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Meet the team

We are an international and diverse team of financial and investing professionals, entrepreneurs and carbon project development experts united by our vision to restore nature and protect biodiversity at scale.

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Daniel Pfeifer

CEO
& Co-Founder
5

Marie-Sophie Teyssier

Head of Marketing
& Co-Founder
4

Olivier Kobel

Corporate Development
& Co-Founder
6

Marco Meli

COO
& CFO
14

Sven Kapell

Business Development
& Fundraising
2

Susanne Wittig

Business Development
& Investor Relations
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Destin Whitehurst

Head of Carbon
Investments
Susanne

Stefan Wörner

Business Development
& Fundraising
12

Maria Guadalupe F. Vanegas

Head of
Legal
17

Eliana Molina

Head of
Nature Restoration
16

Daire Kelly

Head of Carbon
Solution
18

Santiago Ballen

Senior
Finance Manager
13

Juan Diego Zambrano Giraldo

Land Acquisition
Manager
9

Lorraine Gualteros

Head of Operations
Colombia
15

Olivia Gumbel

Marketing, Communication
& Events Manager
8

Nicole Keiler

Social Strategy
Lead
Photo About

Ana Pimenta Ribeiro

Project Development
Brazil
19

Andres Caro

Restoration & Implementation
Specialist
10

Dayan Pelaez Tirado

Environmental
Engineer
23

Emilia Winter Artusio

Sustainability
Analyst
24

Claire Jaouen

Sustainability
Analyst
Photo About (1)

Camila Bocanegra

Investment & Operations
Analyst

The Team in Action

Meet the board

team_nikolaisen_jan

Jan Nikolaisen

Lawyer
& Ecopreneur
image

Stefanie Hauer

Corporate Sustainability Leader
& Impact Investor
team_dandlau_annesophie

Anne-Sophie d'Andlau

Fund Expert
team_mueller_christian

Christian Müller

Investor in
Impactful Business Models
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Michael Lützenkirchen

Impact Investor

Our values

The principles and convictions of how we work, the DNA of NatureRe and the qualities we strive for every day.

Daniel Pfeifer

Daniel is an ecopreneur, engineer, and serial entrepreneur with a strong track record in building technology and financial services companies. His professional experience includes roles at Zurich Insurance and Credit Suisse, alongside founding several ventures. Since 2014, Daniel has also regenerated 79 hectares of rainforest in Colombia, turning vision into proven practice. At NatureRe, he leads the company with entrepreneurial drive and a global network, positioning the firm at the forefront of large-scale natural capital investments.

Marie-Sophie Teyssier

Marie-Sophie is a global leader in marketing, brand building, and sustainability strategy. She spent 20+ years in senior roles at Nestlé and Zurich Insurance, where she reshaped Zurich’s global brand and communication platform, before dedicating the last five years to impact investing and sustainability initiatives. At NatureRe, Marie-Sophie leverages her international experience to position the company as the global leader in natural climate finance.

Olivier Kobel

Olivier is an expert in structuring and financing sustainable businesses and projects. With more than 20 years of international experience in M&A and corporate finance, he has established a strong reputation in Switzerland’s sustainable finance community. At NatureRe, Olivier supports investment structuring, fundraising, and corporate development to ensure long-term growth and impact.

Marco Meli

Marco is a seasoned investment management executive with deep expertise in fund structuring, operations, and compliance. Over the past 20 years, he has held senior leadership roles at Signet Group, E.I.M. S.A., and UBS Wealth Management, successfully managing multi-jurisdictional platforms and investment vehicles. As COO/CFO at NatureRe, Marco ensures robust operational, financial, and governance foundations for scaling the business.

Sven Kapell

Sven has 20+ years’ experience in investment banking and impact investing, holding leading roles in corporate finance, capital markets, and business development. He brings a strong global network and expertise in fundraising, complex transactions, and business development.

Susanne Wittig

Susanne is a business leader with over 15 years of experience in social innovation, sustainability, and impact investing across private, public, and philanthropic sectors. As Co-Founder and Board Member of Brainforest, she has built a strong reputation in forest and climate solutions and brings deep expertise and networks to NatureRe. She supports the company’s strategy and growth while actively investing in carbon markets.

Destin Whitehurst

Destin is a specialist in channeling capital into high-impact natural climate solutions. Since 2020, he has led investments into early-stage carbon projects across Latin America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia, structuring deals from $5M to $40M in reforestation, mangroves, and agroforestry. With a decade of consulting experience and advisory work for governments and UNDP on biodiversity financing, he brings both financial and policy expertise. At NatureRe, Destin leads the investment team and strengthens investor relations to scale high-quality carbon investments.

Stefan Wörner

20+ years experience from strategy consulting (Bain & Company) and wholesale banking (Credit Suisse). He now advises financial and strategic investors in transactions and value creation in the energy and water sectors (FMC). He also acts as member of the Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy Switzerland and finance director of the Biodiversity Bridge e.V.. At NatureRe, Stefan assists potential investors in their DDs and ensures an optimal fit of NatureRe’s business model to the needs of financial markets. 

Maria Guadalupe Florez Vanegas

Lupe is a legal expert specializing in corporate, financial, and sustainability-related law. With extensive experience advising on investment structures, compliance, and cross-border transactions, she has supported both private sector clients and impact-driven initiatives. At NatureRe, Lupe ensures legal robustness across all investment vehicles, transactions, and partnerships, providing the framework for scalable and secure growth.

Eliana Molina

Eliana is an expert in forest conservation and carbon project development with nearly a decade of experience leading project portfolios and environmental assessments. She holds a Master’s in Forest and Environmental Conservation from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the Université du Québec. At NatureRe, Eliana leads nature-based carbon removal projects from project design through monitoring, reporting, and verification.

Daire Kelly

Daire is an expert in natural climate solutions, combining academic expertise with hands-on project experience. With a background in international business and a Master’s in Management focused on the economics of assisted natural regeneration, he bridges rigorous analysis with practical implementation. At NatureRe, Daire oversees the Carbon Removal Factory team and ensures projects meet the highest environmental, social, and biodiversity standards while delivering value for partners and clients.

Santiago Ballen Serrano

Santiago is a seasoned finance professional with expertise in climate finance, sustainability, and international financial management. He has worked across multilateral organizations, carbon markets, public financial institutions, and high-growth scaleups, building a strong track record in sustainable investment. At NatureRe, Santiago leads financial strategy and supports fundraising efforts to drive scalable impact.

Juan Diego Zambrano Giraldo

Juan Diego is an environmental engineer with 15 years of experience in impact mitigation and sustainability consulting across the public and private sectors. Over the past five years, he has focused on conservation and carbon market projects, collaborating with indigenous and local communities and leading due diligence efforts across the Peruvian Amazon. At NatureRe, he drives landowner engagement and leads land due diligence, ensuring the foundation for successful acquisitions.

Lorraine Gualteros

Lorraine is a business administrator with over a decade of experience in management, customer service, and public relations, specializing in executive operations. With more than six years in the sustainability sector, she combines operational expertise with a deep commitment to quality and compliance. At NatureRe, Lorraine ensures smooth administrative operations, supporting initiatives that advance sustainable practices and organizational excellence.

Olivia Gumbel

Olivia combines expertise in political science and international management with a strong focus on sustainability and impact communications. With a BA from McGill University and a Master’s in Management from ESCP Business School, she brings international experience in digital marketing, market research, and strategic communications. At NatureRe, Olivia leads marketing and communications, driving brand visibility, partnerships, and engagement in the climate and biodiversity space.

Nicole Keiler

Nicole is passionate about advancing gender equality and fostering inclusivity in society and the workplace. She holds a BA in Culture and Economy from the University of Mannheim and a Master’s in Gender and Equality Policies from the University of Valencia. At NatureRe, Nicole designs and implements the company’s social strategy, ensuring inclusivity is embedded across projects and operations.

Ana Pimenta Ribeiro

Ana Ribeiro holds a PhD in Environmental Planning from Leibniz Universität Hannover, a Master’s in Sustainable Development from the University of Brasília, and a Bachelor’s in Forest Engineering from the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil. She has over 15 years of experience in environmental monitoring, and geospatial analysis, strongly focusing on tropical biomes conservation. At NatureRe, she works as a Project Developer, supporting the development of nature-based carbon projects in Brazil.

Andrés Caro

Andrés is a forestry engineer, a specialist in project management from the Corporación Universitaria de Asturias and holds a Master’s degree in Forestry and Environmental Conservation from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. During the past 10 years, Andrés has focused on biotic management, implementation of environmental compensation plans and ecosystem restoration. He utilises his skills in taxonomic botany and environmental management plans for infrastructure projects as Restoration & Implementation Specialist at NatureRe.

Dayan Pelaez Tiraldo

Dayan is an environmental engineer with experience in conservation projects and environmental reforestation. Living in Medellin, he is an expert in the protection of fauna, flora and all natural resources such as air, water and soil, in Colombia. He has more than 4 years of experience in environmental projects focused on preservation, environmental conservation, management of local communities. At NatureRe, he supervises the foremen of Managua and Bengala, tax payments, local community representation, and external visits to the land.

Emilia Winter Artusio

Emilia holds a Master of Science in Mountain Forestry from the University of Natural Resources Vienna. With three years of work experience in forest monitoring and data analysis, she is passionate about sustainable forestry and making a global impact. At NatureRe, she specializes in monitoring and forest-related geodata.

Claire Jaouen

Claire holds a master’s degree in International Management, with a focus on Global South relations. Through fieldwork in Africa and Latin America, Claire gained experience in sustainable and strategic development – particularly in Colombia, where she helped strengthen local regenerative agriculture organizations through nature-based solutions. At NatureRe, she contributes to project monitoring and development efforts in Colombia.

Camila Bocanegra

Camila is a trilingual investment analyst with strong expertise in financial modeling, strategic analysis, and project management. With prior roles at Danone and Organización Corona, she gained experience in financial reporting, budget management, M&A evaluations, and investment analysis. At NatureRe, Camila supports the investment team with financial analysis and operations, contributing to high-quality project execution and sustainable growth.

Jan Nikolaisen

Seasoned lawyer, strategist and ecopreneur. Fund manager and investment director for 4+ years at Good Energies, a well renowned renewable energy fund. Founder and CEO of ROMO Wind, a technology leader in wind measurement for 10 years and currently serves as an Entrepreneur at Novastone Capital Advisors.

Stefanie Hauer

Stefanie re-energized and transformed media companies such as the prestigious newspaper DIE ZEIT and the world’s best-selling magazine publisher Bauer as Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Executive Officer. She is also an amazing networker and hosts her own podcast show Planetary Business. As a biodiversity enthusiast investing in ecosystem restoration, she will bring tremendous value to NatureRe.

Anne Sophie d’Andlau

Co-Founder & Managing Partner of CIAM, a Paris and London based investment firm centering their activities around event-driven situations and an activist approach.
25+ years of international experience in corporate finance in a variety of leading roles (portfolio management, M&A, audit & due diligence)

Christian Müller

Former entrepreneur with focus on services for financial institutions. Angel investor in business models that generate impact and help solve challenges facing the environment and society. Active board member of the Mercator Foundation both in Switzerland and Germany.

Michael Lützenkirchen

Serial entrepreneur, excited about tech, nature, and sustainability. Sold his mobile messaging company in 2016 and founded eco-projects.global as a non profit in 2019 focussing on waste management solutions