The jury

Monika Breuch-Moritz (meteorologist, Maritime Ambassador International Maritime Organization (IMO))

The professional meteorologist Monika Breuch-Moritz worked for several years as a consultant and researcher for the German weather service before moving to the Federal Department of Transport  in 1989. As a manager in various departments she was responsible in particular for maritime environmental protection and as a supervisor via the Federal Maritime and Hydrography Agency (BSH) where she was president  from 2008 until October 2018. Since 2017 she has been vice-president of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) for sector 1 (states bordering the North Atlantic). In 2017 the International Maritime Organization appointed Monika Breuch-Moritz Maritime Ambassador and thus Maritime Ambassador for Germany. In these capacities she campaigns in particular for sustainable ocean policy. Monika Breuch-Moritz is a member of the advisory committee of the German Ocean Foundation.

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt (business administrator and board chairman, Messe Düsseldorf)

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt has been chairman of the board of Messe Düsseldorf for over 15 years. He started out in international conventions, and in 1990 Dornscheidt became deputy chief executive of Messe Düsseldorf International GmbH before switching to Messe Leipzig. Since 2004, the business administrator and recipient of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany has served as chairman of the board of Messe Düsseldorf, and since 2007 as the honorary consul for the United States of Mexico.

S.E. Bernard Fautrier (minister & former ambassador, Vice-President of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation)

His Excellency Bernard Fautrier is Vice-President and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and plenipotentiary special consultant for matters pertaining to sustainable development for the Prime Minister of Monaco. After a career in administration from 1984 to 1995, the political scientist became Government Counsellor (Minister) for public construction projects and social issues. Fautrier was the ambassador to the Municipality of Monaco in Switzerland and at the Geneva office of the UN, and Minister for International Cooperation. He is a close advisor to Prince Albert II of Monaco and director of his foundation, which works on many international issues pertaining to sustainability, the oceans, energy and biodiversity.

Prof. em. Dr. Hartmut Graßl (climate researcher, Chairman of the Federation of German Scientists, former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology)

Prof. em. Dr. Graßl was appointed Director of the Physics Institute at the GKSS Research Centre in Hamburg in 1984. In 1988 he moved to the University of Hamburg, where he was intermittent Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI) until his retirement in 2005. From the early to mid-1990s he was a long-time member of the German Parliament Enquête Commissions "Precautionary Protection of Earth's Atmosphere" and "Protecting Earth's Atmosphere". Furthermore, Graßl led the Global Climate Research Programme of the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva for a number of years, and rendered his services multiple times in relation to the Kyoto Protocol. As Chairman of the Federation of German Scientists, Graßl is one of the most renowned scientists in Germany and leads the advisory board of the German Ocean Foundation.

Prof. em. Dr. Michael Orbach (anthropologist and leading US advisor for maritime policy, Duke University)

After a career in administration, Prof. em. Dr. Michael Orbach became Deputy Director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Studies at the University of California in 1979 and researched at East Carolina University before becoming professor of Marine Issues and Marine Policy at Duke University, where he also led the ocean lab for many years. Michael Orbach has released various publications in the field of sociology and political science in the context of coastal and marine environments, and has successfully advised the United States Commission on Ocean Policy as well as the Pew Ocean Commission. Orbach is a founding member of the Surfrider Foundation and a member of the advisory board of the German Ocean Foundation.

Robert Marx has been the CEO of Friedrich Marx GmbH & Co. KG since 1992. This famous company has around 70 stuff members and imports and distributes technical solutions for marine, industrial, scheduling, safety and vehicle technology sectors in Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. In 2003, Marx was elected for the position of President of the German Marine Federation, following a four-year term as Vice President there. In addition, Robert Marx has been President of boot Düsseldorf since 2006. On a European level, he was the President of the ECNI (European Confederation of Nautical Industries) and was actively involved in the founding of an umbrella organization: the European Boating Industry (EBI). Marx was a leader of the EBI in his role as board member from 2009 onwards and was named President of the EBI in 2011.