Speaker — Neptune Forum 2026
Pierre Bahurel
Directeur général de Mercator Océan International
CEO, Mercator Ocean International
Pierre Bahurel has been CEO of Mercator Ocean International since its founding in 1995. Mercator Ocean International is an organisation under multinational governance, specialising in ocean monitoring and forecasting for operational, scientific and policy purposes.
He has brought together a broad community of partners to deliver the EU's Copernicus Marine Service, recognised by thousands of users worldwide, providing a unique digital description of the ocean on an open and free-of-charge basis. He is deeply involved in the international structuring of operational oceanography, supporting a green and digital transition for society in which knowledge of the ocean is accessible to all.
Committed to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, he chairs the Decade Collaborative Centre OceanPrediction, working to strengthen global ocean prediction capabilities. In this same spirit, Mercator Ocean has initiated a transition into an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to digital oceanography and ocean forecasting, better to support States and international organisations in science-based governance for a sustainable ocean.
