Dr. Peter B. de Menocal is the eleventh president and director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, effective Oct. 1, 2020. A marine geologist and paleoclimatologist, de Menocal's research uses deep-sea ocean sediments as archives of how and why Earth's ocean and climate have changed in the past in order to predict how they may change in the future. In 2015, he became the founding director of Columbia's Center for Climate & Life, a research accelerator. From 2016 to 2019, Dr. De Menocal served as Columbia's Dean of Science for the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. Dr. De Menocal has published more than 150 scientific papers over his decade-long career in oceanography. He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AGU Emiliani lecturer, a Lenfest Columbia Distinguished Faculty award, and a Distinguished Brooksian award. He earned a doctorate in geology from Columbia University and a master's degree in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island and was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Lawrence University.

Dr. Masashi Miyagawa is currently Visiting Professor at Seto Inland Sea Regional Research Center. He graduated from Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, and worked for the Kagawa Prefectural Government in the fishery division. He obtained the Master Degree and Ph.D in Engineering from Kagawa University. He works for Seto Inland Sea Regional Research Center, Kagawa University. He works as Visiting Professor since April 2025. He specializes in his research and operational activities related to fisheries resource enhancement through advanced technology, development of nutrient management techniques for coastal areas and biological production and ecosystems.

Mr. Masanori Kobayashi is Senior Research Fellow, Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) in Tokyo, Japan. He was Program Director, SPF and Senior Research Fellow, Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI-SPF). He continues to undertake research work on ocean and sustainability policy including sustainable blue economies, marine environment and resource management, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution control, ocean based renewable energies, and regional and international cooperation and partnership. He worked on sustainability issues at the Ocean Policy Research Foundation, the Yokohama National University, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, the United Nations (New York, Geneva and Bonn) and the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.