Governance

Dr. Liz Rogers is an environmental and sustainability professional with over 30 years of experience mainly with bp and previously in the conservation and consultancy sectors. She retired from bp as Vice President of Environmental Technology in December 2020. In this role, Liz established decarbonisation technology strategies including nature-based solutions, carbon capture use and storage opportunities and supported technology startup investments. Liz held a variety of global environmental roles in bp and most recently, was instrumental in the development of bp’s sustainability strategy, objectives, and environmental and social governance. She has considerable experience in several industries, Non-Governmental and United Nations Environment Programme activities and strategic university relationships. During her time with bp, Liz worked with FFI on several activities including the joint bp-FFI agreement signed in September 2020.

Liz was a Board member, Director and Vice Chair of IPIECA (the oil and gas industry trade association for environmental and social issues) and a Board member of the Carbon Capture Storage Association (CCSA). She has a PhD, Masters and Degree in environmental sciences and is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. Dr Liz Rogers was co-opted to Council in March 2021 and joined the Executive Committee of Council (Exco) in July 2021, and the Audit & Risk Committee. In May 2022, Dr. Rogers was co-opted by the trustee body to become Co Vice-Chair of Council, serving alongside Dr. Annette Lanjouw. With Hugo van Vredenburch stepping down as Chair, Dr. Rogers became Chair on an interim basis effective September 2022 as well as Chair of the Renumeration Committee and member of the Nominations Committee.

Annette Lanjouw is a highly regarded expert in great ape conservation. She has worked with chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas in the wild, and has worked extensively in conservation strategy, program implementation, and research. She is currently CEO of the Arcus Foundation, having previously been their Co-Executive Director and lead for the Great Ape and Gibbon Programme. For 15 years Ms Lanjouw was Director of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme. She has served as scientific advisor to world-renowned wildlife filmmaker Alan Root, as Central Africa programme officer for the Wildlife Conservation Society, and as project manager and field director for the Frankfurt Zoological Society’s Chimpanzee Conservation Project in eastern DRC.

Before joining Arcus, she was international programme officer for the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and from 2005 – 2007 FFI’s Regional Director for Africa & Latin America. A native of the Netherlands, Ms. Lanjouw holds a BSc in zoology and psychology from Victoria University in New Zealand, and a doctorandus degree in behavioural ecology from the Rijks Universiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands. She is scientific advisor to the Trust for African Rock Art, and a member of the Species Survival Commission, including the Primate Specialist Group, the Trans-boundary Conservation Specialist Group, and the World Commission on Protected Areas. Annette joined Council in 2016 and became vice-chair in 2020.

For 25 years David Gibson was Group General Counsel and Company Secretary for FTSE 100 Rexam PLC (formerly Bowater PLC), the multinational consumer packaging company. He has a 30-year track record in private practice and FTSE 100 board level management and extensive experience across all areas of corporate and commercial law, both in the UK and globally. He has developed a portfolio career of advisory, non-exec and trustee roles, becoming a trustee of the Architectural Association and joining FFI’s Council in 2016. David currently serves on the Audit & Risk and Remuneration Committees and in March 2023 became co-Vice Chair of Council.

Paul Baldwin was appointed as trustee and chair of Battersea Dogs’ and Cats’ Home in August 2019, one of the UK's oldest and most famous animal rescue centres which has cared for more than 3.1 million dogs and cats since it was founded in 1860. Prior to this appointment, he had recently retired as Chair of World Animal Protection, a global charity that campaigns against the root causes of animal suffering, with long-term strategic goals of transforming the global food system, and ending systems that result in the cruel exploitation of wild animals.

He was also a trustee of the Gorilla Organisation until 2018, an INGO aiming to save the world’s last remaining gorillas in the wild from extinction by funding grass-roots projects run by local African partners that tackle the very real threats to the gorillas’ long term survival. He served as Chair of the Board of the Disabled Living Foundation leading it through its merger with the Shaw Trust, joining the Shaw Trust board in 2016. Shaw Trust, one of the largest charities in the UK, supports people to develop their potential and live independently by providing young people and adults with skills development training, employment opportunities and services to improve their wellbeing or rebuild their lives. Other roles include being a trustee for First Rung, a North London-based charity, which provides vocational training and work-experience opportunities to young people.

In his previous career, Paul spent nearly 20 years working in the banking industry for Union Bank of Switzerland, Kleinwort Benson, Goldman Sachs, and most recently as a Managing Director in Global Markets at HSBC. Paul has a degree in Engineering from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was elected to Council in 2016 and became Treasurer in February 2017.

Jeff Blumberg has worked in the financial services industry since 1998. Jeff is Chief Executive Officer of Egerton Capital (UK) LLP, an asset management firm headquartered in London, England. Prior to joining Egerton Capital in 2010, Jeff spent ten years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management – first in New York, then Princeton, and then London. Jeff graduated from Harvard University in 1998 with BA degree in Government. Born in Johannesburg and raised in South Africa and then Canada, Jeff developed a love of wildlife and appreciation of the importance of conservation at a young age; growing up involved many trips to Kruger National Park and other game reserves in southern Africa.

In addition to wildlife conservation, his interests include photography and squash. In addition to his role as trustee of Fauna & Flora International, Jeff is a trustee of Rhino Conservation Botswana, and a Director of Fondation Segré in Switzerland. Jeff was appointed to Council in 2020 and is the current Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee.

Anna Gavazzi Asseily led the first Climate Tech Conference (Founders Forum), a platform that brings together leaders and entrepreneurs to tackle some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Prior this this, Anna was a Director of Gagosian Gallery, following a 15 year career in the Art World across Europe and US, having most recently established and directed Gagosian Gallery in San Francisco, CA.

Anna graduated from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy and Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment - University of Oxford, Nature Based Solutions and Sustainable Finance programmes. She is active with several other environmental & wildlife conservation organisations. Anna and her husband are Conservation Circle members. She was elected to Council in 2019 and joined the Nominations Committee in 2020.

Hernán González Merlani brings to Council current experience as a leader in HR for HSBC, leading and implementing change in a global business setting, ensuring consistency of culture, capacity and capabilities across the organisation. He is adept at working very effectively and at pace in a commercial context and has worked in both a consultative capacity and as a visiting academic, demonstrating strategic and conceptual thinking with current global standard practices. Hernan has personal experience of EDI and leverages this purposefully in the breadth of his professional life. Hernan will bring a unique blend of skills, knowledge, practice, and perspective from his work within a global corporate as well as management advisory business and in his voluntary work in academia encouraging young people into education and personal development.

Senator Abshiro Halake is a nominated member of the 12th Parliament of Kenya focusing on the special interests of women and other vulnerable groups including, youth, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups. She is the vice chairperson the Senate Standing Committee on Information, Communication & Technology (ICT), a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Energy and also Delegated Legislation and the current Chairperson for the Centre for Multiparty Democracy Kenya (CMD-Kenya). Senator Abshiro holds an MA in Business Administration and an MS in Management and Organizational Development from the University of Cumbria and United States International University–Africa respectively, and a BA in Education from Kenyatta University. She is a certified professional in strategy and balanced scorecard; executive coaching and international business development, trade policy analysis and marketing.

Senator Abshiro started her career at the Canadian Embassy in 2000, rising to the position of Trade Commissioner in 2003 where she was responsible for Canadian trade in Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Eritrea. In 2009, she joined the public sector as the first woman Deputy Director, responsible for strategy and change, at Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS). She then became Deputy Secretary General Special Programs & Head of the Global Fund Unit for the Kenya Red Cross where she was responsible for managing grants and mobilizing resources for special programs and projects, including management of 55 civil society organizations to which the Kenya Red Cross Society sub-grants the Global Fund finances, and multi-million-dollar grants for HIV/AIDS interventions. In all Senator Abshiro has more than 15 years’ experience in senior management in Humanitarian Response and Diplomacy; Grants Management; Conservation; International Trade and Investment; Strategy and Risk Management and Business Development; together with an in-depth understanding of Conservation, Community Mobilization and Empowerment Strategies for conservation business and social sector interventions in health, education entrepreneurship and micro-financing. Senator Halake was elected to Council in 2021.

Tony Juniper CBE is a prominent environmental figure, active in the defence of Nature for nearly 40 years. He has led major organisations, run global campaigns, written many books and advised at the highest levels.

He began his career as an ornithologist with Birdlife International and went on to join Friends of the Earth, initially leading the tropical rainforest campaign and then was appointed as Executive Director. He worked as an advisor to HRH The Prince of Wales, was President of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts and was an Executive Director at WWF-UK. He is now the Chair of the British Government’s official conservation agency Natural England and a Fellow of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. He has advised many global businesses on their environmental strategies.

His books include the multi-award-winning What has Nature ever done for us? and Harmony, which was co-authored with The Prince of Wales. Tony Juniper is a frequent contributor to TV and radio broadcasts and is a prolific speaker on environmental themes.

He has received many awards and widespread recognition for his environmental work and in 2017 he was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to conservation.

Tony was appointed to Council in January 2023.

Christine Lloyd has had an extensive career in HR holding executive roles within both the corporate and charity sectors and with the United Nations. In her professional role, Christine specialises in strategy development, transformation and change and she has worked in teams leading change in often complex and challenging international settings, including through her work with UNICEF. She is also an experienced and knowledgeable charity trustee as well as a qualified Chartered Company Secretary, grounded in the development of people and international HR strategies for UK based INGOs. Her breadth of work as a charity trustee informs her approach and her perspective. Christine brings considerable HR experience to Council from an executive and non-executive perspective, together with a robust skillset in charity governance

Miguel Nogales is a Founder and co-Chief Investment Officer of Generation Investment Management. Based in London and San Francisco, and founded in 2004, Generation manages over $40bn in client assets and is one of the global pioneers in sustainable investing. Miguel studied Economics at Cambridge University, where he received a First Class Degree. Prior to his degree, Miguel spent six months as a conservation volunteer in Australia. He lives in Madrid with his wife Anna and three children and is President of the Tierra Pura Foundation. Miguel’s twin passions are how businesses can help the world become more sustainable, and the role of Nature Based Solutions in our urgent race towards Net Zero.

Richard Plackett retired from the asset management industry in 2015 after a long and successful 25-year career, which began as a venture capitalist and small cap fund manager at 3i. After seven years, he moved to M&G where he eventually took charge of the overall UK investment process. In 2002 he joined Merrill Lynch (now BlackRock) becoming head of UK small and mid-cap investment with responsibility for the BlackRock UK Special Situations Fund. Mr Plackett completed his chartered accountancy exams in 1989 coming second in the nationwide rankings and has an MA in economics from Queens’ College, Cambridge. He was elected to Council in 2016, currently Chairs the Nominations Committee and is the former Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee.

Hugh Sloane is a financial services professional with work experience in Hong Kong, Tokyo and London. He earned a First Class degree in Economics and Politics from Bristol University in 1977 and an M. Phil in Economics from Oxford University in 1979. In 1993 he cofounded Sloane Robinson Investment Management Ltd. Hugh has supported FFI for more than twenty years and was previously a vice-president. He was elected to Council in 2021.

Kimberly Stewart was born in the USA and now lives in Scotland. She grew up spending her holidays in the Great Northwoods of Wisconsin and, having had the good fortune to travel extensively in Africa, she developed a deep and lifelong passion for the natural world. Kim has a BSc in Radio, Television and Film Communications from Northwestern University. She has always enjoyed the telling of true natural history stories, with head and heart, to empower people's love and understanding of our shared natural world. Kim’s filmmaking career took her from documentary production in New York to comedy production in Hollywood. She then moved to natural history filmmaking with IMAX, which, in turn, led her to connect with the BBC natural history unit in Bristol. Kim served for 12 years (2006-2018) on the board of Wildscreen U.K. and primarily focused on ARKive.org. This was a global on-line resource bringing the best film-clips and photographs of life on earth into one accessible place free to the global public. Kim was Chairman of Wildscreen USA and established the board, which focused primarily on fundraising for the global development of ARKive.

Kim currently serves on the board of Rainforest Trust and Regua in Brazil. She also supports several Africa-based conservation/humanitarian projects. Kim is a Fellow of the Linnean Society and a member of the Royal Geographical Society. She, her husband, David, and their children are also closely involved with Winchester College as it strives to bring its students a deeper awareness of nature’s importance and its relevance in all subjects taught at the college. Kim was appointed to Council in 2020.

Hugo van Vredenburch is a financial services professional and from 2015 – 2021 was Chairman of Interactive Investor (ii), the UK’s second largest direct investment platform with 400,000 clients and more than £35 billion of client assets. Prior to ii Hugo was CEO of the TMF Group and one of its predecessor companies from 2005 – 2014. TMF is a multinational professional services firm that provides accounting, tax, HR and payroll services to businesses operating on an international scale. It operates in 80 countries with 7,500 employees and has grown rapidly both organically and through acquisition. Prior to TMF Hugo held a variety of positions at Goldman Sachs over a 13-year period, including heading up the Equities Division in Japan, as COO of the Global Equities Division and co-leading the Pan-European Equities Franchise. He retired as Partner and Managing Director in 2005.

Hugo is currently a Non-Executive Director of Ecospray and a partner in Saltus Wealth Management and previously served as a trustee of the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Trust. He has had a lifelong interest in conservation and is a member of FFI’s Conservation Circle. He was appointed to Council in 2018 and served as Chair from 2020 to 2022.

Professor Joanne Webster FLS FRSB is the Royal Veterinary College’s Chair in Parasitic Diseases, Director of the Centre for Emerging, Endemic and Exotic Diseases (CEEED) and Associate Director of the London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research (LCNTDR). Joanne also holds a Professorial Chair in Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London’s Faculty of Medicine, Hon. Senior Research Fellowship at the NHM, London and Hon. Professorial Chair in Infectious Diseases at Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, China. She is an Expert Advisor on a World Health Organization’s (WHO) Guideline Development Group (GDG) and their Global Working Group on Monitoring of Drug Efficacy, amongst others. Joanne is also on the Management Board of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) and Research working group of the Global Schistosomiasis Alliance (GSA). Between its inauguration in 2003 to 2014, Joanne served as co-Director of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI). During this period, these activities provided approximately 300 million anthelminthic preventative chemotherapeutic treatments for children and at-risk adults across sub-Saharan Africa, and were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize and Medal for International Public Health Impact. SCI was also listed as the top UK charity by ‘Giving what we can’ and in the top two International charities by ‘Give Well’.

Joanne’s research and disease control activities have been awarded a number of high-profile Prizes, Medals and Recognitions (e.g. CA Wright Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Parasitology (2005); NC3Rs prize (2007); Queen’s Anniversary Medal for International Public Health Impact (2008); Royal Society of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine/Elsevier citation prize (2009); Chalmers Memorial Medal to recognise Outstanding Contribution to Tropical Medicine (2013); Finalist (top three) BBSRC Innovator of the Year for International Impact (2018); named in an International Woman’s Day List of ‘Five Inspirational Women Shaping the Future of International Development’ (2019); and ‘Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for unwavering excellence in their chosen fields’ (2021). Professor Webster was elected to Council in 2021.

Tola St. Matthew-Daniel is a collaborative and results-driven reputation strategic and communications leader with a track record of helping clients shape, protect, and elevate their brands and reputation over the last two decades.

As Executive Vice President at Freuds, an elite, mission-drive strategic communications agency (largest industry certified B Corp), she led US business operations while also providing senior client counsel to a diverse mix of global clients over the last five years. Currently, she works with the group on a flexible basis while she pursues other opportunities within the firm, specifically strengthening Freuds’ global Goals House offering by optimizing opportunities for the community, establishing partnerships and identifying strategic growth opportunities. An impassioned champion of the UN Global Goals, Tola has managed several international projects connecting people, planet, and prosperity. Through Freuds’ Goals House platform, she also drives global activations at key forums such as Davos, UN General Assembly, Cannes, SXSW, COP, CHOGM and others, bringing together thought leaders and influencers from industry, government, academia, business, culture, civil society, and the media to achieve the 2030 agenda.

Tola earned a B.A. in Corporate Communications and English Literature from Drexel University and holds a Master of Public Affairs from Sciences Po Paris, L’institut d’etudes politiques (IEP) de Paris. A global citizen by nature and nurture, she has also lived, studied and worked on three continents – Africa, Europe and North America – visiting more than 80 countries.

Tola joined the Board of Directors of Fauna & Flora’s affiliate in the USA in 2022.