The Alternative Investment Forum 2019

Biography: Ms Wilkie is the Director of the Forestry Policy and Resources Division within the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). She has a background in Forestry and Environmental Management and over 30 years of experience in providing scientific evidence and policy advice to governments, partner organizations and international conventions on issues related to the environment and development nexus with a focus on the sustainable management of forests and other natural resources, biodiversity conservation and nature-based solutions to climate change.

Session Details: A bright future ahead: uncovering the role private investments in forests and agriculture play in achieving the sustainable development goals 16-10-2019, 9:10 am View In Agenda

Biography: Mark has worked in investment management and advisory for thirty years, focusing on sustainable investing including for major institutional asset management companies.  Mark is a co-founder of some of the first responsible investment funds firstly at Jupiter Asset Management in 1989 with the Ecology Funds, NPI with Global Care, the AMP Capital Sustainable Future Funds, and Henderson Global Investor’s Industries of the Future Funds.   Mark served on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development working group on capital markets leading up to the 1992 Earth Summit; was a Member of the Steering Committee of UNEP Financial Sector Initiative (1999-2003). Mark is a Founder Director of the UK Sustainable and Responsible Investment Forum (UKSIF), 1990-2006, is a member of the Advisory Council of ImpactBase.org; a member of the Advisory Board of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s ‘Conservation and Markets Initiatives’; a member of UNCTAD’s Sustainable Stock Exchange’s Green Finance Advisory Group; and is the Hon Treasurer of The Rainforest Foundation UK. Mark is an advisor to Consilium Capital and serves on the Advisory Board of Tribe Impact Capital.   As an advisor to Consilium, Mark has raised capital for a range of forestry and agricultural funds, renewable energy funds and companies.  Mark is the Founder of the award winning non-profit group the Carbon Tracker Initiative and more recently ‘Planet Tracker’. Mark is responsible for management strategy, board matters and developing their capital markets framework analysis. Their goal is to align capital markets with natural ecological limits to growth.   Mark has a BA in Politics & Economic History and an M.Sc in Agricultural Economics

Session Details: The journey to ESG and sustainability: finding the balance between high returns and environmentally-led investing 16-10-2019, 10:10 am View In Agenda

Biography:

Senior Manager Global Forest Investments, MEAG MUNICH ERGO AssetManagement GmbH

Wendelin von Gravenreuth is responsible for the investment and management of the global forest portfolio of Munich Re Group. He joined MEAG in 2014 and holds a MSc in Forest Science from the Technical University of Munich. Prior to that, he worked for the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) in Brussels, Belgium, as well as the European Forest Institute (EFI) in Joensuu, Finland.

MEAG is the asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO and has currently around € 250 billion assets under management

Session Details: Panel discussion and audience Q&A | A strategic and economic overview: the future of agriculture and timber investments 16-10-2019, 10:40 am View In Agenda

Biography: Mark Tracy has spent the majority of his career creating innovative financial tools to solve intractable problems. While at Cargill, Mark and his team changed the way farmers market their crops through unique pricing flexibility. He also managed an institutional sales team at Cargill, working with public pension funds, foundations and endowments investing in aquaculture through crop production loans. Mark led the effort at Cargill to use distributed ledger technology to create digitally traceable food. He serves on the board or committees of Hope Hospice and Palliative Care of New England, Rhode Island Public Health Institute, Save The Bay, and Ocean State Innovate. Mark is a named inventor on two US patents, and has worked advising startups from Brown and the Social Enterprise Greenhouse for over 10 years.

Session Details: Exploring the revolutionary tools which will maximize returns of institutional farmland ownership 16-10-2019, 5:10 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Head of Forestry, responsible for the forestry portfolio at AXA IM - Real Assets. He has been involved in the forestry sector for over twenty years.

Session Details: Roundtable 2 | Debating the role of carbon index to cover climate risk in plantation of forest 17-10-2019, 9:10 am View In Agenda

Biography: Martin Berg is the head of the Environmental Funds and Climate Finance Policy Unit at the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg leading a team focusing on investments in private equity and debt funds related to the environment and clean infrastructure as well as helping to coordinate the EIB's climate finance activities. In addition to his role at the EIB, Martin is a member of the Board of Director of the Green for Growth Fund. Prior to his current role, Martin coordinated the monetisation activities of the NER300 Initiative for the EIB, which raised over EUR 2 billion to fund innovative renewable energy technologies and carbon capture and storage demonstration projects. Martin joined the EIB in 2011 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) in London. Prior to his time at BAML, Martin worked at RNK Capital LLC, an environmental investment firm in New York, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Martin holds an MPA from Columbia University and an MA from the University of Bonn.

Session Details: Panel discussion and audience Q&A | A strategic and economic overview: the future of agriculture and timber investments 16-10-2019, 10:40 am View In Agenda

Biography: “Alan is the Investment Specialist at WRI Brasil and is responsible for investment advice and valuation of alternative investments, focused on impact investments on land use. Prior to joining WRI Brasil, Alan began his working career in the pulp and paper sector, afterwards he joined Ibá (Brazilian Tree Industry), which is the forest industry association in Brazil. He holds a degree in Forest Engineering from the University of São Paulo (USP) and a Master of Science in forest economics from the Erasmus mundus program at the University of Freiburg in Germany and the University of Eastern Finland. Alan is also a member of Financial Innovation LAB, and he is a CFA level III candidate.”

Session Details: Measuring the impact of timber investments: a collaborative initiative 16-10-2019, 3:20 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Alec joined AgDevCo in late 2016 bringing over 15 years’ experience in ESG in international project development and investment. Prior to this Alec spent 5 years at global sustainability consultancy ERM as a Principal Consultant focussing on ESG and Responsible Investment. Alec previously spent ten years at the international engineering consultant Halcrow where we was Technical Leader for Environmental Water Quality and a Principal Scientist. For a number of years Alec also helped run a small Malawi based Water and Sanitation NGO in a voluntary capacity.

Session Details: Panel discussion and audience Q&A | Geographical spotlight: agriculture investments in Africa 17-10-2019, 12:15 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Michael joined the Sustainable Investments team of DWS in 2011 as portfolio manager and focuses on funds that invest into debt products targeting businesses active in the food-, trade- and renewable energy sector which includes electrification. Michael oversees the investment activities for the group on the African continent and is the responsible portfolio manager for the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund. Part of the Sustainable Investments team, Michael pursued the initiative to accredit Deutsche Bank AG with the Green Climate Fund as the first private, international bank that obtained approval for an investment concept from the GCF. The mandate focuses on climate mitigation and targets investments in decentralized energy supply solutions from renewable sources designed to expand the availability of clean electrical energy across five African countries.   Michael holds a degree in international business administration from the Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.

Session Details: On-stage discussion and mobile voting | From disease to clean water: understanding the impact that climate change will have on agricultural assets 16-10-2019, 12:35 pm Industry focus | DWS investments into Africa 16-10-2019, 3:20 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Jean is the head of the Food and Agriculture equity investment team at CDC. He joined CDC in January 2016. Prior to CDC he spent ten years as a senior member of the private equity team of Swicorp (now SPE Capital) that invested over US$1 billion in the Middle East and Africa. Prior to Swicorp, Mr. Habay acquired a wealth of transactional, strategic and operational experience, first as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and then at Salomon Smith Barney and Capital One. He is a graduate of Ecole Centrale Paris and has an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.  

Session Details: Panel discussion and audience Q&A | Geographical spotlight: agriculture investments in Africa 17-10-2019, 12:15 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Teresa is a Partner and co-founder of Astarte Capital Partners. She is also a member of the Investment Committee. During her career, Teresa has acquired 17 years of experience in structuring, execution and senior management across the spectrum of Private Equity investments. Before co-founding Astarte, she was Head of Private Equity for Signia Wealth, a multi-office, where she oversaw the investment strategy and investment selection for fund investments and coinvestments. Prior to this, Teresa was CIO for Private Equity at Piraeus Group, where she co-led the establishment of the private equity group, launched three private equity and venture capital funds and developed the group’s strategy in the renewable energy space. Teresa joined Piraeus from UBS Investment Bank in London and New York, where she advised on corporate transactions in the real asset space in the U.S. and Europe. She was part of the team that launched the renewable energy practice of UBS globally. Teresa holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York and a BSc. In Economics and Finance from the University of Athens, Greece.

Session Details: Panel discussion and audience Q&A | A strategic and economic overview: the future of agriculture and timber investments 16-10-2019, 10:40 am View In Agenda

Biography: As Global Head of Sustainable Business Development Matthijs leads the implementation of Rabobank’s sustainability commitment into its wholesale banking operation. Matthijs has been with Rabobank for more than 15 years in various professional and management roles, including Global Sector Head for the Farm Inputs sector, Head of F&A Banking and member of the management team of the Wholesale Bank in the Netherlands, before which Matthijs lead the home-market Acquisition Finance team. Over the years, Matthijs has built a vast global network of relationships in the various Food & Agribusiness industries and sectors. He has led many successful transactions, including –most recently leading roles (M&A and capital markets) for Rabobank in the wave of farm inputs industry consolidation. Prior to joining Rabobank, Matthijs worked in several Structured and Acquisition Finance roles in ABN AMRO. Matthijs holds an MBA degree from Nyenrode University in the Netherlands and has received executive education at Harvard Business School, IMD and Inse

Session Details: Looking ahead: investing in the transition to climate friendly agriculture 17-10-2019, 3:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography:

Senior investment banking professional, with a background as a legal practitioner, amassing over 16 years’ experience working with international companies in middle market M&A transactions and having extensive cross border activities between Europe and Latin America.

Prior to joining Wimmer Family Office in London UK (2017), in charge of Private Capital Advisory, Antonio was a senior investment team member of a Private Equity Fund (Fir Capital Partners) and an IB boutique firm (G5Evercore&Sao Paulo Investments SA) based in Brazil for 9 years and began his career at and International Law Firm in Italy&Brazil. Antonio has extensive experience in Renewables, Infrastructure, Mining&Commodities, Real Estate and Consumer Goods across Europe, LatAm and Africa.

Antonio holds a MBA from MIP Business School by Polytechnic of Milan, Italy 2012, along with an executive master’s certificate from SDA Bocconi School of Management from Milan, Italy 2016 and a Bachelor degree in International Law from University of Milan, Italy 2003.

Antonio is, from 2019, a Non-Executive Director at Academy Ambassador the School’ Network by Department of UK Education in London, UK and from 2018 at Eurus Financial Education in Zurich, Switzerland.”

Session Details: Family office and private bank discussion 17-10-2019, 2:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Miguel López de Silanes Gómez Managing Director, Market Leader for Europe and Latin America Family Office Exchange Miguel López de Silanes Gómez is the Market Leader for Europe and Latin America at Family Office Exchange (FOX). He is responsible for delivering FOX services to current members, and actively works to expand the network in Europe and Latin America. Miguel has most recently been director of the family office for one of Europe’s leading real estate families, with specific responsibility for designing and implementing the family’s investment strategy and for providing owner education to the younger family members. Previously, he worked at UBS Wealth Management in New York, Chile, and other locations in Latin America. He began his career at Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant in London and Madrid. He has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics from Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE) in Madrid.

Session Details: Family office and private bank discussion 17-10-2019, 2:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Richard Ofori-Mante is the Division Manager of the Agriculture and Rural Finance Division of the African Development Bank, where leads a team of investment officers in originating and executing Agribusiness transactions for the Bank’s non-sovereign guaranteed operations. He is an investment and development finance professional with over 18 years international transactional experience in debt capital markets, project, corporate and structured finance, with demonstrated record of utilizing innovative financial structures, risk mitigating solutions and credit enhancement instruments to mobilize private capital for various transformative projects. His experience includes working with both the private sector and governments in the transactional dialogue around the development, structuring and implementation of projects across Africa.   Richard has extensive experience in developing and working with various financial instruments including loans, guarantees, risk management products, equity and other instruments administered by Multilateral Development Institutions.  His thorough understanding of each such instrument, including their respective policies, procedures, and how these can be combined or optimized for catalytic impact and mobilization of private sector financing has led and contributed to some of the most innovative and first-time transactions in African markets providing solutions to clients.   Richard holds a MBA degree from the Washington University in Saint Louis, USA and a BSc. (Honors) degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.

Session Details: Panel discussion and audience Q&A | Geographical spotlight: agriculture investments in Africa 17-10-2019, 12:15 pm View In Agenda

Biography: As the founder and President of Arbonaut Ltd. I am in charge of all of its operations, including global services to timberland owners and forest administrations in twenty odd countries on six continents. Technological innovation and related application development and IT systems integration have been close to my heart even longer, as well as customer relations in many different cultures and parts of the world. My personal background is rather theoretical and I have also served as a Professor of Mathematics at Lappeenranta University of Technology as a second occupation.  

Session Details: Enhancing the use of Machine Learning in Forest Management to better assess and plan your operations 16-10-2019, 4:20 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Jacek Siry, PhD Professor of Forest Economics, Center for Forest Business & Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA Dr. Siry has significant international forestry experience, including forest finance and investment, business management, and policy; timber trade, availability, and costs; and natural and plantation forest management across the world’s major producing regions. His research is focused on the global competitiveness of forest industries, international forest investments, timber market modeling, and forest management efficiency.

Session Details: Spotlight on Latin America 17-10-2019, 11:10 am View In Agenda

Biography: ROBERT L. IZLAR, RF, CF HARLEY LANGDALE, JR. CENTER FOR FOREST BUSINESS WARNELL SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA ATHENS, GEORGIA 30602-2152 bizlar@uga.edu Bob Izlar has been founding director of the UGA Harley Langdale, Jr. Center for Forest Business since 1998. He has 24 years of operational forestry experience in forest industry. Izlar is a retired United States Army Colonel with 36 years’ service.

Session Details: Digging into the relationship between timber and carbon neutrality 16-10-2019, 12:35 pm View In Agenda

Biography: I advise a wide array of institutional investors and Family Offices with interest in the global food and agricultural sector, helping them to deploy capital across the asset spectrum - including farmland, row and permanent crops, private equity opportunities across the food and ag value chain, VC and structured finance.  

Session Details: Assessing long-term trends and opportunities in the broad food and agricultural investment space 17-10-2019, 2:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: I master the emerging bio-products sector where I can help clients to establish new business starting from the idea phase all the way to industrial scale operations. I know what drives the regulations and business decisions in bioenergy, biofuels & bio-chemicals  as well as recycling and waste management and what can be expected from the future development of these sectors.

Session Details: Consumer packaging in a sustainable world: digging into the exciting potential for new packaging products and materials 17-10-2019, 3:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: I have a deep and holistic understanding of the global packaging and paper markets and industry that I have worked with for over 20 years. My expertise covers the value chain dynamics, business strategies, market trends and foresight as well as financial fundamentals of the industry and its players and end-users.

Session Details: Consumer packaging in a sustainable world: digging into the exciting potential for new packaging products and materials 17-10-2019, 3:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography:

Session Details: Roundtable 2 | Debating the role of carbon index to cover climate risk in plantation of forest 17-10-2019, 9:10 am View In Agenda

Biography: I have 18 years of experience in Investment strategy, Financial structuring, Risk analysis and Business management in real assets and sustainable investments. At 12Tree, I’m responsible for Product Structuring and the Investment strategy of the Sustainable Agroforestry Fund.

Session Details: Blended finance and financial innovation in sustainable agriculture and forestry 16-10-2019, 9:40 am View In Agenda

Biography: Petteri has over 30 years of experience in strategic planning and development of forest investments, forestry and forest industry businesses worldwide. He has the capability to combine complex fibre resource, market, competitiveness and environmental issues into strategic plans and advice to improve business performance and shareholder value. Since the 1990s he has accumulated a large experience in forest investment strategies, M&A, valuations, due diligence, resource development and project implementation for leading international corporations.

Session Details: The forces and discontinuities shaping global forest investment environments 17-10-2019, 11:45 am View In Agenda

Biography:   George is the head of Pöyry’s Forestry and Biomass industry team globally. He has more than 16 years of experience across the forest industry and bioenergy sectors and is an experienced advisor to CEO level with an established track record in consulting, industrial management, business growth initiatives, investment valuation, and revenue generation.  

Session Details: The forces and discontinuities shaping global forest investment environments 17-10-2019, 11:45 am View In Agenda

Biography: Sami joined Pöyry Management Consulting’s Forest and Wood Products Business Segment in 2006. He is expert in forest economics, forest management, wood/ biomass sourcing, and wood market analysis. Sami has gained experience and understanding at a global level on forest investments/evaluations, forest/plantation management as well as industrial wood/biomass availability and market issues.

Session Details: The forces and discontinuities shaping global forest investment environments 17-10-2019, 11:45 am View In Agenda

Biography: Gaëtan Herinckx is a senior investment professional passionate about working with growing businesses having positive impact on societies. He is Manager at BIO, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries. He oversees BIO’s direct investments SME and Corporate (including Agribusiness). BIO invests in financial institutions, enterprises, infrastructure and funds across Africa, Latin America and Asia with an objective to promote economic and social development. Gaëtan has been working in sustainable investment field over the last 19 years. He first worked for Candriam Asset Management as Head of Sustainable and Responsible Investment. He then participated to the launch of Sustainable Capital, boutique asset manager focusing on investment in Africa (ex-SA) investments. In 2016, he joined BIO with a focus on providing funding to SME and Corporates. Mr. Herinckx hold a Msc in Business Engineering (UCL, Louvain-La-Neuve), a post-graduate in Financial risk management (Saint-Louis, Brussels) and an International Management Program – MBA (Stern Business School, New-York)

Session Details: Panel discussion and audience Q&A | Geographical spotlight: agriculture investments in Africa 17-10-2019, 12:15 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Miriam has worked on the intersection between conservation and finance for the last 20+ years. With an MSc in Biology, she worked for almost ten years for WWF Netherlands. As a manager at WWF, she sometimes joked that biologists were becoming an endangered species, as she was hiring economists and political scientists. She strongly believes multidisciplinary teams are needed for the transition to a sustainable economy. She worked for IFC Africa in 2010-2013 on sustainable forestry and agriculture, based in Dakar. For WWF and IFC she traveled and worked in over 20 countries on 5 continents between 2000 and 2012. Upon return in the Netherlands, she took up her work in consultancy EcoValue again (founded in 2006). Miriam likes to work on a broad range of sustainability issues, shifting in perspective from big picture to details of sustainable investments, company CSR strategies, conservation programs or government procurement policies. Always back again to the big picture. Or in the words of astronauts: the Overview Effect.

Session Details: Roundtable 1 | Investing in Nature 17-10-2019, 9:10 am View In Agenda

Biography: Antti is Simosol’s Chief Technology Officer and Partner, leading the software development and valuation service business. He has over 10 years of professional experience in the valuation of forest assets, decision support software development, short- and long-term forest planning, as well as analysing uncertainties in forest models. Antti has a PhD in Forestry from the University of Helsinki.

Session Details: Managing forests for carbon credits 17-10-2019, 10:00 am View In Agenda

Biography: Marc Chiappero is an economist with a master’s degree in international management by the University of Rennes, France and holder of an MBA in Management of the industrial processes and quality by the FGV Foundation in Brazil. He is the General Manager of ARIA do Brasil and member of the board of directors of ARIA Technologies and in charge of the international strategy.

Session Details: Innovative web-based modeling solutions for wildfires 16-10-2019, 1:05 pm View In Agenda

Biography:

Sydney is responsible for leading HNRG’s Business Development team specifically focused on capital raising, distribution, marketing operations and product development across our global institutional and high net worth markets. Prior to joining HNRG, Sydney was a Managing Director for Beacon Hill Financial Corporation, a Boston-based private placement firm with clients in the private equity buyout and energy sectors. Prior to Beacon Hill, Sydney was Manager of Project Finance with Alpine Energy Group, a private-equity funded power development firm. Early in her career, Sydney was a strategy consultant with The Parthenon Group where she performed a number of strategic consulting initiatives for global fortune 500 companies. Sydney holds a B.A. in International Studies and Art History from Middlebury College and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She is registered with John Hancock Distributors LLC and holds Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Session Details: A spotlight on Hancock’s Sustainability and Responsible Investment Platform 16-10-2019, 3:50 pm View In Agenda

Biography: I am responsible for the market analysis supporting investment and operational planning and decision making for the Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG). My team maintains informational databases and produces analytical studies and publications addressing trends in global timber and agricultural commodity markets as well as and the role of timberlands and farmlands in institutional investment. Before joining HNRG in 2012, I was Senior Economist with Forest Capital Partners LLC, a company investing and managing commercial timberland for institutional investors, where I was responsible for market analysis, business development and investor support. Prior to his time at Forest Capital Partners, I was a principal at RISI, a provider of information services and analysis to the global forest products sector. I hold an MFS in Forest Economics from Yale, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Session Details: A spotlight on Hancock’s Sustainability and Responsible Investment Platform 16-10-2019, 3:50 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Richard Ferguson advises the Agricultural Transformation Initiative. His investment banking career began in 1989 in Edinburgh. In 1993 he relocated to Asia where he spent nine years working as an analyst. After four years in Latin America and Paris, Richard joined Nomura's emerging markets group in London and established an agriculture research function. After a spell at Moscow-based Renaissance Capital, Richard established Ferguson Cardo and advised PwC in Africa and CABI. He has worked on agribusiness fundraisings across Latin America, Africa, Asia and the CIS. He is the author of "African agriculture: This other Eden", "A revolution of sorts", "From field to laptop: the changing face of soft commodities trading", "China's grain drain" and the agriculture chapter of “The Fastest Billion” a book on Africa’s economic prospects.

Session Details: Geographical spotlight: Building large-scale agri-investments in Africa 17-10-2019, 11:45 am View In Agenda

Biography: Martin Poulsen has been active in private equity, SME finance and emerging markets for over 20 years. He has worked extensively on both the GP and LP sides and been successful in raising capital from both public and private sources, including for new fund managers pursuing innovative investment strategies. He is Managing Director of Acacia Sustainable Business Advisors, which provides advisory and fund- raising services to fund managers and SMEs. He was a founder and co-CEO of the Moringa Partnership, an agroforestry sector oriented fund manager from 2012-2016. Martin is a Senior Advisor to Consilium Capital an advisor and fund raiser in the sustainability sector and to Pamiga SA, a microfinance specialist. From 2009-2011 he served as chief private equity officer at the African Development Bank. Between 2003 and 2009, he led the European Investment Bank (EIB) private equity investment activities in sub-Saharan Africa and in European renewable energy. From 1997-2002, he was a member of the team that established Kennet Capital, one of Europe’s leading early-stage technology venture capital firms. Before this, he worked for the Commonwealth Development Corporation as a project engineer at agribusinesses in Cote d’Ivoire and Swaziland. Martin has served as a member of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) Africa Council. He has a Master’s degree in manufacturing engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in general engineering from Cambridge University. He is a fluent speaker of English, French, Dutch and German and lives close to Geneva.

Session Details: Welcome address and chair’s opening remarks 16-10-2019, 9:00 am View In Agenda

Biography: With more than four decades of experience in farming and a multi-billion-dollar track record as a senior agribusiness executive, Detlef Schoen is one of few experts globally that combine experience and a successful track record all the way from hands-on farming to international agribusiness and financial markets. He is widely known for his thought leadership in sustainable farmland and agribusiness investments. After his studies of agricultural economics he joined Cargill where he had a fast-track career with stations as country manager, Cargill Germany, and product line manager of the European grain trading business. He left Cargill to set up his own grain origination company which he grew from a small local trader to a significant country merchant and the largest exporter of German quality wheat. Having exited from this business, he ran the global grain book for NIDERA - at the time the 6th largest grain trader worldwide. From NIDERA he moved to Aquila Capital to build a farm investment franchise which quickly became the largest foreign investor in New Zealand agriculture at the time. He left Aquila Capital to invest in and manage a club deal of grass-fed beef farms in Australia from where he transferred to London as Head of Real Assets at Insight Investment. Driven by the firm belief that the world needs a fundamental shift in the way it is farmed, he recently left Insight to pursue his ambition of setting up a first-of-its-kind large-scale, sustainable and climate neutral farming und agribusiness company.

Session Details: Shedding light on agricultural investments in the context of sustainability and climate change 16-10-2019, 12:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: CEO & board member at Skogsfond Baltikum 9 years experience from Baltic forest investments. Fund Manager at AIFP Baltic Asset Management for Skogsfond Baltikum, chairman of Latvijas Mezu Agentura  which is subsidiary to Skogsfond Baltikum. Chairman of SIA Lettskogolen that controls 1070 hectars of forestland in Latvia. Board member of acquisition and forest management company SIA Kupica. Owner and investment advisor in Forest Value AB. Board member of wind energy company Rockagården Vind AB. Background: B.Sc. Business Administration, Uppsala University. Previously Head of Controlling & Business Development at Scania CV AB.

Session Details: Investment case: Baltic forest investment project (8 years) 17-10-2019, 2:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Jasper H. Renk oversees the management of international sustainable forestry investments and is responsible for liquidity and cash flow planning, the evaluation of annual reports and the preparation of quarterly and annual reports. His other activities include working with stakeholders and managing transaction processes. Prior to joining Aquila Capital in 2017, Jasper H. Renk was a freelance forestry services provider for five years. He completed his studies in forest science and forest ecology at the Georg-August University of Göttingen.

Session Details: Merging economy and ecology to impact forestry in a developed country 16-10-2019, 3:50 pm View In Agenda

Biography:

• 15 years+ experience in Asset Management, Investment Banking, he recently joined a team of international investors to create the Climate Endowment, an investor across all asset classes following the portfolio approach of the American endowments with the additional requirement of a climate target.
• Patrick worked 9 years for the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, a leading global sovereign wealth fund. There he worked the last 5 years for the Global Special Situations focusing on FIG/Credit/Structured Credit investments and 4 years in Risk Management performing due diligence across all asset classes; Prior to that he worked 3 years at DresdnerKleinwort underwriting leveraged loans and started his career at GE Capital
• Patrick has a Master of Science from the ESCP Europe

Session Details: The sleeping giants in investing for the climate: long term profitable and climate friendly business opportunities emerging in forestry and agriculture 17-10-2019, 3:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: I am Head of Forestry for ForestRe, the forest underwriting unit within Globe Underwriting Ltd. based in the City of London. We provide tailored insurance for forests and fruit trees on behalf of certain Syndicates at Lloyd's (A- AM Best). Experienced in assessing crop and forest risk over 25 years, ForestRe price risk, model worst-case scenarios and design new insurance products and procedures for all tree-types including carbon and other ecosystem services.

Session Details: Natural Hazard Risk Update within invested forestry 16-10-2019, 1:15 pm View In Agenda

Biography:

Session Details: Soil Health: Driver of profitability in agribusiness investments 17-10-2019, 2:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Mr. Olav Houben has been involved in commodities and related activities since 2005. As such he has a very good understanding of the workings of all facets of the commodity industry, including regulatory developments (f.e. as former member of the ESMA consultative working group Commodities Derivatives Task Force) and understanding of the reputational issues and sustainability challenges related to investing in commodities as well as commodity producing capacity. Until 2017 he shared direct and eventually held final responsibility for managing the commodity beta exposure (via commodity futures and OTCs) of APG as well as the absolute return strategies. Per 2009 Mr. Houben shared direct and eventually held final responsibility for APGs global natural resources exposure which is positioned to be complimentary to APGs listed commodity beta exposure. Since 2007 APG has gradually been expanding its Natural Resources exposure. The initial focus was on Timber and Farmland. Later on the universe expanded into Mining and Energy exploitation activities. Prior to his involvement in commodities and Natural Resources, Mr. Houben was a portfolio manager Quantitative Equity Strategies within APGs listed equity platform. He was involved in developing and implementing quantitative listed equity strategies such as sector neutral stock selection models. Mr. Houben holds a MSc in Econometrics from Tilburg University and he earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation

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Biography:

Senior Manager Global Forest Investments, MEAG MUNICH ERGO AssetManagement GmbH

Wendelin von Gravenreuth is responsible for the investment and management of the global forest portfolio of Munich Re Group. He joined MEAG in 2014 and holds a MSc in Forest Science from the Technical University of Munich. Prior to that, he worked for the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) in Brussels, Belgium, as well as the European Forest Institute (EFI) in Joensuu, Finland.

MEAG is the asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO and has currently around € 250 billion assets under management

Session Details: Panel discussion and audience Q&A | A strategic and economic overview: the future of agriculture and timber investments 16-10-2019, 10:40 am View In Agenda

Biography: I advise a wide array of institutional investors and Family Offices with interest in the global food and agricultural sector, helping them to deploy capital across the asset spectrum - including farmland, row and permanent crops, private equity opportunities across the food and ag value chain, VC and structured finance.  

Session Details: Assessing long-term trends and opportunities in the broad food and agricultural investment space 17-10-2019, 2:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: I am the Head of Unit, Equity, at the EIB responsible for investments in private equity funds outside the European Union. Previously, I was responsible for environmental and infrastructure fund investments. Prior to EIB, he held positions at the European Investment Fund focusing on investments in mid-market and venture capital funds.

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Biography: I am the Founder, Owner and CEO of Blue Harvest S.A. My professional background counts over 20-years in private banking, but also 5 years as a farmer. Today, I combine the two experiences by advising on farmland investments, by analysing, negotiating and advising.

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Biography: I am Head of Forestry for ForestRe, the forest underwriting unit within Globe Underwriting Ltd. based in the City of London. We provide tailored insurance for forests and fruit trees on behalf of certain Syndicates at Lloyd's (A- AM Best). Experienced in assessing crop and forest risk over 25 years, ForestRe price risk, model worst-case scenarios and design new insurance products and procedures for all tree-types including carbon and other ecosystem services.

Session Details: Natural Hazard Risk Update within invested forestry 16-10-2019, 1:15 pm View In Agenda

Biography: I have 18 years of experience in Investment strategy, Financial structuring, Risk analysis and Business management in real assets and sustainable investments. At 12Tree, I’m responsible for Product Structuring and the Investment strategy of the Sustainable Agroforestry Fund.

Session Details: Blended finance and financial innovation in sustainable agriculture and forestry 16-10-2019, 9:40 am View In Agenda

Biography:

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Biography:

Sydney is responsible for leading HNRG’s Business Development team specifically focused on capital raising, distribution, marketing operations and product development across our global institutional and high net worth markets. Prior to joining HNRG, Sydney was a Managing Director for Beacon Hill Financial Corporation, a Boston-based private placement firm with clients in the private equity buyout and energy sectors. Prior to Beacon Hill, Sydney was Manager of Project Finance with Alpine Energy Group, a private-equity funded power development firm. Early in her career, Sydney was a strategy consultant with The Parthenon Group where she performed a number of strategic consulting initiatives for global fortune 500 companies. Sydney holds a B.A. in International Studies and Art History from Middlebury College and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She is registered with John Hancock Distributors LLC and holds Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Session Details: A spotlight on Hancock’s Sustainability and Responsible Investment Platform 16-10-2019, 3:50 pm View In Agenda

Biography: I am responsible for the market analysis supporting investment and operational planning and decision making for the Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG). My team maintains informational databases and produces analytical studies and publications addressing trends in global timber and agricultural commodity markets as well as and the role of timberlands and farmlands in institutional investment. Before joining HNRG in 2012, I was Senior Economist with Forest Capital Partners LLC, a company investing and managing commercial timberland for institutional investors, where I was responsible for market analysis, business development and investor support. Prior to his time at Forest Capital Partners, I was a principal at RISI, a provider of information services and analysis to the global forest products sector. I hold an MFS in Forest Economics from Yale, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Session Details: A spotlight on Hancock’s Sustainability and Responsible Investment Platform 16-10-2019, 3:50 pm View In Agenda

Biography: With more than four decades of experience in farming and a multi-billion-dollar track record as a senior agribusiness executive, Detlef Schoen is one of few experts globally that combine experience and a successful track record all the way from hands-on farming to international agribusiness and financial markets. He is widely known for his thought leadership in sustainable farmland and agribusiness investments. After his studies of agricultural economics he joined Cargill where he had a fast-track career with stations as country manager, Cargill Germany, and product line manager of the European grain trading business. He left Cargill to set up his own grain origination company which he grew from a small local trader to a significant country merchant and the largest exporter of German quality wheat. Having exited from this business, he ran the global grain book for NIDERA - at the time the 6th largest grain trader worldwide. From NIDERA he moved to Aquila Capital to build a farm investment franchise which quickly became the largest foreign investor in New Zealand agriculture at the time. He left Aquila Capital to invest in and manage a club deal of grass-fed beef farms in Australia from where he transferred to London as Head of Real Assets at Insight Investment. Driven by the firm belief that the world needs a fundamental shift in the way it is farmed, he recently left Insight to pursue his ambition of setting up a first-of-its-kind large-scale, sustainable and climate neutral farming und agribusiness company.

Session Details: Shedding light on agricultural investments in the context of sustainability and climate change 16-10-2019, 12:00 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Head of Forestry, responsible for the forestry portfolio at AXA IM - Real Assets. He has been involved in the forestry sector for over twenty years.

Session Details: Roundtable 2 | Debating the role of carbon index to cover climate risk in plantation of forest 17-10-2019, 9:10 am View In Agenda