Maximiliano Bello is an international ocean policy expert who has worked in the environmental arena for almost three decades to advance marine conservation priorities. He has worked for international non-governmental organizations including The Minderoo Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Oceana, World Wildlife Fund, the Blue Whale Center, Mission Blue and Island Conservation and advises institutions and companies including, Patagonia.  Bello has worked with a wide array of international fora including the United Nations and UN conventions and bodies serving as the UNFCCC COP25 Presidential Committee Ocean Representative in 2019.  Additionally, Bello has worked directly with governments in Latin America and around the world to establish marine protected areas. Of note, Bello was instrumental in securing protections for over 2.3 million squared kms of countries’ territorial waters.  Bello is a distinguished fellow with the Latin American Program of the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, an advisor to the Ocean Leader’s Program at Edinburgh University in Scotland, and advisor to the Great Whale Conservancy and to SeaLegacy.  Bello also serves on the board of MIGRAMAR and has advanced degrees and diplomas in natural resources management and economics.

Bello holds advanced open-water dive certifications with over 100 dives around the world. Bello has planned and participated in numerous scientific expeditions including to Antarctica, Cocos Island (Costa Rica), Cordillera de Coiba (Panama), East Timor, Galapagos (Ecuador), Mozambique, Patagonia (Chile), Revillagigedo (Mexico) and Dominican Republic.

In 2022, Bello was awarded the Orden de Manuel Amador Guerrero by the government of Panama for his work to protect the Cordillera de Coiba, the first highly and fully marine protected area (MPAs) to be established in the eastern tropical pacific corridor, an area widely celebrated as a major global success story for ocean protection. This award is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a civilian and was awarded by Presidential decree.