If you’re reading this page, it means you met Ian or Nicola at the World Ocean Summit 2026. Read on to find out more about why you should be working with the Ocean Conservation Trust.
Ian McFadzen
Chief Executive Officer
Ocean Conservation Trust
Ian McFadzen is Chief Executive Officer of the Ocean Conservation Trust, the UK marine charity that operates the National Marine Aquarium and leads globally recognised programmes in habitat restoration, ocean literacy, and ocean advocacy.
Ian has worked at the intersection of science, enterprise and public value for more than two decades and previously served as CEO of Plymouth Science Park, transforming it into a thriving innovation ecosystem supporting high growth science and technology businesses. He also held senior knowledge exchange and commercialisation roles at the University of Plymouth and founded and led BioVault, a biotechnology venture specialising in secure cryopreserved human tissues for transplant and biological asset management.
At the Ocean Conservation Trust, Ian leads a dedicated, talented, multidisciplinary team delivering large scale seagrass restoration through the Blue Meadows initiative, advancing new models that position marine ecosystems as investable natural assets. His work focuses on aligning ocean recovery with measurable ecological outcomes, economic resilience and public engagement.
A Professor of Practice in Marine Innovation, Ian is a Fellow the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Society of Arts and the Institute for Innovation and Knowledge Exchange. Ian’s leadership philosophy centres on partnership, evidence and the belief that restoring the ocean is not philanthropy, but essential infrastructure for planetary stability and long-term prosperity.
Nicola Bridge
Head of Ocean Advocacy & Engagement
Ocean Conservation Trust
Nicola Bridge is a senior leader with the Ocean Conservation Trust, working at the intersection of ocean recovery, ocean literacy, and ocean advocacy. As Head of Ocean Advocacy and Engagement at the Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT), Nicola leads the organisation’s strategy to translate science-led habitat restoration into societal and economic value.
With over 20 years’ experience in conservation biology, behaviour change and environmental communications, Nicola specialises in converting ocean literacy and public engagement into policy aligned action. Her work supports the reframing of marine habitats, including seagrass meadows and coastal ecosystems as productive natural assets capable of delivering measurable returns across carbon sequestration, biodiversity uplift, coastal resilience, and community wellbeing.
Through OCT’s restoration and advocacy programmes, and its engagement platform at the National Marine Aquarium, Nicola oversees initiatives that influence hundreds of thousands of citizens annually, strengthening the ties required for scalable blue infrastructure investment and embedding ocean literacy into civic leadership, education systems and corporate culture.
At national level, she contributes to UK marine policy and communications through her work on the Ocean Literacy Strategy for England, as well as acting as a Board member for the UK’s first National Marine Park. Internationally, she is Vice-Chair (previous President) of the European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA) and Co-Chair of UN Ocean Decade Challenge 10 Working Group, focused on driving sustainable human behaviour change to support ocean health. She is also a steering group member of the SEA BEYOND Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) for Connecting People and Ocean, a joint initiative of UNESCO and Prada.
You can connect with the Ocean Conservation Trust at the following events:
Green Returns – Investing in the Earth’s Balance Sheet
This senior-level convening will bring together 50–60 carefully selected guests, including diplomats, institutional investors, private sector leaders, entrepreneurs, and blue economy thought leaders from across Canada, the UK, and internationally. The focus of the evening is to spotlight leadership in ocean innovation, regenerative finance, and climate action and to strengthen UK–Canada collaboration in these strategically important sectors. This event will take place March 5th, 18:30–20:30, and will be hosted by KPMG at their offices, in their dedicated events space on the 17th floor.
Speakers:
Ian McFadzen, CEO of the Ocean Conservation Trust
Dr. Ralph Chami, Founder & CEO of Blue Green Future and former Assistant Director at the IMF
A statement from Ian McFadzen:
From Ocean Literacy to Ocean Assets: Investing in Nature’s Living Infrastructure
The UK, with Plymouth as a leading hub, is emerging as a global leader in science-led ocean recovery, demonstrating how ocean literacy, public advocacy and large-scale habitat restoration can unlock regenerative finance and deliver measurable ecological, societal and economic returns. Drawing on some of the Ocean Conservation Trust’s campaigns (including #thinkOcean, our model Motion for the Ocean, and Blue Meadows, our flagship seagrass restoration programme), I’ll be speaking about out how marine ecosystems can be repositioned as productive natural assets within national and corporate balance sheets, as well as the value of connecting people to the ocean and why investing in ocean recovery is not philanthropy, but infrastructure for planetary stability.
Connect with us
If you’d like to find out how you can work with us towards a creating a healthier Ocean, get in touch with Ian or Nicola via email:
Ian.McFadzen@oceanconservationtrust.org
Nicola.Bridge@oceanconservationtrust.org
The Ocean Conservation Trust:
We are a people-centred marine conservation charity
- Investing in ocean recovery is not philanthropy — it is infrastructure investment. Just as transport, energy and digital systems underpin economic growth, healthy marine ecosystems underpin climate regulation, food security, supply chains and coastal economies.
- By connecting people to the ocean — emotionally, scientifically and economically — we can transition from awareness to asset creation: building living infrastructure that delivers regenerative returns for nature, society and markets alike
- The OCT recognises that livelihoods and economies are built on a thriving Ocean. The Ocean is inextricably interconnected with the cultural and emotional wellbeing of humans.
Working across three core pillars – Ocean Advocacy, Ocean Habitats, and Ocean Experiences – we invest time, skills, and passion into projects that increase biodiversity and combat climate change to protect the Ocean for generations to come. We work tirelessly to inspire positive change amongst individuals, communities, businesses, and policymakers alike.