Director

Tamzin Ractliffe

Tamzin Ractliffe is an award-winning venture catalyst and entrepreneurial leader in charitable and social development, impact investment and strategic advisory practice. She has worked across the public, private and civil society sectors to drive greater impact in the application of capitals to social and sustainable development. With foundation degrees in Commerce, Anthropology and Economics, and an Honours in Applied Psychology, Tamzin completed her MPhil in Climate and Development with ACDI in 2014, focusing on environmental citizenship and sustainable consumption. Awarded the GIBS Social Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2007 and appointed an Ashoka Fellow in 2008, Tamzin won the Thomson Reuters 2012 TrustLaw Innovation Award for the Impact Exchange and was a finalist in the Buckminster Fuller Award for the design of solutions to address 21st Century challenges in 2009 and 2010 and a Finalist in the Global Development Network Award for the Most Innovative Development Project (2009).

Mike Doyle

Mike Doyle is the concept initiator and developer of the Global 1000 Schools Project (G1000), a project being developed to lead 1000 SADC schools to Carbon Neutrality. In 2011, Mike managed and oversaw the construction of the Kamoka Bush School, where he established and managed an off-the-grid environmental school that accommodated 84 students and visiting teachers. He furthered his goal of building carbon neutral schools with the establishment and management of a carbon neutrality programme at Waterford Kamhlaba in the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and consulted with government and large organizations such as the UN and EU. Michael holds an undergraduate degree in Commerce and a postgraduate degree in Futures Studies from the University of Stellenbosch. Mike is also a Member and Accredited Presenter for the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. Mike’s current work involves research and consultation on a range of sustainability and assessment projects at organizations around the world.

Ann de Pasos

Ann is an Organisational Development Consultant and Team Coach. She graduated with a bachelor in Business Science, majoring in Organisational Psychology, from the University of Cape Town. Her experience includes managing the leadership development programmes at Allan Gray Pty Ltd, starting her own consultancy company in the UK, and designing, developing and implementing a professional development programme for a global asset manager. The scope of the project extended to their offices in London, Vancouver, Bermuda, Australia and San Francisco, and, in the 2.5 years that it has been running, has had a direct impact on about a third of the firm.

Alexei Du Bois

Alexei is a Commonwealth Scholar and NRF Doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford, completing a PhD focused on Education for Sustainable Development in various Southern African countries. He has worked on policy contributions for UNESCO, DFID and the World Bank, and with the British Council teaching in Mexico. Before coming to Oxford, Alexei was a teacher in Cape Town, where he directed the Luleka Exchange Programme – a multi-school partnership that facilitated curriculum exchange and professional development as well as leadership capacity building in South African public schools.

Intern

Lissadell Breinholt

Currently interning with the Impact Trust, Lissadell is a recent graduate of UWC Atlantic College where she completed the Youth Programme in Routes to Resilience. Whilst living and studying in Costa Rica, she volunteered as a facilitator with an “Agents of Change” program, aimed at developing the entrepreneurial and change-making skills of Costa Rica youth. Alongside this, she has volunteered with NGOs in both Costa Rica and the UK, including with CIRENAS, Lifting Hands, and OASIS Cardiff, among others. In Costa Rica, she attended a social entrepreneurship course with VIVA Idea and later participated in the Yale Young Global Scholars Program on Sustainable Development and Social Entrepreneurship. Lissadell is passionate about international development and is particularly interested in education and social and emotional learning as vehicles for change.

Catherine Cameron

Catherine co-founded Agulhas Open Knowledge in 2003 and leads the Agulhas practice in the areas of sustainability and climate change. She has held a number of advisory and board positions, and is currently Chair of the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Aviation consortium (including Airbus, BA, Rolls Royce, NATS, TUI & Virgin Atlantic). Catherine is a Visiting Professor at University of Essex Business School, and a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) at the University of Surrey.

Dr Gary Kendall

Dr Gary Kendall has been working at the intersection of business strategy and sustainability for more than a decade. Prior to joining Nedbank in 2013, he was Deputy Director at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and previously served as Executive Director at SustainAbility in London, where he advised numerous blue chip organisations on how to strengthen their business strategies with enhanced systems intelligence.

Gary’s career in sustainable development began when he joined WWF International’s Climate & Energy team in 2006. Gary is the author of the WWF publication on electromobility titled “Plugged In”. He has a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Liverpool and has held a season ticket with Liverpool FC since 1991.

Chair

Mike Freedman

After graduating from Oxford University with an honours degree in English, Mike Freedman began his working life as a copywriter, then creative Director and ad agency partner, winning many international awards, including world’s best copywriter. After breaking his neck in a car accident, he began a portfolio career that spans research, brand development, think-tanks, urban futures, writing and social impact, propelled by the belief that he has consolidated these interests into FreedThinkers.

Trustee

Niall Carroll

Mr Carroll has 25 years of experience as a financial markets professional and investor, with senior corporate and board level expertise in financial services and natural resources. From 1991 to 2004, he held various positions at Deutsche Bank South Africa, including head of investment banking and corporate finance. From 2004 to 2012 he was the founder Chief Executive Officer of Royal Bafokeng Finance (subsequently Royal Bafokeng Holdings), which became a major investment holding company in South Africa and the world’s largest community-owned investment holding company. Since 2012, he has been building a portfolio of industrial services businesses, now housed in CG Holdings. He is a graduate of the University of Cape Town and is a chartered accountant and chartered financial analyst. Mr Carroll is currently based in London.

Trustee

Gillian Kettaneh

Gillian Kettaneh has worked as a corporate lawyer, project financier, strategic investor in the emerging markets since 1989. She started her career at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton (New York), then spent 10 years working for development finance institutions – The World Bank (Washington DC), The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (London) and the International Finance Corporation (Johannesburg). Following the IFC she worked for Royal Bafokeng Holdings, the asset management company for an indigenous South African community with commercial assets of GBP 3 billion. Gillian has a BSc Economics degree from the London School of Economics; Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is currently a trustee of the Impact Trust South Africa and Bioversity International (UK). Her interests are in the areas of sustainable natural resource use, innovative financing mechanisms and community development.

Tom McLaughlin

With a B.Phil (Honours) in Sustainable Development and Planning from Stellenbosch University, Tom has a 35 year history in sustainability and responsible sourcing at Woolworths. Well known as an expert in packaging design and development, Tom is one of the architects of “The Good Business Journey”, Woolworths’ sustainability strategy launched in 2007.
The co-founder of Hangerman, a plastics recycling company in Cape Town, Tom is an honorary life member of the Packaging Institute of SA, a director of PETCO (SA’s first joint industry effort to self-regulate the recycling of plastic bottles and trays) and a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s complaints panel.

Trustee

Anthony Notcutt

With a background in finance and ten years experience in the banking industry, Tony switched to fulfil a career in leisure and hospitality management, establishing his own business in the New Forest in 2007. Passionate about securing South Africa’s future, he has spent the last three years committed to supporting development initiatives that unlock the potential of youth and vision a resilient future.