The Biomass Supply Team

Niel Barnard +44 (0) 7808 293 865, n.barnard@ceresventures.co.uk

Founder, Strategy Direction and Origination

Niel has over 25 years of experience in industry including a number of managing, executive and non-executive directorships in the forest products and related sectors in South Africa, UK, Europe and a stint as senior VP market and business development at Jaakko Poyry consulting.  He has had extensive transactional and investment experience in forest products and bioenergy. He is currently CEO of Ceres BIO Ventures Limited a business accelerator operating as part of an international network of industry partners specializing in bioenergy from wood based biomass and providing end-to-end solutions for the creation and use of tradable carbon certificates based on carbon sequestration or mitigation.

Darren Giri +44 (0) 7815 174 361, d.giri@ceresventures.co.uk

Market Development

Darren has over ten years experience in energy supply and trading and power plant development in Australia, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Northern Africa and the Middle East.  From 1999 to 2003 he was responsible for optimising the return from a variety of energy assets.  From 2003 to 2006 he was involved in the successful development and project financing of 750MW of merchant gas-fired power plants in Australia. Since 2006 he was Business Developer with BP Alternative Energy in London.  He has led the development of biomass energy business models on a global scale as well as developing gas fired and concentrated solar thermal projects.

Philip Heasman +44 (0) 7808 293 864, p.heasman@ceresventures.co.uk

Finance and Projects

A background in investment banking, banking and corporate finance spanning 25 years.  In the UK, a director of Samuel Montagu & Co and HSBC Investment Bank plc where he undertook major advisory assignments in forestry and forest products, acting for international clients in their successful acquisition of major forestry estates in New Zealand, and for the South African Government in the privatisation of its forestry assets He subsequently founded  with Niel Barnard an advisory and investment company to UK SMEs and is non-executive director on two of these.