Daniel Hooft, Kelp Blue

In episode 9 Andrew talks to Daniel Hooft, the CEO of bluewater farming company Kelp Blue, about the life skills that prepared him to set up a nature-based solution to climate change.

“I hope there are people looking at what we’re doing and thinking, gosh, that’s exciting, that’s brave but it’s fun and maybe I should do something like that.”

Daniel Hooft was born in the Netherlands, raised in Dubai and Canada, and his journey to founding Kelp Blue has been anything but linear. This is key to his success as an entrepreneurial CEO, he tells Andrew.

Daniel started sculpting while travelling throughout the former USSR after leaving school. He studied engineering back in The Netherlands but kept up his work as a sculptor, and to expand his horizons and inspire his art he went into the oil drilling industry. He spent 20 years working for Shell before setting up Kelp Blue in 2020.

Kelp Blue is a large-scale, zero impact, offshore kelp farming enterprise, which he hopes will provide a for-profit solution to climate change and rewild our oceans. Kelp is a fast-growing giant seaweed that provides a habitat for marine life while sequestering large amounts of CO2 – possibly more than typical land forests. Kelp Blue sustainably harvests the kelp canopy for use in agriculture, food, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

In their conversation Daniel talks to Andrew about his leadership lessons, including tapping into indigenous wisdom to manage for the long-term, getting your team to embrace continual change, and why letting people go is key to creating a forward-facing company. 

Featuring:

Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow of Management Practice, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Daniel Hooft, CEO, Kelp Blue

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