Our Team - Project X Global

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Øistein Thorsen

As CEO of FAI Øistein is responsible for the company’s growth and impact strategy, and new business development. With a background in international development, Øistein has 20 years of experience working for international organizations focused on community mobilization, global agricultural trade policy, and humanitarian advocacy at the United Nations.

Øistein has worked at FAI since 2012, working with many global partners, including IKEA, Ferrero, McDonald’s and KFC. Øistein holds an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA in African Studies and Development Studies from SOAS. He is the associate producer of “Black Gold”, a Sundance Film Festival feature-documentary film about coffee growers in Ethiopia’s place in the global coffee market.

He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.

Dominik Von Eynern

Dominik comes from a business family, now in its 5th generation and is founding member of Family Hippocampus, a peer-group driven think & do tank focusing on social dynamics in business families.

He holds a BSc in Economics and a MSc in finance, worked in the international investment banking industry and co-founded a family office. His research is inspired by insights from cognitive neuroscience, behavioural economics and complex system theory.

Maria Smith

Maria Smith is the Secretary General of the AX Foundation. Maria has around twenty years’ experience working with sustainability issues within FMCG, the engineering industry and the service sector, among others. She has several years of experience as a leader and manager and before Axfoundation, she worked for ICA Sverige AB for nearly 12 years. Up until 2019, Maria was the Senior Manager Corporate Responsibility Strategy & Development with responsibility for leading and developing the strategic sustainability work within ICA Gruppen, focusing on issues such as climate, food waste, plastic, public health and social responsibility.

Maria has a civil engineering background in chemistry, and has previously worked as an environmental and sustainability consultant and has international experience from projects in China, Vietnam and Mexico. Maria took on the position as Secretary General of Axfoundation on August 26 2019.

Amy Stillman

Amy Stillman serves as Director, Communications, leading on the development and execution of the communications strategy to advance the GIIN’s mission and brand. She and her team are responsible for raising awareness of impact investing and the work of the GIIN among key stakeholder groups and in the media.

Prior to joining the GIIN, she was Director of Communications at Impetus – The Private Equity Foundation, the pioneer of venture philanthropy in the UK, where she was responsible for both external and internal communications, and policy. Previously she was Head of Communications and Public Engagement at Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), the world’s leading independent international development organization that uses volunteers to fight poverty and reduce inequality. Her background includes senior marketing and communications roles at commercial organizations, including Merrill Lynch and WATG, as well as marketing consulting at the Commonwealth Group. She moved to the social sector in 1999 as Marketing Director of global leadership development organization Common Purpose.

Amy was based in the United Kingdom for 25 years before returning to New York in 2014. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College.

Dulma Clark

Dulma is a Head of LBF, Vivobarefoot in-house impact fund for incubation and deployment of programmes driving research, innovation and action in regenerative footwear and experiences. Vivobarefoot is B Corp certified global footwear company with a mission to reconnect people and nature.

Over the past 8 years Dulma has been involved with the family philanthropy and currently a Trustee of JA Clark Charitable Trust. Originally from Lake Baikal, Buryat indigenous community in Siberia. Champion of Russia in archery, LSE graduate in Human Rights, mother to Kira and Kubilai.

Luca Zerbini

Luca is Founder and co-Managing Partner of Peak Point Partners, a Venture Capital based in Zurich, investing in start-ups at the crossroads of technology and sustainability. He is an accomplished C-Suite Executive, with a track record of success working up to CEO and Managing Director at Fedrigoni Paper (a $2B Bain Capital portfolio company) and Vice-President and General Manager at Amcor (a $13B global NYSE listed, S&P500 corporation), where he also led the Global Flexibles Sustainability Initiative.

He is also an Independent Non-Executive Director (NED) and Board Advisor to influence both Organic and Inorganic Growth (his “what”), Innovation (his “how”) and Sustainability (his “why”) in various BtoB companies across multiple industries.

Recognized for his inspirational and purpose-led leadership, Luca has a real passion for people and for developing talent, designing optimum organizational structures and building strategic partnerships with renowned global clients and stakeholders. Because of his combination of strategy development and implementation coupled with leadership and team management capabilities, Luca was selected by Amcor CEO Ron Delia to be part of the Duke Executive Development Program and the Aspen Institute First Movers program. He also represented Amcor at key global industry initiatives as the Consumer Goods Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and was named Vice-Chairman of Flexibles Packaging Europe.

Luca holds an Industrial Engineering MSE from Politecnico di Milano and an MBA with Honors in Finance, Entrepreneurship and Multinational Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Fellow of Institute for Real Growth and of The Marketing Academy, connecting the top CMOs and Growth leaders in the world. He speaks fluently English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. He lives with his American wife and two boys in Zurich, Switzerland.

Puru Trivedi

Puru is Meridian International’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs, with direct responsibility for managing and curating the Meridian Corporate Council, along with leading economic diplomacy initiatives across the organization.

Prior to joining Meridian, Puru worked across the financial services, policy advocacy and consulting industries. Most recently, Puru was Head of Services to Government for APCO Worldwide and Deputy Country Director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce / US-India Business Council in New Delhi. At USIBC, Puru represented the policy advocacy agenda of major US companies to the Government of India. Prior to joining the USIBC, Puru worked with private equity secondary transactions with State Street in Boston and Fimeris/Fidequity in London. He started his career with Smith Barney Citigroup in Manhattan and Bank of America Private Bank in Boston.

Puru is on the Board of the Fiscal Note Executive Institute in Washington, and the US-Mexico Foundation Advisory Board. He attended Boston University School of Management for a B.Sc in Finance, and received an MBA with honors from Babson College’s Olin Graduate School of Business in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Puru is fluent in Hindi and conversational in Spanish and Arabic; he has travelled to 43 countries. He has published articles in The Washington Diplomat and Modern Diplomacy EU, and frequently comments on US-South Asia relations. Originally from the Greater Boston Area, Puru has lived, worked and studied in Saudi Arabia, England, China and India. He and his wife Kriti Doval reside in Washington, DC.

Fulvio Maccarone

Fulvio is currently CEO and co-founder of Adiant Capital, a Swiss based impact investing firm focused on private assets (infrastructure and private equity). Over his 30 years investment career he has been managing assets in private and public companies across the world for top ranked Asset Managers, Hedge funds and Family Offices.

As an executive and partner, he has participated in the establishment of financial entities in London and Geneva and has acted as board member, advisor and shadow CFO for various private companies held in his portfolio. He has also kept a specific interest in early stage and growth stage investments in Europe and Latam.

Since 2019, he has been focusing his interest on developing sustainable and impact investment methodologies and applying them to private assets portfolios. As such he has joined the World Economic Forum global advisor network on Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Insurance and asset Management.

Fulvio holds a CFA and a Master in Finance from HEC Lausanne and has been trained in Private Equity and Venture Capital at Harvard Business School.

Cris Close

Cris is the Global Markets Practice Leader of WWF International.

Passionate about creating positive change in the world, specially aiming to make the impossible, possible! Dedicated mentor of women for greater empowerment and professional development.

20 years of experience in strategic planning, sustainability and business development. Held senior positions in not-for-profit and multinationals in the food, retail, luxury goods and sustainable development sector. Proven ability as a leader in complex project management, innovation and stakeholder engagement; supported with first-rate communication, interpersonal and strategic thinking skills. Strong experience in shifting businesses towards positive sustainable development impact at regional and global scale.

Brazilian/Argentinean national, lived and worked in Switzerland, Kenya, India, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Spain, Argentina and now enjoy seeing my two children grow close to nature in the island of Florianopolis, Brazil. Married and constantly learning in the journey of life.

Frederic Hoffmann

Chief Development Officer

Frederic is passionate about innovative and collaborative solutions for sustainability. Before joining Project X, Frederic built a venture fund strategy that empowers unique teams and technologies disrupting the food and agriculture value chain. He remains an advisor or board member to a number of companies, and an advisor to the fund.

He is also a board member at the MAVA foundation, which supports nature conservation and sustainable economy programmes across Switzerland, West Africa, and the Mediterranean. He has a Bachelors’s degree in Development Studies and Geography from McGill University and an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics.

You can contact Frederic on fjh@projectxglobal.com

Dean Faithfull

Project Manager

Dean is an experienced project manager and has a varied portfolio in a number of countries including Australia, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA. Dean has a BSc in Strategic Communication and Sustainable Aquaculture from the Florida Institute of Technology and is an advocate for corporate innovation and sustainability.

Outside of his professional endeavours, he has an interest in the environment and the global impact of technology. Dean invests in ethical funds that focus on the environment and businesses that display ethical practices.

You can contact Dean on: df@projectxglobal.com

Belissa Rojas

Senior Advisor

Belissa has over twelve years of managing impact at the project and portfolio level and implementing IMM tools and systems at the Inter-American Development Bank as well as leading complex business transformation projects. She led the design and implementation of a post-investment impact measurement system for IDB Invest.

Prior to that Belissa has been counsellor for the Executive Director of Peru, Chile and Colombia at the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank, the IDB Invest and the IDB Lab. Belissa started her career at the Ministry of Economics and Finance and the Regulatory Agency for Banking, Insurance and Pensions in Peru. She has a MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Masters in finance and BA in economics from Universidad del Pacifico.

Belissa is passionate about co-creating innovative solutions to achieve systemic change that positively affects people + planet.

You can contact Belissa on: br@projectxglobal.com

Pablo Navarro

Communications and Engagement Officer

Pablo is a graduate of Sevenoaks School working with Project X before he goes to take his Bachelor’s Degree to study English Literature at UCL. Capable of speaking four languages, Pablo brings an astute command of the English language accrued through his multiple years’ worth of blogging experience. He has been deeply inspired by the work carried out by Project X, and hopes to take advantage of this development in his sustainability knowledge to help inform his audience of pressing environmental crises in the future.

You can contact Pablo on: prn@projectxglobal.com

Peter Bennett

Operations and Finance Director

Peter spent 30 years as CEO/COO/FD at law & professional services firms – most recently 12 years at Bates Wells a £25 million City firm with a strong reputation as the only value-driven profit-making law firm in the UK. He led Bates Wells becoming a founding B Corp and only law firm in the UK to achieve B Corp status. Bates Wells was recently reported as the law firm both with the most improved carbon footprint and the lowest carbon footprint in the legal sector, with a 90% reduction over 10 years from 6 to 0.6 tonnes per head. He became a Board Director of Project X in December 2019.

He is also a Board member of Trustees Unlimited (also a B Corp) which both runs a professional recruitment service for finding Charity and NFP Trustees and “Step On Board” which is used by over 30 major City businesses to train and mentor their partner, executives and staff to become trustees of smaller charities. Finally, he is the Honorary Treasurer of the BWB Foundation.

You can contact Peter on: pmb@projectxglobal.com

Karen Lawrence

Head of Research and Knowledge

Karen Lawrence has over 20 years experience specialising in designing and implementing participatory natural resource management plans linking biodiversity conservation, stakeholder engagement processes, community livelihoods and sustainable finance mechanisms.

Examples of work include mapping of Cornish coastal community landscape values, participatory natural resource use plans linked to livelihood strategies for supporting protected areas in Cambodia, Thailand and Philippines for USAID and EU projects, as well as community forestry in Nigeria for a DFID project.

She was 6 years with WWF-UK where as a design and impact advisor, she supported the conservation science and impact monitoring of the Living Amazon Initiative, supported the deforestation trend analysis with scenario assessments, and applied the IUCN ecosystem assessment methodology, she also designed and implemented with WWF Brazil an impact evaluation assessment to show the avoided deforestation of supporting rubber tappers in 3 million hectares of brazilian rainforest. All of this work was underpinned by building the capacity of local teams, facilitating community resource mapping and planning whilst linking it to remote sensing data and geographical information systems.

She is also experienced in designing strategies, projects, and developing monitoring and evaluation processes for meaningful engagement with multi-sector, and multi-cultural stakeholders. She designed and facilitated the stakeholder evaluation of the WWF PISCES project and evaluated the Civic Mediation process used in the Celtic Seas Partnership to explore relationships between the Scottish fishing industry, E-NGOs and Government. She has also worked with ZSL as an impact manager and more recently conducted an evaluation of WWF-Indonesias conservation strategy.

She has an engineering degree, a masters in land and water management and a doctorate in political ecology from Kings College London as well as masters courses in renewables energy.

You can contact Karen on: kl@projectxglobal.com

Thomas Vellacott

Non Exec Director

Thomas is CEO of WWF Switzerland. Prior to taking on the role of CEO in 2012, Thomas spent 9 years heading up WWF Switzerland’s programme division and was responsible for the organisation’s national and international conservation projects. Previously, he worked in private banking for Citibank and as an engagement manager for McKinsey & Co. Thomas holds degrees in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Durham, in International Relations from Cambridge and in Business Administration from IMD.

Professor Steve Evans

Executive Chair and Director of Industrial Sustainability

Steve is Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Manufacturing and Director of the Centre for Industrial Sustainability. His 30 year plus career within industry and academia, which includes 12 years at Martin-Baker and as Professor of Life cycle engineering at Cranfield, has focused on how industry can bring environmental and social sustainability concerns into design and manufacturing practices to bring about a sustainable industrial future.

Marcela Navarro

CEO & Co-Founder

With a career of over 20 years of experience in value chain, sustainability and banking, Marcela is a recognised leader in purpose-led transformation models, with a proven track record in South America, North America and Europe. Prior to co-founding Project X, Marcela was Head of Customer Innovation at RBS, and a member of its Corporate Banking Board, where she led innovative programmes transforming the way traditional systems work together, resulting in multimillion pound savings, additional revenue for the bank, its customers and suppliers and significant environmental benefits. In 2015, she was recognised as Leader of the Year by Business Green and in 2014 she received a Word of Difference Award for her contributions to supplier inclusion.

You can contact Marcela on: mn@projectxglobal.com

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FEED-X Knowledge Exchange Evaluation Questionnaire

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Innovator Exchange Fireside Chats

Topic 4: Ethical and Social Impacts – what do we need to consider and how might alternative proteins and Oils help deliver better performance?

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Innovator Exchange Fireside Chats

Topic 3: Environmental Impacts – How well do alternative proteins and oils improve environmental performance and how should we measure it?

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Innovator Exchange Fireside Chats

Topic 2: Social Acceptability – What do Consumers want from their seafood and how well can alternative proteins and oils deliver?

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Innovator Exchange Fireside Chats

Topic 1: What is the value add that alternative proteins and oils bring to sustainably fed food?

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FEED-X Webinar | September 2020

Building Resilience & Future of the Feed Industry

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