150M per annum). Prior to joining the ATI in 2014, Cristina held management positions at Leonardo Helicopters. Cristina holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and an MSc and BSc in Aerospace Engineering from Saint Louis University, both in the USA.