Dame Ellen MacArthur is the founder and chairperson of the curatorship at the Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation, a worldwide non-profit organisation, which is working to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy.

She is the most successful open sea sailor of her generation: she won the Ostar as well as the Route du Rhum, reached second place at the Vendeé Globe Zweite, and in 2005 she set the record for the quickest solo sailing tour around the world. Queen Elizabeth the II. appointed her as a Dame, and France awarded her the Legion of Honour medal.

After months alone at sea, with only the things she had on board, she understood how completely the economy was depending on finite resources. This understanding changed her course. In 2010 she ended her career as a professional sailor and founded the Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation, to bring together the leading minds of the economy, politics and philanthropy and push forward with the implementation of circular economy on a larger scale. Her work today encompasses three missions: critical raw materials, textiles and synthetic materials.

She was a member of the platform for resource inefficiency of the European Commission and in 2022 she accepted the Princess-of-Asturian price for international cooperation in recognition of the work of her foundation.