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.

Holt Thrasher, Group CEO

Holt Thrasher serves as the Group CEO of Permian Global and is an active environmental conservationist. He serves as a Trustee of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the non-profit organization supporting NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries within US territorial waters. Prior to Permian Global, he founded and served as Managing Partner of Mooreland Partners, an information technology sector focused investment bank. Holt was previously a partner at Broadview Holdings, a global merger and acquisition advisory and investment firm. He was also a vice president at Smith Barney, Harris, Upham & Co. and an associate with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Holt is also Chairman Emeritus of the National Audubon Society.  In 2001, he was a founding member and Chair of the Board of Audubon Connecticut.  He joined the National Board five years later and was named Chair in 2008.  Holt has a B.A. from Colby College and an M.B.A. from the International Institute of Management Development, Switzerland.

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

Joe Biernat is Chief Investment Officer of Permian Global. Joe's career spans nearly 40 years and has included senior positions in investment banking in New York and London. He has built and headed investment research teams at Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Paribas. Most recently, along with Stephen Rumsey, he served as a managing board member of the asset management business ECM. While there he built a team of 13 investment professionals and was instrumental in designing the investment management process for what grew to be a $30 billion portfolio.

Joe is a former Chairman of the UK CFA Society and served on its board for seven years. He continues to represent CFA UK on the Capital Markets Policy Committee, advising the CFA Institute. Joe has been elected a Fellow of the Society of Investment Professionals in recognition of his long service to the investment profession. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Gettysburg College where he is Chairman of the College's Endowment Committee and serves on the Conservatory Oversight Board.

Dr Nick Brickle

Dr Nick Brickle has responsibility for Permian Global’s projects in Asia. Nick is based in Indonesia /Spain and has 20 years’ experience in forestry project development and management, within government, non-profit and commercial sectors. Nick holds a degree in Zoology and a PhD in environmental management. Prior to joining Permian Global Nick led the Indonesia Program of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society where he gained extensive practical experience of running successful forest protection projects.

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. 

Brooke Davis

Brooke Davis works as Marketing Assistant with Permian Global and is based in the US. 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.

Liz Jones

Liz Jones is the finance manager at Permian Global, and has extensive experience of international financial project management gained in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Permian Global Liz spent 12 years at Fidelity Worldwide Investments, where she held the post of Financial Controller of the UK Financial Reporting team; prior to that she was head of the Fidelity Wide Processing business finance team. Liz is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Sara Lara

Sara Lara is a member of the Latin America projects team specializing in Colombia and Panama. She has more than a decade of experience in conservation across the Americas, working closely with local organizations and government agencies. Sara has led many initiatives to protect highly endangered species, and has helped non-governmental conservation organizations develop long-term, sustainable, financial independence and organizational strength. Sara graduated from the University of Cauca in Colombia with a BSc in Civil Engineering. She worked in the engineering industry in Colombia and in Europe.

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.

George Leventis

George Leventis co-leads the Permian Global project teams. His experience has been focused on emerging markets, equities analyst working the an investing in the ASEAN markets and is a conglomerate in Nigeria. He holds a BA (Hons) from Oxford University, and a postgraduate degree in Law from City University, London.

Anita McBain

Anita McBain heads up the sustainability research effort at Permian Global. She brings to the role research and analysis skills from working as an analyst at Deutsche Bank, Paribas and at the asset management business ECM. Anita then moved to Singapore for three years and on her return worked for CFA UK as a Director of Employer Relations. She is passionate about increasing awareness of sustainability and how it impacts the investment process, and equally how it influences corporate strategy. Anita holds an MBA from the University of Edinburgh and a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business (PCSB) from the University of Cambridge.

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.

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 Luciana Passos

Luciana Passos is a member of Permian Global’s legal team in South America. She is a Doctor of Law from the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, and she has a degree in Biological Sciences, an MSc and a DSc in Ecology from Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil.

During 10 years as an ecology researcher Luciana published several scientific papers and participated in many scientific conferences, and as part of her legal training she gained environmental practice at law firm Pinheiro Neto, offering legal advice on a full range of environmental matters, litigation and non-litigation cases, due diligence, and legal opinions. 

Eva Pintado

Eva Pintado works on the Permian Global science team, focussing on the remote sensing and GIS aspects of projects. Eva has a background in aquatic science and has experience in applying GIS and remote sensing to water quality monitoring and modelling projects, gained at the Earthwatch Institute and at the Doñana Biological Station. She holds a BSc in Marine and Environmental Science from University of Cádiz and recently received her MSc in Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Management from King’s College London.

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. 

Justus Roele

Justus Roele has a senior role in the marketing of the Permian Global Fund, particularly in Europe. After graduating from Manchester University with a BA (Hons) in Economics, Justus worked for 18 years in the international bond markets in London, with Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Paribas. In 2001 he moved to marketing at the asset management business ECM, specialising in the pan-European credit markets. In 2009 he left ECM to become an independent consultant, before joining Permian Global in 2012.

Edward Rumsey

Edward Rumsey co-leads the Permian Global project teams that are working with management partners and third parties to implement projects in the respective portfolio countries. He has BSc degrees in Economics & Business Finance, and in Building Surveying, with related land law modules. He also has experience working within the financial services industry in fund management, investment banking and insurance. Ed has a lifelong interest in conservation and wildlife and is a Trustee of The Wetland Trust.

Joshua Schaefer

Joshua Schaefer is a senior analyst in the Permian Global investment team. His key responsibilities include project valuation, investment analysis and fund marketing. Prior to joining Permian Global, Joshua worked at an economic consultancy based in Boston where he specialised in valuation and risk analysis. He has a BA (Hons) in History from Cambridge University and an MBA from the London Business School.

Nicholas Scott

Nicholas Scott is part of the portfolio management team at Permian Global.  Previously Nicholas was an entrepreneur in the technology sector, most notably head of partnerships at Groupspaces.com, a comms and membership software company. Nicholas is a qualified practitioner of the UK Government endorsed PRINCE 2 project management qualification, holds a CFA Level 4 Certificate in Investment Management and an ACA certificate level.  Nicholas also has a BA in Business Management & Art History from Leeds University.

Julia Thorley

Julia Thorley is part of the Permian Global Science team, and works on the GIS and remote sensing aspects of projects. Julia has over 3 years previous experience applying GIS to tropical forest land-use planning projects under the UN-REDD Programme at UNEP-WCMC. Currently Julia is studying part-time towards an MSc in GIS and Remote Sensing and holds a BSc in Environmental Geography from University College London. 

Dawn Tomlinson

Dawn Tomlinson is the Executive Assistant 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).

João de Vasconcellos

João de Vasconcellos has a senior role in the marketing of the Permian Global Fund, particularly across territories in South America and Iberia. He previously worked at the asset management business ECM, where he served as a board member and led fundraising efforts in Iberia, France and Brazil. Prior to this João was responsible for the credit portfolio at Espirito Santo Investment Bank (BESI) and for the bond and swap portfolios at Santander Portugal. João holds a management degree from the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), Lisbon.