Learn more about The Ocean Age Walk & Talk, Barcelona, 1st Nov 2026
Too many proven ocean solutions never make it past the pilot stage. Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy wants to fix that by replicating what already works: getting tested solutions into many ports, cities, and projects at once, with the funding to match.
Stewart’s bio:
Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy works at the intersection of ocean leadership, innovation, investment and storytelling, with 15+ years advancing resilience and “precovery” across public and private sectors. As CEO and Managing Director of the World Ocean Council, he brings leaders together to drive practical, regenerative solutions for a resilient blue economy. He is also Co-Founder of Okhtapus and O Lab, connecting innovators, enablers and funders “from reef to roof,” and founder of Precovery Labs, where creativity and visual storytelling help turn ideas into impact. Stewart is a mentor, educator, and advisor, as well as a sailor, swimmer and professional photographer.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:08 - “Turdles”
00:04:15 - Wastewater as the forgotten piece of the blue economy
00:08:05 - What decentralised wastewater treatment looks like
00:15:40 - Precovery and the disaster, rebuild, repeat treadmill
00:21:15 - Blue Mind and why access to water should not be a privilege
00:30:15 - Why so many proven ocean solutions stall at the pilot stage
00:40:25 - The three hearts of Okhtapus: innovators, enablers, and funders
00:43:25 - How a port finds and buys a solution
00:51:10 - Why Okhtapus is not an accelerator, and how it makes money
01:01:20 - The World Ocean Council’s new strategy
01:05:50 - Tomorrow Blue Economy and the Walk & Talk event in Barcelona
Useful Links & Resources:
Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy on LinkedIn
World Ocean Council: Website, LinkedIn, and Instagram
Okhtapus: Website and LinkedIn
Tomorrow.Blue Economy World Congress
The Ocean Age Walk & Talk
Turtles, not Turdles, Stewart’s article for the Ocean Sewage Alliance
Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols
Get in touch with The Ocean Age’s host Fed DeGobbi on LinkedIn, X or by emailing directly at fed@oceanage.co
Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? Any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!
