Nishan Degnarain

Nishan Degnarain is an economist and founder of Breakthrough Ocean Ventures, an advisory firm focused on ‘ocean moonshots’ that leverages new technologies and novel business models to transform the health of our ocean especially for coastal and island communities.  He was formerly elected Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council, that sets the oceans agenda each year for world leaders at Davos, and helped establish WEF’s new Special Initiative on the Ocean.

He was instrumental in brokering WEF’s Tuna Traceability Declaration at the UN Ocean Conference in 2017, the largest public-private commitment at the Conference, with 50 companies with over $150bn revenues committing to full traceability of tuna by 2020.

He has held a series of board and executive positions in the public and private sectors, including being appointed by the Cabinet of Mauritius to both Mauritius Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee as well as the National Ocean Council, and also appointed as an International Member of CCICED (‘The China Council’) that advises the Chinese Government on Ocean strategy.  He was formerly in the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, and was also with McKinsey and Company.

Nishan holds degrees in Economic Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and the University of Cambridge.

He has won several awards, including being recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.  He recently authored Soul of the Sea in the Age of the Algorithm, highlighting how the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ can radically transform ocean governance and restore ocean health.