Who we are

Frank Schweikert, founder and director of the foundation

Frank Schweikert leads the team as a journalist, biologist, entrepreneur, diver and sailor. The protection of the ocean and our natural resources is particularly close to his heart. At the age of 14, he began work as a reporter and photographer for his local newspaper the Badische Neueste Nachrichten, later as an editor for the psychological defense team of the German Armed Forces, then as an author and presenter for ARD, Deutschlandfunk and for private radio stations and news agencies. His work for SWF3 program director Peter Stockinger shaped his journalistic career. His friendship with the law of the sea expert, ecologist and publicist Elisabeth Mann Borgese, the youngest daughter of Thomas Mann, turned him into an activist for a healthy ocean as the "common heritage of humankind". Professor Dr. Hartmut Graßl, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, encouraged him early on to focus on communications and social measures to combat climate change.

Following in the footsteps of the French marine research pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, whom he got to know personally, Frank has been operating Europe's only research and media sailing ship, the ALDEBARAN, since 1992. In 2005, he launched the federal marine competition "Research at Sea" for school teams, for which he has received several awards. Research expeditions with renowned marine researchers on the trail of climate change off the Central American coast and his initiation of an international marine conference series "Sustainable Oceans: Reconciling Economic Use and Protection" inspired Frank to establish the German Ocean Foundation together with Frank Otto in 2015. In addition to his activities for the German Ocean Foundation, Frank is also a founding member and board member of the German Marine Litter Association and deputy board member of the German Society for Marine Research (since 2013). In 2015, he initiated Europe's largest innovation network for measuring plastic pollution in waters. He was a member of the Extended Board of the Assembly of the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, including the Societal Transformation of the European Union, is an associate member of the German CLUB OF ROME and the Board of Directors of the Desertec Foundation, as well as an honorary member of the Rotary Club Passport ECO Planet. In April 2024, Frank was appointed to the EU Mission Board Restore our Ocean and Waters, giving him the opportunity to scale up his advocacy for the ocean at an international level. Most recently, Frank was included in the ESG's Table Media list as one of the top 10 entrepreneurs who place particular emphasis on environmental, sustainability and social issues.