Our Team
Olavur Gregersen
CEO, MSc
Olavur is our CEO, co-founder and largest shareholder in the company since 2012. He has more than 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and international consultant as well as being a non-executive Director in several innovative companies and projects.
Contact Olavur
Phone: +298 233080
Email: olavur@oceanrainforest.com
Ólavur’s LinkedIn profile & Twitter Profile
Urd Grandorf Bak
Chief Research Officer Atlantic, PhD
Urd is our Chief Research Officer in the Atlantic and leads our research and innovation projects. She is an expert in environmental biology and geography and holds an industrial PhD in macroalgal cultivation. Urd has been working with seaweeds for more than 10 years, especially seeding of kelps and the red algae Palmaria palmata and monitoring growth at sea. Also, she has analyzed the chemical composition of the cultivated seaweeds. Urd has been working with the company since 2014.
Contact Urd:
Phone: +45 30264595
Email: urd@oceanrainforest.com
Urd’s LinkedIn Profile & Twitter Profile
Johan Christiansen
Director of Faroese Operations, BSc.
Johan is responsible for the Faroese Operations. Johan holds a B.Sc. degree in political science and is also a licensed skipper. Since February 2021 Johan has been responsible for maintenance and operation of the sites and vessels in the company, including execution of harvesting and deployment activities.
Contact Johan:
Email: johan@oceanrainforest.com
Steinbjørn í Dali
Financial Manager, MSc.
Steinbjørn í Dali has a MSc. Business Administration and Economics and is our Financial Manager. Steinbjørn grew up as an entrepreneur and has worked his entire life with innovation. Steinbjørn has for the last 30 years been involved in the start-up of several innovative companies both as director, as well as in other leadership positions.
Rúni D. Joensen
Chief Technology Officer, M.Eng
Rúni is the Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Ocean Rainforest, serving as a full-time leadership member since 2023. He holds an MEng in Mechanical Engineering from Aberdeen University and an MBA from Robert Gordon University.
With over two decades of experience in technology development and business leadership across three continents, Rúni brings a wealth of expertise to the team. At Ocean Rainforest, he provides strategic leadership, focusing on the technical aspects of seaweed cultivation, processing, and scaling operations in exposed environments.
Katrin Ingolfsdóttir Gregersen
Administration Manager, MSc
Katrin is an experienced corporate executive in company administration, project management, administration and dissemination. Moreover, she is responsible for facilitating all key Human Resource functions in the company. Katrin holds MSc in Supply Chain Management and a B.A. in Economics and Business Language from Copenhagen Business School.
Contact Katrin
Phone: +298 233081
Email: katrin@oceanrainforest.com
Katrin’s LinkedIn Profile & Twitter Profile
Floor Marsman
Operational Data Manager, MSc
Floor is our Operational Data Manager and is responsible of the operational data collection and analysis. Floor has been working in the company since 2019.
Contact Floor:
Email: floor@oceanrainforest.com
Rúna Johanna Aref
Hatchery Biologist & Project Leder, BSc.
Rúna has a background in Marine Biology. Her main focus lies with the hatchery/nursery and lab-work. In addition to that, Rúna is involved all year round in seaweed operations, such as seeding, deployment, harvesting and production.
Contact Rúna:
Email: runa@oceanrainforest.com
Jóhanna ALberg
Research Assistant
Jóhanna is working as a research assistant and has been part of the Ocean Rainforest team in the Faroe Islands since March 2023. With a Master’s degree in biology, she contributes to various aspects of our operations, including hatchery work, documenting ecosystem services, and on-land cultivation of red seaweed species.
Contact Jóhanna:
Email: johanna@oceanrainforest.com
Adrianna Kochanska
Business Development Coordinator
Adrianna holds an M.Sc. in International Fisheries Management and is currently a Doctoral Researcher at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, where she focuses on the economics of seaweed cultivation. Her research is centered on "Business Development and Upscaling Seaweed Production in a High-Cost Environment."
At Ocean Rainforest, Adrianna coordinates business development initiatives, manages key accounts, and performs techno-economic analyses of the company’s operations.
Contact Adrianna:
Email: adrianna@oceanrainforest.com
Inga Maria Mikkelsen
Hatchery Manager, Faroe Islands
Inga Maria joined Ocean Rainforest in February 2022, where she primarily focuses on the propagation, induction, and seeding of sugar kelp, as well as conducting microbiology testing. She holds an AP degree in Chemical and Biotechnical Science from University College Copenhagen and an AP degree in Financial Management from Glasir Tórshavn College.
Contact Inga Maria:
Email: ingamaria@oceanrainforest.com
Javier Infante
Chief Research Officer Pacific, MBA.
Javier is our Chief Research Officer in the Pacific. Javier has more than 15 years of experience organizing, participating, managing marine and environmental projects. He has extensive experience in surveys of marine fauna and flora including impact assessment in inshore and coastal areas. Recently, Javier has taken the lead on projects related to seaweed culture for the biofuels and phycocolloids industries, as well as social oriented technology transfer projects. In addition to his work with Ocean Rainforest, Javier provides seaweed culture consultancy for private and public entities around the world.
Contact Javier:
Phone: +56 9 8768 8173
Email: javier@oceanrainforest.com
Javier’s LinkedIn Profile
Douglas Bush
Director of California Operations
With over 20 years of experience in aquaculture and extensive expertise working with giant kelp in the Santa Barbara Channel, Doug brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.
In his role, Doug will focus on transitioning Ocean Rainforest's U.S. operations from research and development to commercial processing and product offerings, targeting the North American market.
Sam Reeves
Operations Manager, BSc
Sam serves as our Operations Manager in Santa Barbara — taking the lead on all activities related to Ocean Rainforest’s offshore demonstration farm. He has worked in the Scottish finfish industry where he gained experience working with large offshore aquaculture systems. Sam has also worked at the Scottish Association for Marine Science to help research and optimize farming methods. Sam has a background in Marine Biology with a BSc from the University of Hull.
Contact Sam:
Brendan Cox
Project Technician, MSc
Brendan is a Project Technician at Ocean Rainforest's US Center of Operations outside of Santa Barbara, CA. Since joining the team, he's provided support across hatchery, offshore, and production operations. With a background in oyster aquaculture as a farmer and researcher, he has a strong interest in sustainable food systems and ecosystem services provided by low-trophic aquaculture. He has a Masters in Marine Biology from Northeastern University, along with a Bachelors of Science in Marine Biology.
Contact Brendan:
Kaira Wallace
Regulatory and Community Engagement Associate
Kaira holds extensive expertise from her graduate studies at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where she focused on the California kelp policy landscape. Prior to joining Ocean Rainforest, she served as a California Sea Grant State Fellow, reflecting her dedication to ocean sustainability.
Based in our Santa Barbara office, Kaira will collaborate closely with stakeholders and the local community to gather input on mariculture activities in the Santa Barbara Channel. Additionally, she will work alongside regulatory agencies to ensure that our efforts comply with environmental standards, with the aim of driving positive impacts on the ocean through sustainable seaweed cultivation.
Contact Kaira:
