Vice Admiral retired in February 2013 as the 19th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. A specialist in Navigation and Direction and a Post Graduate in Defence Studies, the Admiral in a career of close to four decades in the Indian Navy, has held several key Operational and Staff appointments including command of three warships. As Flag Officer he commanded Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area, was the first Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy and Chief of Personnel of the Navy. Post retirement, the Admiral was appointed as a Member of the Armed Forces Tribunal at its Regional Bench at Kochi, an appointment equivalent to a sitting Judge of a High Court.

Prof. Ravindranathan is the current Chairman of XIME, Kochi. He was a member of Indian Foreign Service from 1965 -2000 and held various high positions including, Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat (1986-88), Consul General of India, Sydney, Australia (1992-96), Ambassador of India to the Philippines (1996-99) and High Commissioner of India to Australia (1999-2000).

Dr. Fidelman is the Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at Centre for Policy Futures in University of Queensland. He leads strategic projects in the Environment, Energy and Sustainability theme at the Centre for Policy Futures, including the Centre’s contribution to the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program and Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre at University of Queensland. He is a multidisciplinary professional with over 15 years of experience in projects focused on policy analysis, environmental governance, sustainability, climate change adaptation, marine conservation and management and natural resource management.

Mr. Malana is the Founder, Innovator, technologist MD of Orbit Australia Pty LTD. He is a space engineer and a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in dealing with state-of-art technology in the high demanding space/defence/healthcare industry. He started his space career with ISRO where he was involved in building satellites, Launch Vehicle Integration, Launch campaigns and On-Orbit operations. His experience covers various aspects of the industry, ranging from feasibility study, design and development, quality assurance, assembly, integration & test, installation & commissioning, mathematical modelling, software development and simulation, and analysis and interpretation of scientific data.

Dr Vijay Sakhuja is former Director, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. A former Indian Navy officer, Vijay Sakhuja received MPhil and PhD degrees from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He has published over 40 books, edited volumes and monographs, and specializes in issues of national security and public policy, particularly in the context of ocean affairs, geopolitics, Climate Change, Arctic, Blue Economy and 4th Industrial Revolution Technologies. He has been on the research faculty of institutions like RSIS, ICWA, ORF and IDSA and is currently associated with Cambodia Institute for Cooperation and Peace, The Peninsula Foundation, India Strategic and Kalinga Foundation.

Andrew is Associate Dean (Research) and Professor at the Faculty of Law, Monash University, and a member of the Indicative List of Panelists to hear WTO disputes. He has previously practised law with Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens Linklaters) and consults for States, international organisations and the private sector. Andrew has taught law in Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, and the US. He has law degrees from Melbourne, Harvard and Cambridge and is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Mr. Rej is a Security analyst, researcher, and consultant with extensive experience in policy research and media. He specializes in Asian security and geopolitics, Indo-Pacific defense policies, the intersection of science and technology and international security, and geopolitical risk, futures, and trends. Rej was previously Security and Defense Editor at The Diplomat and Director of Research at Diplomat Risk Intelligence, the magazine’s research and consulting division. He was also a Senior Fellow in the Strategic Studies Programme at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, India’s leading public policy think tank.

Foreign Affairs Editor of The Hindu, Dr.Johny handles the paper’s coverage of international news, besides writing edits, op-eds, explainers, analyses and reports. PhD in international affairs from JNU, an IVLP fellow of the U.S. State Department and an India-Australia Youth Dialogue alumnus, he keep a strong interest in research on global affairs, and have contributed to think tanks such as the Middle East Institute (Washington DC), the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore) and the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (New Delhi).

Ms. Jain is the Executive Director at ReefWatch Marine Conservation. She has an MSc in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from the Scripps University of Oceanography. She is qualified as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and is passionate about introducing people to the oceans and instilling empathy in them towards the marine environment. Nayantara is particularly adept at rehabilitating coral reefs while educating locals about sustainability.