Our Team

Ocean Exchange Team

Dave McFadden

Port of Seattle Managing Director, Economic Development Division

Dave McFadden is a mission-driven leader who has spent his career building local economies and promoting sustainable economic development.

With experience at the state and local level, McFadden has wide-ranging know-how in the areas of business development, city planning, workforce development, tourism, real estate development and public relations.

David has over 30 years of experience in economic and business development. His results-oriented background makes him uniquely qualified to lead Port efforts to drive equitable economic development across the region.

Prior to the Port of Seattle, McFadden served as President and CEO of the Yakima County Development Association. He was responsible for business and industry retention and expansion, along with new business recruitment. Companies that received support from the association have invested over $400 million in new facilities and created over 2,000 new jobs since 2002.

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Ocean Exchange invites you to learn more about Awards Program, our ecosystem and success of our award winners and participants. Together, we can chart a powerful course to help ensure the future of our oceans and the Blue Economy.

“Ocean Exchange has a platform to enable people with information that they need to know about the ocean and then to showcase new technologies that are on the forefront of really helping the ocean and the planet.”

“The quality of the content and the people who are involved with Ocean Exchange is all high end.”

“Besides funding, Ocean Exchange provides access to a wide area network of incredibly talented people in organizations that really do just want to help people.”

“Ocean Exchange is really about helping the little guys grow and in so doing, helping the big guys be better ocean citizens.”

“Ocean Exchange seems to be much more focused on bringing to light under-capitalized, wonderful new technology ideas. And it’s all about two-way access to this new technology and to the people who can help with the experience to grow that technology.”

“Ocean Exchange is a force multiplier to enable sustainable innovation.”

“Ocean Exchange is a global, novel innovation forum that has a greater ability to attract a broader range of impactful stakeholders than any other event that’s out there.”

“Unquestionably, one of Ocean Exchange’s primary strengths is how it brings together people from different paths. That makes its event a delegator experience as well as experience for an innovator or awards nominee.”

“Ocean Exchange is entirely different from any of the other organizations that I’m involved in. It is about sustainable innovation. I think it’s also very different in the extremely broad range of stakeholders that it involves.”

“There’s nothing better than going to an event or engaging with people so you walk away and say, ‘Wow!’”