PwC, Ireland’s largest professional services firm, has announced a new three year headline sponsorship of the ‘Our Ocean WealthSummit’, the largest national gathering of Ireland’s marine and business communities, held annually as part of SeaFest. This year, the Summit will take place in the National University of Ireland, Galway, on June 30.
Now in its fourth year, the ‘Our Ocean Wealth Summit’ forms a key part of the Government’s integrated plan for Ireland’s marine sector, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth, and will bring together world renowned speakers, industry experts, business development agencies and the Irish business and marine research community for focused discussions on this year’s theme of ‘Rethinking Boundaries and Innovation for a Sustainable Marine Economy’.
The speakers include Tom Kelley of award-winning global design and development firm, IDEO, who will inspire business leaders to engage in creative thinking and challenge perspectives to encourage new ideas and approaches on how Ireland can continue to transform its marine industry. Tom Kelley will be joined by a host of other national and international thought leaders and industry experts including David McWilliams, economist, writer, broadcaster and journalist; Miguel Marques, Partner, PwC Portugal and Economist of the Sea; Terry Garcia, former VP National Geographic and CEO, Exploration Ventures; Andrew McDowell, VP, European Investment Bank; Wendy-Watson Wright, CEO, Ocean Frontier Institute Canada, and many more.
Speaking at the partnership announcement Declan McDonald, PwC Advisory Partner, said that our seas are a vital national asset and very important to Ireland’s future economic success, and the ‘Our Ocean Wealth Summit’ provides a unique platform for the opportunities of our blue economy to be brought to the fore.Dr Peter Heffernan, CEO, Marine Institute, added, “We are delighted to have the support of PwC for the ‘Our Ocean Wealth Summit’as part of SeaFest for the next three years. Ireland’s marine sector has enormous potential for growth and our ambition is to be at the forefront globally as a leader in both traditional and emerging marine activities. PwC’s support, as an internationally recognised leader in professional services, reaffirms this ambition and we look forward to working closely together to realise the potential of Ireland’s marine economy.”
