At RunwayFBU, we believe that great ideas don’t just take off; they lift others with them. This month’s Takeoff Tuesday proved exactly that. We brought together visionaries who are reshaping how the world understands and protects our ocean: Nina Jensen, CEO of REV Ocean, and Kimberly Mathisen, CEO of Hub Ocean.
Before diving into their stories, the audience heard from Kjell Inge Røkke, the driving force behind both initiatives. In an exclusive interview, Røkke reflected on his journey from fisherman to industrialist to ocean steward, a man who once "harvested from the ocean" and now dedicates his resources to giving back. His call for transparency, “If it’s bad news, it should still be shared. It’s in the ocean’s interest.” set the tone for the morning.
From Activism to Action: Nina Jensen’s Story
Few people have traveled as far, metaphorically and literally, from activism to large-scale ocean innovation as Nina Jensen.
At just seven years old, she joined WWF’s Panda Club. Years later, she became CEO of WWF Norway, fighting climate change and overfishing from the front lines. Today, she leads REV Ocean, the world’s largest and most advanced research vessel, a 195-meter "matchmaking platform" for scientists, innovators, and decision-makers.
Jensen’s message was clear: “Environmental activists alone won’t save the planet. We need to collaborate with big capital, big industry, and people with influence if we want real change.”
With delivery expected in early 2027, REV Ocean is more than a ship; it is a symbol of global cooperation. It will host scientists at no cost, enable deep-sea exploration to 8,000 meters, and create a platform for discovery, innovation, and hope.
From Data to Decisions: Kimberly Mathisen’s Perspective
If REV Ocean is the vessel, Hub Ocean is the engine of knowledge.
Kimberly Mathisen, formerly CEO of Microsoft Norway, brought a global perspective on the power of data to transform ocean science and policy. Her structure was memorable: three numbers, 20, 5, and 3.
- Twenty years learning from blue-chip corporations like P&G and Eli Lilly.
- Five years unlearning and reinventing leadership during Microsoft’s cloud revolution.
- Three years applying it all to unlock the ocean’s most underused resource: information.
Hub Ocean’s open data platform merges public and private datasets from governments, scientists, and industry, built with Azure and Cognite technology stacks. As Mathisen shared, "Only three percent of all biodiversity data comes from private industry. Imagine what we could achieve if we lifted that to fifty percent."
From partnerships with AkerBP and OneSubsea to new collaborations with the Brazilian public and private sectors actors, Hub Ocean is pioneering how open data can help protect thirty percent of the world’s ocean by 2030.
A Shared Mission: From Curiosity to Solutions
Both REV Ocean and Hub Ocean are anchored in the same vision:
From curiosity to understanding to solutions for one healthy ocean.
They represent the twin arms of a new kind of global collaboration, where research, data, business, and policy come together to restore the planet’s largest ecosystem.
“The most important thing we’ve learned about our ocean is the magnitude of what we still don’t know.”
— As Dr. Sylvia Earle
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