Our Team

Stephen Rumsey, Chairman

Stephen Rumsey is a life-long environmental conservationist who grew up in West Africa. He has served on a number of boards of environmental non-profits and was Deputy Chairman/Treasurer of Birdlife International. He lives on his farm on the south coast of England where he has developed his own nature reserve over the last thirty years. Elsewhere he has been particularly involved with tropical forest projects in Brazil, West Africa and Southeast Asia.

Professionally he was investment manager for the biggest pension fund in the UK. He then designed and ran the debt markets business for BZW for eight years, which was re-named Barclays Capital after he left. He built a business for Merrill Lynch and set up his own asset management business ECM (with some colleagues) which grew from zero to $30 billion AUM in six years before being sold to Wachovia/Wells Fargo in 2007. Stephen is a graduate of the London School of Economics.

Dr Gerard Bertrand

Jerry Bertrand is an Environmental Adviser to Permian Global. After serving as a science advisor in the Executive Offices of Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter, Jerry became head of International Affairs for the US Fish and Wildlife Service where his portfolio included setting up new parks and reserves in partner countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He was chairman of BirdLife International, President of Massachusetts Audubon Society, and he co-founded the World Land Trust (WLT). Jerry has an MS and PhD in marine science and oceanography, and he also holds a degree in environmental law.

Joseph A Biernat, CFA, SIP

Kirsten Baillie

Kirsten Baillie works as Marketing Executive and Sustainability Analyst with Permian Global and is based in the London office. Kirsten grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she gained her strong conservation beliefs and passion for the environment. Kirsten moved to the UK in 2011 and has gained experience working within the construction industry acting as Marketing Assistant and Environmental Officer. Kirsten holds aBSocSc Degree in Environmental & Geographical Science and Media Studies from the University of Cape Town as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Tourism Management where her main area of focus was Environmental Tourism.

Sueli Bennett

Sueli Bennett is the Executive Assistant supporting Stephen Rumsey and Gerry Elias.  She has more than 10 years PA/secretarial experience in the legal and professional services sector and was most recently Personal Assistant to one of the senior Partners at De Pinna Notaries in London.  Having grown up in Portugal, she moved to the UK in 1997.  Passionate about languages, she moved to Alicante, Spain while working for a well-recognized International Spanish law firm, Dr. Crespo & Partners, for 3 years and then returned to England in 2009.  Sueli holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Middlesex University and speaks 4 languages, English, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

Syamsul Budiman

Syamsul Budiman is a forest management adviser for Permian Global, and is based in Indonesia. He has 13 years’ experience working within the forestry sector in Indonesia, and his roles have spanned policy development, commercial concession application and management, and government and private-sector liaison. Syamsul has a bachelor’s degree in Forestry from Bogor Agricultural Institute, Indonesia.

Simon Burt

Simon Burt is a member of the Permian Global finance team. He has over 20 years' administration and managerial experience in both public and private sector roles. Simon holds professional qualifications in Human Resources and Data Protection. Prior to joining the team, he worked for the UK government as a Data Protection Officer.

Peter Carr

Peter is part of the Permian Global field team, focusing on verifying information on the ground and helping to formulate project implementation plans. Peter is a retired Royal Marine Commando officer and has a long association with the British Indian Ocean Territory; he was responsible for establishing ten Important Bird Areas in the Territory, publishing a book on the birds and leading wetland restoration, reforestation and invasive mammal eradication projects there. Peter holds a BSc (Hons) in Natural Science and has recently submitted a Master’s thesis to the University of Warwick on the role of seabirds as indicators of the requirement for the restoration of ecologically degraded central Indian Ocean islands. 

Charlie Cookson

Legal Counsel

Charlie Cookson is the Legal and Commercial Director of Permian Global Latin America and is based in the São Paulo office. He is responsible for driving the Latin American projects forward specifically in Colombia and Peru. Prior to Permian, Charlie was the Associate General Counsel for Latin America with Itron, Inc. in Americana, Brasil and was regional in-house counsel for Symantec in São Paulo. He also lived and worked in Australia as international counsel to a Business law firm with a focus on Latin America. Charlie is a graduate of the law schools of the University of Sydney (LL.M), the University of São Paulo (LL.B.-equivalent) and of the American University (J.D.). He became a member of the Law Society of England and Wales in 2014 and is also a member of the Law Society of New South Wales (Australia), the Florida and District of Columbia Bars (U.S.) and of the Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil (Brasil Bar).

Brooke Davis

Brooke Davis works as Marketing Executive and Sustainability Analyst with Permian Global and is based in the US, managing the Boston office. She grew up on Cape Cod where she developed a strong passion for the environment. Brooke has a BSc in Environmental Studies from Connecticut College and she recently received her Masters in Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University, accompanied by a Certificate in Water Systems Science and Society.

Gerry Elias

Gerry Elias - Managing Partner. Before joining Permian, Gerry was a Partner at BRIC Ventures, an advisory firm with a focus on the renewable energy, cleantech and media sectors. He is a former Partner, and led the UK office, of CNC, a global management consultancy firm specialising in communications and advising Fortune 500 business and political leaders. Before that, he was a Director at Burson-Marsteller, a leading global strategic communications and public relations firm, working in New York, Sao Paulo and Seoul, where he focused on international markets and economic resources issues and was a special advisor to the government of Korea during the Asian financial crisis. He also served as a Vice President at the World's largest OTC exchange for downstream and midstream energy products. He spent nine years on the board of The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropy that focuses specifically on improving children’s lives, with annual disbursements of over $230m. In addition to CIFF’s main board, Elias served on the Climate Change Advisory Board, the Finance, Audit and Investments Committee, and Governance Committee.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Leswarawati

Leswarawati is the regional finance manager for Permian Global in Asia, and is based in Indonesia. She is a fully qualified accountant with over 18 years’ experience as a finance manager in both the commercial commodities/export sector and with non-profits. Prior to joining Permian Global she spent seven years employed as the financial manager for the Indonesia Program of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Leswarawati's role is to oversee the financial management of Permian Global operations and projects in Indonesia and Asia.

Dr Miguel Milano

Miguel Milano co-leads Permian Global South America. He has a distinguished career in forest science, largely in the non-profit sector, in Brazil and the US. He holds MSc and Doctorate degrees in Forest Science, and spent 25 years as professor and researcher at the Federal University of Paraná (Brazil), where he advised, published and lectured extensively, both nationally and internationally, on nature conservation, protected areas planning and management, environmental solutions and sustainability. Miguel has also taught at Colorado State University (USA) in the Department of Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism. He is the founder and director of a consulting company in sustainability; a member of the corporate sustainability boards of EBX (Brazil) and Novelis (USA); and a board member of the following organizations: LIFE Institute (Brazil); FUNBIO – Brazilian Fund for Biodiversity; Forest Trends (Washington DC, USA); Neotropical Foundation (Brazil); and “O Eco” (Brazil). Miguel has held senior positions at a number of Brazilian organizations including AVINA Foundation, O Boticário Foundation for Nature Protection and O Boticário Company.

Sara Miles

Sara Miles has joined Permian as Compliance and Investor Relations Associate. Sara was Executive Assistant to the General Counsel and the Chief Compliance Officer EMEA at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, where her responsibilities included assisting the deal teams with anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) compliance and supporting the compliance team with monthly monitoring tasks. Sara moved to London from France in 2009 and worked for various Legal and Compliance teams throughout the financial sector. She holds a Bachelor’s Law degree from the University of Grenoble.

David Moss

David Moss holds the position of General Counsel and is responsible for all Permian Global contractual agreements; he is also Head of Compliance. David has over 25 years’ experience as a corporate finance lawyer working on numerous M&A and other capital market transactions, and his practice has spanned a range of sectors both public and private. Prior to joining Permian Global David was a partner at the City of London law firm Kingsley Napley; he has also held a number of non-executive posts in corporate entities. He gained an LL.B at Hull University.

Hardian Mulyana

Hardian Mulyana is based in Indonesia and is a Remote Sensing and GIS adviser for Permian Global. He has over 7 years’ experience of geographic information system and remote-sensing use, gained largely within the commercial forestry and land-use sector in Indonesia. Hardian has a BSc in Forest Management from Bogor Agriculture Institute, Indonesia.

Dr Fábio Olmos

Fábio Olmos co-leads the Permian Global South America team. He has a degree in Biological Sciences and an MSc in Ecology, both from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil, and a DSc from Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). He has worked for several government and multilateral agencies, including the São Paulo state environment agency (including a role as park manager), UNDP and FAO; NGOs such as BirdLife International; and the private sector. A trained ornithologist, Fábio has carried out research not only on birds but also on primates, carnivores, tapirs, caimans and other animals, on subjects ranging from natural history to seed dispersal and conservation. He has worked as consultant for projects on environmental impact assessments, selection of new protected areas, economic-environmental zoning plans, threatened species conservation plans, faunal surveys and management plans. Fábio has authored or co-authored three books, 121 papers and 12 technical publications on topics ranging from seabird conservation to the impacts of land reform in Brazil on protected areas.

Dr Erasmus Owusu

Erasmus Owusu heads Permian Global’s activities in West Africa. Erasmus is a Conservation Biologist with a PhD in Biodiversity Management, and a lecturer at the University of Ghana. He has extensive knowledge of conservation and environmental issues across Africa gained through 18 years’ experience in biodiversity and community-based natural resource management. Erasmus was Executive Director of the Ghana Wildlife Society, Ghana’s leading national conservation NGO, and a Member of the Global Council of Birdlife International; he is also a member of Ghana’s National Biodiversity Committee.

Dr Efrain Pena

Priyatno

Based in Indonesia, Priyatno is a financial and business adviser for Permian Global’s projects in Asia. He has over 13 years' experience in finance and accounting, previously serving as finance manager for a number of domestic and multi-national companies operating in Indonesia. Priyatno has a bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Indonesia and a master’s degree in Finance from Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. 

Nathan Renneboog

Nathan Renneboog works in the Permian Global science team, focussing on the remote sensing aspects of the projects. Nathan holds an MSc in Remote Sensing from University College London and has over 4 years of experience applying geospatial technologies to public health, archaeology, and energy projects with NASA, Aerotec LLC and the BBC. 

Edward Rumsey

Edward Rumsey - Managing Partner, has been with Permian Global since its inception in 2008. With ten years' experience in REDD+ and carbon markets Edward has carried out various roles within the organisation from project origination, assessment, design and development; to deal sourcing, negotiating and structuring carbon asset sales, having successfully executed complex multi-million ton emission reduction transactions. 

Edward previously led the Projects Team and has experience working in all three tropical forest basins. He also has experience working in the financial services industry in fund management, investment banking and insurance. 

Edward is currently a Member of the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Programme Advisory Group and also a Member of the Special Advisory Group to the World Bank, Carbon Markets and Innovation team on Operationalising Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Edward has a lifelong interest in conservation and wildlife and is a Trustee of the Wetland Trust. He holds Bachelors degrees with honours in both Economics & Business Finance and in Building Surveying. 

Dr. Leonardo Sáenz

Dr. Leonardo Sáenz is the Technical Manager for Permian Global’s projects in Colombia, based in Bogotá. He has over 16 years’ experience in conservation research projects, leading or contributing to the assessment of Ecosystem Services, Environmental Impacts, Climate Change and Biodiversity Status. Dr. Sáenz has worked with Communities, Conservation NGOs, Government officials and Commercial sectors, primarily in Latin America, but with experience in Africa, Asia and Oceania. He holds a degree in Environmental Engineering from the National University of Colombia and holds a MSc and a PhD in the areas of Environmental Management and Ecosystem Services from King’s College London, in the UK. Additionally, Dr. Sáenz holds certificates in Conservation Finance and Environmental Impact Assessment, among others, from institutions such as Duke University and the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA). Prior to joining Permian Global Dr. Sáenz was the Global Eco-Hydrology Lead of the Washington based Conservation International Foundation, with offices in 25 countries, where he gained extensive practical experience of running and contributing to successful conservation and climate change research projects, effectively coordinating teams across different cultures and nationalities, as well as governmental, academic and local institutions. Finally, Dr. Sáenz is an Adjunct Graduate Faculty in the Environmental Engineering Department at Michigan Technological University, in the USA, with a good publishing record in the peer-reviewed literature, and more notably in the prestigious Journals of Science and Nature.

Dawn Tomlinson

Dawn Tomlinson is the Office Manager & HR Coordinator for Permian Global and ensures the smooth running of the London office. She has a BSc in Applied Ecology from Coventry University and has over 10 years of administration experience in both the private and voluntary sector, including the London Natural History Museum and Business in The Community (BITC).