We are
The Ocean Cleanup

Inventor since birth. Founded The Ocean Cleanup at age 18. Youngest ever recipient of the UN’s highest environmental accolade; Champion of the Earth in 2015. Awarded the maritime industry’s Young Entrepreneur Award in 2015 by HM King Harald of Norway.

Chosen as European of the Year by Readers Digest in 2017. Member of the Thiel Fellowship.

Over 15 years of experience in finance in senior positions across both for-profit and non-profit sectors. MSc in International Business Administration from Erasmus University Rotterdam (2006) and an International Executive Master of Finance and Control from Maastricht University (2014).

Previous roles include senior positions at ING, GE, and Greenpeace.

Julian is a high-performance Corporate Development Professional with experience in Consumer Electronics, Clean Energy, Semiconductor, Life Sciences, Aerospace, and Telecommunications industries.

He played a key role in developing a first of its kind grass roots technology development services business at SVTC Technologies and Novati Technologies. As Chief Commercial Officer at SCRG, he led the company from a negative position to profitable growth exceeding 30% annually.

Over 17 years of experience in managerial and director positions across for profit and non-profit sectors. Master’s in business of Energy Systems from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, 2014), Bachelor of Science in Meteorology & Oceanography from the University of East Anglia (2005) and completed the Executive Leadership Program at THNK School of Creative Leadership in 2019.

Previous roles include senior positions at Heerema Marine Contractors and Fugro.

With an academic background in civil engineering and management, Marco’s studies concluded in Cambodia, where a deep interest in Asia first took root.

Professionally, he worked primarily with consulting engineering firms such as Royal HaskoningDHV and Arcadis, leading various water-related departments.

Marco spent nearly six years in Jakarta with Royal HaskoningDHV, overseeing water operations in both Indonesia and the Philippines.

With over 20 years in global strategic communications, she has led narrative shaping, thought leadership, and reputation management across Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Her career includes executive roles at Dronamics, Fisker and Nissan, where she guided organizations through transformation, crises and industry disruption.

Known for her ability to translate complexity into clear, influential storytelling, she builds trust, strengthens leadership visibility and drives communication strategies that support organizational growth.

Martin is a senior Human Resource professional with a deep knowledge of building businesses from Startup to scale up and on to mature Corporate.

With a Bachelor Honours Degree in International Business Studies, he has lived and worked internationally since moving to The Netherlands in 1998.

Career highlights include transforming Navteq, a pioneering Dutch tech startup, into a global success -delivering the digital location data that support countless everyday technologies.

Letícia Passos is the General Counsel & Director of Government Affairs at The Ocean Cleanup, leading the legal and governance architecture behind the organisation’s global mission to rid the world’s oceans and rivers of plastic.

With 15+ years across corporate law, international negotiations, and technology transactions, including nearly a decade at IBM, she brought that expertise where she felt it mattered most. At The Ocean Cleanup she has built a legal function from the ground up: enabling global deployments, structuring international partnerships, and building the governance frameworks that allow a fast-moving organisation to operate with integrity at scale.

She holds an LLM in Law, Technology and Environment and a postgraduate qualification in Banking Law.

CEO at Gefira Solutions; former executive roles with Tesla, SunEdison, Cypress Semiconductor, Biomason and Next Gen Powersystems. Holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Micro-Electronics from the Katholieke University in Leuven. Currently serves as an advisor to Torramics, a microfluidic pump solution, and Shyft, a smart energy management solution.

CFO at Lely Group, Non-executive director at Dutch Flower Group, Former CFO at Facilicom and Rituals. Other former leadership roles at KPN, Royal Haskoning and Unilever. Holds a Postgraduate EMFC, drs in Economics, BBA and LLB. Governance: New Board Programm Nyenrode.

Non-executive director at Prysmian Group, Redcare Pharmacy and Nobian. Former CFO at Royal FrieslandCampina and Royal HaskoningDHV. Other former leadership roles at Leaf, CSM and Boston Consulting Group. Holds an MBA and a M.Sc. in Econometrics and Operations Research.

String of roles with Royal HaskoningDHV incl. CEO for over 10 years. Currently Chief Commercial Officer in the Executive Board, various (advisory) board roles [e.g. International Advisory Board Deltares, Inspirational Board Green Village at the Delft University of Technology], consulting engineer, energy transition advocate, co-creator for a better world. M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering.

Entrepreneur, Filmmaker and Investor. Former director at PharmAccess Foundation and Health Insurance Fund. MSc. Civil Engineering (hydraulic Engineering).

Chairman Supervisory Board Royal Philips, Former CEO DSM (2007-2020, Honorary Chair), Co-chair Global Climate Adaptation Centers, Member Private Lab World Bank Group (Carbon Pricing Champion), Member Board Trustees World Economic Forum. Awarded Humanitarian of the Year (2010)by United Nations, Honorary Doctorates Universities of Groningen & Maastricht, Listed by Fortune World’s Greatest Leaders (2018) and by Harvard Business Review World’s 100 most successful CEO’s (2019), Decorated as Grand Officer in order or Orange Nassau.