Hugo Tagholm, Executive Director & Vice President

What makes a great leader? Courage, commitment, and creativity.

And Hugo Tagholm has all three in spades. He’s dedicated his life to campaigning for the health of our ocean, from the beach front to the front benches of Parliament. Spearheading action on water quality, plastic pollution and climate action, Hugo put Surfers Against Sewage on the map, cementing its reputation as one of the UK’s leading marine conservation charities. He has successfully influenced policy, securing new legislation to protect our seas, and founded the Plastic Free Communities movement, recruiting over 100,000 volunteers to take part in the charity’s annual Million Mile Clean. As CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, Hugo consistently championed and progressed equality, diversity, and inclusion. He secured significant funding to help create a more diverse and inclusive ocean conservation movement. Now Executive Director of Oceana UK, Hugo is campaigning on a global stage to protect marine ecosystems, fight pollution, and restore fish populations in UK seas. He is a member of the Edinburgh University Ocean Leaders programme and was recently awarded a Doctorate of Science by Exeter University for his services to the marine environment. In what has been termed the “decisive decade”, when our actions will have an almost unimaginably powerful bearing on our future, we need courageous, committed and creative leaders now more than ever before.