Board member
Mario Špadina, CEO and co-founder of SeaCras, holds a Ph.D. from the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission and the University of Montpellier. He has a master’s degree in chemistry obtained at the University of Zagreb at the Faculty of science and mathematics. Mario completed post-doctoral contracts at Ruder Boskovic Institute in Zagreb, Croatia, and the second at the University of Ljubljana, in Slovenia.
His total track record to the day accounts for 13+ scientific papers in the areas of physics, chemistry, and applied mathematics. Research fields with proven excellence include separation chemistry of rare earth elements, nanomaterials usage in water decontamination, statistical thermodynamics, satellite imagery, data analysis, and marine sciences.
Mario served as project lead, principal researcher or co-worker on more than 15 EU projects, had over 20 additional educational modules and programs spanning from legal, IP to research commercialization and leadership training. He had over 10 scientific invited talks and presentations, over 20 media and press statements and over 150 presentations as a CEO of SeaCras.
Mario was named one of the Emerging Leaders under 40 by the European Forum Alpbach and participated in the curated Alpbach in Motion program in 2022.
In 2024, Mario was elected as one of ‘Top Executives and Innovators ‘ by the UpLink World Economic Forum.
Besides developing innovative marine technologies, he regularly contributes to the national and EU strategic planning in the field of the maritime transport, coastal tourism sectors, earth observation and climate security.