People

Katerina has been involved in the carbon markets in 2011 and is currently holding a position of Commercial Director at Strive by Vertis, managing Vertis’ climate advocacy and trading services in voluntary carbon offsetting, renewable energy certificates trading, sustainability and carbon policy advisory. Katerina holds a diploma in Economics and a Masters in Finance from CEU Business School.

Mathilde has +10 years of experience in carbon mechanisms and climate strategies. She leads EcoAct’s Nature & Technology based Solutions Unit, developing and promoting in close collaboration with project developers and local actors on the ground the best innovative climate solutions for clients across all EcoAct’s geographies.

Sandeep is a co-founder at VNV Advisory Services, a social enterprise working with communities & climate change in Asia and East Africa. He heads VNV’s ownership on low carbon social development projects such as sustainable agriculture, social forestry, coastal resilience, clean cooking, clean air, drinking water, rural energy access and waste management. Sandeep’s work encompasses over 6 million rural households across 18+ countries in the region & over 100+ NGOs and implementation partners: currently working on over 5 million hectares of natural ecosystems through climate finance for rejuvenation, restoration, conservation of biodiversity ecosystems and climate smart agriculture for small holders with a big focus on the Himalayan countries and the Mekong basin regions.

Ellen is the driving force behind CNG’s Climate Neutral Certification Programme. This programme offers the possibility for organizations to systematically get on track towards Net Zero carbon emissions and to claim climate neutrality for their organisation, products and/ or services. Ellen is responsible for daily management and execution of the programme within CNG and Anthesis. She has a solid background in standards and certification. Previously, she worked at UTZ and Rainforest Alliance, mainly in standard-setting and assurance-related roles.

Julian Ekelhof, Senior Director Climate Solutions at FORLIANCE GmbH, looks back at more than a decade of experience in global carbon markets and corporate climate action. Leading FORLIANCE’s Climate Solutions team for corporate partnerships, his core areas of expertise are markets for nature-based solutions, the crucial role of voluntary corporate finance as well as broader climate strategies.
Julian has been a part of the markets’ development, initiating the first major corporate partnerships for Gold Standard forestry projects, and having negotiated more than 70% of all such volumes to date. Combined with his many years of experience in climate strategy consulting, his ambition is to promote ambitious climate action at scale within and beyond corporate value chains globally.

I joined Wildlife Works in 2022 as the Technical Climate Policy Analyst, where I act as a bridge between our policy experts and our forest science and remote sensing team. I am also responsible for analyzing supply-side institutions that shape the market (standards, integrity initiatives, etc.). Prior to joining Wildlife Works, I was in academia, where I earned a PhD in political science in 2020 and held a postdoctoral position for two years at Washington University in St. Louis. My research covered a range of topics related to environmental politics, specializing in land tenure institutions in Africa along with the politics of the oil and gas sector.

Andrea is former Director for Energy Transition at BP and Head of BP Target Neutral. As Head of BP Target Neutral, Andrea led a world-class carbon management programme developing carbon reduction and offsetting programmes for BP and its customers.

Antoine joined ICROA in April 2017. He has a background in corporate finance and previously worked as an analyst for various financial institutions. His mandates ranged from M&A to capital raising and financing solutions.

Amy has been a leader in carbon markets since 2018 working on offset project development and strategic Net Zero advisory. Her passion for balancing economic imperatives with environmental realities has led to her current role as Technical Director, Voluntary Carbon Markets with ICROA. Amy is a professional engineer registered with APEGA.

Lynne is an experienced communications professional with a background in the energy, defence and aerospace sectors. She has supported global organisations to embed and deliver their communication strategies, and is looking forward to working with IETA and ICROA’s global industry experts as the companies evolve to meet future challenges.

Franco is a project manager with over 5 years of experience developing and scaling international partnerships and programs in different sustainability-focused fields. He has worked in operations, policy, sales, marketing, and events at various environmental advocacy organisations.