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The winners of the "ocean tribute" Award 2026

Interview with Dominique Lesser

January, 2026

Published by: boot.com

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One Ocean Planet Foundation wins the "ocean tribute" Award 2026

The One Ocean Planet Foundation, based in Spain, is an international educational organisation dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans. Through global programmes such as ‘Generation Blue’ and ‘Hero Kids’, the foundation empowers children and young people to become active ambassadors for marine conservation. The approach: young people should not only be informed about the threats facing the oceans, but should themselves become active participants in marine and climate protection. The Foundation operates on the principle that change begins with the next generation and provides practical knowledge as well as concrete ways to take action to protect our oceans. We spoke to Dominique Lesser about the project and the future.

Interview with the winners of the ‘ocean tribute’ Award 2026

What exactly is One Ocean Planet? One Ocean Planet Education is an international education and action platform that helps connect people — especially younger generations — with the ocean and the climate challenges we face today. We work across schools, universities, communities, and public campaigns to transform ocean awareness into real action. Through our programmes, we aim to make the ocean something personal, tangible, and empowering for people of all ages. And the most importance is the path of awareness to action. Our work is built around three main pillars:
  • Generation Blue: bringing ocean literacy and climate education into schools through workshops, curriculum integration, and project-based learning.
  • Hero Kids: supporting children and teenagers to create and lead their own environmental projects, proving that leadership has no age.
  • University Challenge: connecting university students with real-world sustainability challenges to develop innovative solutions with impact.
Today, our initiatives have reached schools and communities across multiple countries, helping young people understand that protecting the ocean is not only about science — it is about culture, identity, wellbeing, and the future of humanity.

Lifestyle

Arksen

Arksen is a purpose-driven company creating adventure vessels, vehicles, and experiences that inspire exploration while supporting ocean conservation, scientific research, and environmental action. 

arksen.com

Client Earth

ClientEarth is an environmental law organisation that uses the power of the law to protect nature, tackle climate change, and hold governments and businesses accountable for environmental action. 

clientearth.org

Earth Law Center

Earth Law Center works to transform legal systems by recognising the inherent rights of nature, helping ecosystems thrive through legal advocacy, policy development, and education. 

earthlawcenter.org

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.

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