Our People

Our team of rewilding and financial experts brings together a powerful combination of entrepreneurship, passion for nature and an ambition to deliver world-changing solutions to the environmental and climate crises.

Board

  • Charlie Burrell (Non–Exec Chairman)

    Owner of the Knepp Castle Estate, and the architect of the Knepp Wildland Project. He is also engaged in several other pioneering conservation and rewilding programmes both in the UK and abroad.

  • Archie Struthers (CEO)

    Archie has over 2 decades of global executive leadership experience, having developed multiple innovative investment solution capabilities primarily at BlackRock and then Standard Life/Aberdeen. He also oversees his family estate where he grew up in Argyll, Scotland.

  • Sarah Payne (CFO)

    Sarah is an experienced CFO with considerable Board and M&A experience. A chartered accountant, FCA, with a broad variety of experience from investor relations and fundraising to corporate governance and financial reporting gained through working at E&Y, the BBC, Tern plc and with many early stage businesses.

  • Danielle Mulder (Non-Exec)

    Danielle Mulder is the Group Sustainability Director at the BBC leading on the BBC’s Net Zero, Nature Positive and Impact program.

    Danielle has been working in sustainability for 18+ years and has experience working with major global clients and projects that include: AVIVA, London 2012, Commonwealth Games, Sydney Metro, Grosvenor, WPP, Network Rail, Burger King and KFC.

  • Peter Davies (Non-Exec)

    Peter is Head of the Developed Markets Strategy at Lansdowne Partners. Previous roles have included being Chairperson of Oxford Science Innovation and a governor at the Wellcome Trust.

  • Kate O’Brien​ (Non–Exec)​

    Kate O’Brien​ (Non–Exec)​

    Kate was most recently Head of Legal and Company Secretary for Oxford Sciences Innovation, joining from Herbert Smith Freehills. ​

    Oxford University educated, she also studied Law in Spain before moving to Paris where she was an attache at the UK Embassy before joining Herbert Smith Freehills. ​

  • Roger Taylor (Non-Exec)

    Roger moved from a corporate finance background to helping float and then become CEO of an International retail group .

    Along with his business partner he then founded Freston Ventures ,a private equity house that focuses on full life cycle business development supporting disruptively minded entrepreneurs .

Team

  • Claire Traynor

    Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)

    Claire has nearly 20 years of experience in the corporate sector. Having started her career as a Management Consultant, she has since held a number of Strategy and Commercial leadership positions within the food and beverage sector, most recently at Kraft Heinz.

    She has a keen interest in Sustainability - and in particular developing ecosystems that can support future food systems. Her passion for nature has been compounded by a love for outdoor sport.

  • Ben Hart

    Head of Operations

    Ben is a Natural Capital Specialist and Chartered Energy Manager with 13 years of experience building successful and impactful teams in fast-growing and innovative companies in the sustainability / carbon / natural capital sectors.

    Ben most recently led on the setup of the baseline and monitoring programme at Highlands Rewilding. Prior to this, he was a carbon and sustainability consultant, working with large public and private sector organisations to deliver market-leading carbon reduction strategies on their road to Net-Zero.

  • Lizzie Lemon

    Boothby Site & Communities Coordinator

    Lizzie has a BSc in Countryside Management and has worked as Information Officer at the Rutland Osprey Project for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, and as Assistant Warden/Project Officer with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust at Donna Nook Grey Seal Colony.

    Lizzie brings with her a wealth of experience in working with volunteers and schools as well as knowledge of the natural world and is excited to be returning to work at Boothby after a few years raising her young family.

  • Ivan de Klee

    Head of Natural Capital

    Ivan is an experienced conservationist and natural capital expert. He previously ran the natural capital programme at the Knepp Wildland project, the Knepp consultancy and was the facilitator for the local farm cluster.

    Ivan has also managed funding applications and worked with local farmers and landowners to set up the Weald to Waves project, connecting Knepp with the sea by wildlife corridors.

  • Lorienne Whittle

    Project Manager - Landscape Recovery

    Growing up in rural Lincolnshire helped inspire Lorienne’s love of the outdoors from a young age. A BSc Ecology and MSc Primate Conservation ensued, deepening both her connection with nature and understanding of our impact upon it.

    After undertaking research abroad, Lorienne went on to oversee the Latin American partnership projects for an international conservation charity. More recently she’s drawn upon her communication skills as a qualified teacher to work in environmental education, run a citizen science project and help establish a conservation training programme at the Woodland Trust.

  • Aimee Hedley

    Administration Coordinator

    After completing a degree in Law and Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Aimee worked as a Corporate and Commercial Solicitor for over ten years. As part of that role she acted for many landowners, farmers and rural businesses in East Anglia, advising on a variety of legal issues involved in mergers, acquisitions, company restructuring, contracts, diversification and renewable energy projects.

    Aimee is also a wildlife illustrator and runs her own small homeware and gift business which has a focus on using natural, recycled and sustainable materials.

  • Lottie Trewick

    Research Analyst

    Lottie is passionate about nature recovery and restoration, with an interest in the intersection between biodiversity loss and climate change.

    After graduating with a BSc in Biology, Lottie interned as a research assistant for the University of Southampton Sustainability Implementation Group, researching carbon sequestration and the voluntary carbon offset market. She also volunteers for UK Youth for Nature, the leading UK youth movement calling for urgent action on the nature crisis.

  • Rachel Blount

    Landscape Ecologist

    Rachel is an ecologist with a background in consultancy and a specialism in Biodiversity Net Gain. Most recently, she worked as one of the Biodiversity Net Gain leads at AtkinsRéalis, a large engineering and environmental consultancy. She is a Full member of CIEEM and holds protected species licences for great crested newt and bats.

    Alongside her work as an ecologist, Rachel recently completed a part-time MRes at the University of Liverpool, where she carried out research into the impact of beaver habitat modifications on bats. This allowed her the pleasure of witnessing beavers transform their habitat and biodiversity flourish as a result.

  • Lloyd Park

    Boothby Ranger

    Lloyd’s background is in practical conservation management, species monitoring, and reintroduction projects and has spent most of his career to date working in the charity sector, having spent over a decade working for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Lloyd has a variety of practical qualifications, including being a skilled arborist and he is an ‘S’ Permit qualified bird ringer for the British Trust for Ornithology on top of being an excellent all-round naturalist.

  • Matt Hay

    Natural Capital Project Manager

    Matt is a natural capital specialist with expertise in ecosystem markets and integrated land management. He is passionate about nature recovery and about accounting for the many types of value our communities and societies derive from the natural world.

    Having been based in northern Britain for the bulk of his career, Matt most recently worked for the land agency, Bidwells, where he helped to build the Scotland division's natural capital team, and as a director for the charity, Reforesting Scotland, which advocates for community-led rewilding. He is excited to have swapped bogs for fens as part of the Nattergal team and to be helping deliver nature recovery across England's heartland.

  • Aliénor de Biolley

    Business Analyst

    After graduating from a BSc in International Hospitality Management in Switzerland, Aliénor went on to complete an MSc in Sustainable Resources at UCL in London, where she focused her research on nature-based solutions and the intersection between biodiversity loss and climate change.

    Her dedication to rewilding nature, stemming from her childhood spent outdoors and hiking the Swiss Alps, led her to volunteer for the Global Rewilding Alliance during her studies. She is still an active member of the organisation.

  • Jill Wotherspoon bio

    Jill Wotherspoon

    Head of Marketing

    Jill joins us from the coffee industry, where she strengthened the link between marketing and sustainability. Through her hospitality & retail customer network, and charitable product development, she raised the profile of the Scottish rainforest and secured corporate funding towards its preservation.

    With 20 years of corporate marketing experience, Jill now applies her skills to our mission of securing vital investment in nature recovery.