About us
Our story
Combined skills & knowledge for a larger impact
Due to climate change and sea level rise marine life is decreasing and coasts are flooding. The founders of Reefy Jaime and Leon experienced these problems themselves and saw the impact on local communities. From this experience they decided to combine their knowledge in hydraulic engineering and marine biology to integrate nature restoration in marine infrastructure projects.
What we stand for
Our core values
Large scale impact
Science based
Respect for nature
Our vocation
Vision & Mission
Vision
Using nature as an inspiration, we change the environmental impact of marine infrastructure, from a negative to a positive.
Mission
We create a large scale impact to rewild the ocean whilst protecting people in the face of climate change.
Our team
Who we are
Jaime Ascencio
CEO | Coastal Engineer
After studying Civil Engineering in Mexico, Jaime followed his passion for the ocean to work as Business Developer in the Caribbean. By supervising all kinds of solutions to stop erosion, he discovered that existing artificial reefs are unstable if used for coastal protection, hitting and breaking each other or damaging the nature around them. Willing to learn how waves and nature interact to find the right solution, he moved to The Netherlands to study Coastal Engineering at TUDelft. During his academic journey, he saw that the same solution was needed worldwide and no project was taking the right steps to make it happen. Therefore, he did an additional year of entrepreneurship at TUDelft where Reefy started. As a scuba diver and ocean passionate, Jaime enjoys spending his free time close to the water.
Leon Haines
CTO | Marine Biologist
Leon studied Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Netherlands, Majoring in Marine Biology. As a passionate diver and scuba instructor Leon spent 5 years after his studies working in coral reef restoration in Thailand, the Maldives and Indonesia. In 2018 he founded Conservation Diver Indonesia, where he trained students and volunteers in all the ins and outs of coral reef conservation. Convinced of a way to create a larger impact by upscaling reef restoration through infrastructure projects, he joined Jaime to found Reefy.
Daan Houtzager
Lead Engineer
Daan is a hydraulic engineer with over five years of experience in coastal protection, and eco- engineering. He graduated from TU Delft in 2020, where he focused on the stability of large armour units in breakwaters. At Reefy, he leads engineering efforts across projects, research and product development, with a strong focus on engineered, nature-inclusive solutions. "I like the combination of nature enhancement and hydraulic engineering; this is engineering for the future."
Johana Schlotter
Commercial Lead
Johana leads Reefy’s commercial strategy, combining a background in economics with experience in ESG consulting and commercial roles across different sectors. Her work in corporate sustainability sparked a desire to contribute to solutions with real environmental impact. At Reefy, she builds partnerships and helps bring nature-based solutions to market where they create long-term value for clients, communities, and marine ecosystems. She also supports new service development and marketing efforts to grow Reefy’s visibility and ensures our solutions reach the places they can have the greatest impact.
Daniel Dacomba
Mexico Regional Manager
Daniel is a data-driven Civil engineer with a passion for nature. In the early days, Daniel focused on planning and engineering infrastructure projects in the construction industry. He moved on to an environmental consultancy, where he was involved in evaluating project proposals for the water sector in Mexico. Later on, his passion for nature detonated and led him to pursue and successfully complete his Water Management master’s degree in TU Delft, where he met Jaime. Their common interests in entrepreneurship and making a positive impact for life under the sea connected and Reefy was born. You can find Daniel in the outdoors every opportunity he gets.
Our advisors
They support us
Bas Hofland
Associate Professor at TU Delft
Rutger De Graaf-van Dinther
Co-founder/Director at Blue21
Margaux Hein
PhD, Lead Consultant at MER Research and Consulting
Rewilding the ocean to protect the land.
Delft, The Netherlands
BTW: NL860704518B01