Environmental Sustainability Seminar

Julie Angus, CEO and co-founder of Open Ocean Robotics

Julie is the CEO and co-founder of Open Ocean Robotics, a marine robotics and data analytics company. She is a bestselling author, scientist and explorer who received National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year award when she became the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean from mainland to mainland.  She is a keynote speaker who has inspired hundreds of corporate audiences sharing lessons in leadership, teamwork and overcoming challenges.

Julie has written three books, has a graduate degree in microbiology and is a serial entrepreneur who cofounded two previous ocean-focused businesses. Julie is a director on NATO’s Maritime Unmanned System Initiative Innovation Advisory board and a board member for the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST). In 2020 she was awarded Innovator of the Year by BC Business and in 2021 she was recognized as Industry Icon by the BC Cleantech Industry.

In addition to business awards, Julie has been recognized in the realm of science, writing, and exploration.  These accolades include University of Victoria’s Distinguished Alumni Award, McMaster University Young Alumni Award, North America’s Leading Adventurer by Explore Magazine, One of Canada’s Greatest Women Explorers by Canadian Geographic, Royal Canadian Geographic Society Fellow and many others.

Anil Markandya, Distinguished Ikerbasque Professor at the Basque Centre for Climate Change

Professor Markandya graduated from the London School of Economics with a Master of Science in Econometrics and was awarded his Ph.D. from the same institution on the Economics of the Environment.  He has worked extensively on environmental problems from an economic viewpoint.  He was a lead author for Chapters of the 3^rd and 4^th and 5^th IPCC Assessment Reports on Climate Change and contributed to the special report on global warming of 1.5ºC. 

In 2008 he was nominated by Cambridge University as one of the top 50 contributors to thinking on sustainability in the world. He has acted as adviser to several governments and international organisations over the last 30 years.

Professor Markandya was President of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economics from 2014-2015. Currently he is Distinguished Ikerbasque Professor at the Basque Centre for Climate Change in the Basque Country, Spain and Honorary Professor of Economics at the University of Bath, UK. 

Jesse Fahnestock, Global Maritime Forum

Jesse Fahnestock is Project Director at the Global Maritime Forum, where he leads the work on First Movers towards Zero-Emission Shipping. His background is in energy and climate, having worked in business, research and civil society on delivering the energy transition. In the early 2000’s he helped establish the Global Risks program at the World Economic Forum, where his focus was on climate and energy security risks. He then served as climate policy advisor for the Swedish power company Vattenfall, and later as head of energy and policy foresight at the Swedish national research institute RISE. Before joining the Global Maritime Forum he was global lead for the Energy Transition at WWF International. Jesse holds a B.A. in history from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Oxford. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

Wim Bartels, Partner, KPMG Sustainability

Wim Bartels is a partner at KPMG Sustainability. He started his career at KPMG in financial audit and after a period at KPMG Forensic services he joined the Sustainability department in 2003. Since, he has focused on reporting and assurance for multinational companies such as Philips, SAP, Maersk, AB InBev and Equinor amongst others.

He is a member of the Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures since its inception in 2016. On the back of that, his focus has shifted towards the financial implications from sustainability and from climate change in particular.
Furthermore he serves on other international initiatives, such as the Corporate Reporting Dialogue and the Sustainable Finance Group of Accountancy Europe that he chairs.

Wim is also the co-lead for KPMG’s global Measurement, Reporting and Assurance services for sustainability, which are a part of KPMG IMPACT.

Suzanne Johnson, Senior Advisor, UN Global Compact

Suzanne Johnson is Senior Advisor to the United Nations Global Compact’s Ocean Stewardship Coalition and their efforts to progress a healthier and more productive ocean. She is also the head of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s Sustainability Programme, including its Safer Oceans campaign. Previously she directed External Affairs for Lloyd’s Register Group. She has wide ranging experience in the energy sector, having previously worked for energy and water companies in government and regulatory affairs, investor relations and finance. Her energy sector experience also includes investment management, where she was responsible for utilities fixed income for Schroder Investment Management. Suzanne has served as special assistant to former Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations.

Suzanne is interested in advancing the private sector’s contribution towards the Sustainable Development Goals. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Governor of the Ditchley Foundation, a member of the William Pitt circle at Chatham House and a Trustee for UK Associates of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.