The Ocean Race and Ocean Beer for the Creation of the Portofino Seaweed Garden

In summer 2023, Ocean Born Foundation teamed up with The Ocean Race. Considered as one of the most prestigious offshore sailing events worldwide, it is also known for its extreme conditions, requiring a high level of skill, teamwork, and preparation. Departing from Spain for a gruelling 32,000 nautical mile (60,000 km) circumnavigation divided in seven legs, sailors face extreme weather and long stretches of open ocean.

 

 Known as the world’s most engaged sailing race in the fight against climate change, The Ocean Race serves as a platform for both data collection and raising awareness about marine pollution and the importance of ocean health in the fight against climate change. Ocean Born Foundation teamed up with The Ocean Race both in The Hague offering Ocean Beer to all the sailors, their teams and partners at the Sailor’s Terrace as well, as at the Awards Night for the Grand Finale stopover in Genova.

 

 The profits generated through the partnership’s beer sales were donated to The Portofino Seaweed Garden project, an initiative close to Genova led by Outdoor Portofino in partnership with Outbe, aiming to create a seaweed garden in a marine protected area a few miles from the city to be maintained and monitored by Portofino’s outdoor community.

 

 Seaweed is vital for biodiversity and helps to mitigate climate change. The project aims to involve outdoor water sports enthusiasts (e.g. SUP, canoeing, snorkelling, diving and boating) in safeguarding, monitoring and recovery activities of the brown Cystoseira seaweed (now known as Ericaria amentacea) within the Portofino Marine Protected Area. The project hopes to raise awareness about the exceedingly important role played by seaweed forests in both marine habitat creation and the fight against climate change, while also encouraging the creation of similar initiatives elsewhere around the globe. 

MICHAEL ROSEN

Michael Rosen has experience at a partner and co-founder level in private equity and venture capital funds. He has evaluated, executed and managed investments across many sectors and stages, raised capital, managed teams and worked closely with portfolio companies. He was the COO of a listed investment vehicle, and most recently the CIO of Ocean Born Impact where he oversaw investment strategies focused on companies that positively impact planetary health, emphasizing areas such as the energy transition, clean transportation, sustainable production, and enabling technologies.

 

Earlier in his career, Michael served as a Partner at Pamplona Capital Management, where he was responsible for identifying and managing investment opportunities across various sectors. His career began as an Analyst in the Financial Sponsors Group at Merrill Lynch in London.

 

Michael continues to make and support impactful investments that combine environmental sustainability with technological innovation, leveraging his extensive experience in finance and investment management. His investments include impact-focused businesses such as Olio (food waste), Skin Analytics (Al for skin cancer detection), Bramble Energy (hydrogen fuel cells), and CHOOOSE (carbon-offsetting and mitigation).

 

Michael graduated from Oxford University in 2001 with a first class degree in PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics), and in 2024 he published his first novel, The Consciousness Company, about a start-up company.

 

Michael is currently a venture partner for the impact fund, Mustard Seed Maze, and is happy to talk about private equity, venture capital and impact investing.