Governance

Mercator Ocean International (MOi) is a non-profit organisation in the process of becoming an intergovernmental organisation. Its ten Associates/Shareholders from five countries are leading international scientific actors: CMCC, CNR, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Météo-France, Met Office, NERSC, Puertos del Estado, SHOM.

The organisation is governed by its General Assembly where each of the ten Associates are represented. The organisation is directed by its Director General under the supervision of the Management Board. The Scientific Council, with an advisory role, reports to the General Assembly.

Governing role	General Assembly
Executive role	Management Board Director General
Advisory role	Scientific Board

The General Assembly (GA) is the highest decision-making body of the organisation and brings together all the Shareholders. The GA sets the strategy of the organisation and approves the annual programme of activities and budget necessary for its implementation. It appoints the Director General and the members of the Management Board and the Scientific Board. The General Assembly decides on the evolution of the organisation, including the opening of its governance to new members and States, and the evolution of its statutes to support its mission.

The members sitting at the General Assembly are the legal representatives of the Shareholders (see below) or the persons mandated to represent them:   

The Management Board is composed of as many co-managers as there are Partners. It supervises the implementation of the programme of activities and the budget, the execution of which is delegated to the Director General, and takes any management decision necessary to achieve the objectives within the framework set by the General Assembly.

Its composition is fixed and can only be modified by the General Assembly; each member of the Management Board thus has an individual mandate as co-manager registered in the company’s records and cannot delegate it. The current members are :

The Director General ensures the smooth running of the organisation, the achievement of the objectives set by the General Assembly and the implementation of the activity programme and its budget. He/she leads the whole organisation, directs its team and manages all its resources. He/she is the only person authorised to commit the organisation to third parties, and reports to the Management Board and the General Assembly on his/her actions.

The Director General represents the organisation in its dealings with stakeholders, in particular the European Commission for the implementation of the European delegations and the major international partner organisations.  On behalf of the General Assembly, he/she organises the organisation’s statutory changes.

Pierre Bahurel has headed Mercator Ocean International since its creation.

The Scientific Board (SB) is a consultative body whose purpose is to make recommendations on Mercator Ocean’s strategic scientific orientations, taking into account the national, European and international contexts of its development.

The SB is made up of its Chair and a maximum of twelve other experts. It formulates its opinions in complete independence and reports to the General Assembly.

The current members are :