Oceana has announced the appointment of James Simon as its new CEO.
Simon, the organization’s previous president, will take the helm from July 1, 2024. The announcement was made by the board of directors and comes after an extensive eight-month search for the right candidate to take over from the retiring Andrew Sharpless.
During his time as president, Simon played a crucial role in Oceana’s success, including seeing its fundraising increase tenfold and supervising campaigns in many countries.
Commenting on his new appointment, Simon stated:
“I’m thrilled and honored to continue working with Oceana’s talented staff and generous supporters in my new role as CEO. Oceana will continue to lift up the voices of coastal communities to protect the resources that sustain them and their families. Together with our allies and partners, we will have global impact on the ocean’s ability to feed people and to provide solutions for addressing climate change, habitat destruction, plastic pollution, and overfishing.”
Oceana’s Board Chair Sam Waterston added:
“With the choice of Jim Simon as the organization’s new CEO, Oceana continues in its role as the ocean advocate that ‘gets stuff done,’ expanding our impact as the most effective international advocacy organization dedicated solely to the restoration of ocean abundance.”
The search was led by Oceana Board Member Sara Lowell, who said:
“The Board undertook an inclusive and fair search process that helped us affirm that Jim Simon is the best person positioned to lead Oceana into the future. We feel confident that the search process strongly incorporated Board and staff feedback and is the best decision for Oceana’s values and culture, as well as the global circumstances that we could be facing in the coming years.”
