Our people
“Most times the way isn’t clear, but you want to start anyway. It is in starting with the first step that other steps become clearer.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Jyoti Banerjee, co-founder
Jyoti was part of the team that created the Integrated Reporting movement globally. He has been an impact investor for two decades and used to be an entrepreneur in the tech sector. He taught technology entrepreneurship at Said Business School, University of Oxford. He grew up in New Delhi and lives in London.
Jenny Scott
Jenny is a Founder Partner at Apella, an advisory firm that helps organisations build their purpose, strategy and reputation. Prior to establishing Apella, Jenny led communications at the Bank of England and was Economics Correspondent at the BBC. She is a trustee of Pro Bono Economics.
Victoria Topham
Victoria worked for over 20 years as a finance professional, training at PwC and holding commercial and corporate finance roles with leading media industry businesses. With the urgency for sustainable and systemic change to tackle planetary degeneration she now develops new purpose-led business models and collaborative ways of working. At North Star Transition, Victoria supports our project team.
John Farr
John is a qualified project management professional with extensive experience as a technology change manager. Before joining North Star Transition, he was responsible for managing the migration of internal systems to new processes and technologies at Microsoft’s consulting services business in the UK. He is based in London, where he lives with his wife Rebecca and their two children who were adopted in 2014.
Arnav Jain
Arnav is a recent graduate with a BA Hons in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Nottingham. He has a strong background in research which saw him complete a research placement with the British Ministry of Defence and present his findings at international conferences hosted by U.S Strategic Command. Now as a freelance broadcast journalist, he has built on that passion for research by reporting on global stories while working with various international news agencies and channels. At North Star Transition, Arnav works on our media content.
Stephen Backhouse
Stephen Backhouse is the Programme Lead for North Star Transition’s education and leadership development work. He draws from decades of experience working in the academic, corporate, not-for-profit and third sector industries. Stephen has published numerous award-winning books and articles on history, philosophy and the nature of political power. He holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford and multiple master’s degrees from Oxford and McGill University. Originally from Canada, Stephen is now based in the U.K., where he loves nothing more than to walk over hills and under trees on the Sussex Downs.
Olivier Boutellis, co-founder
Olivier spent more than 25 years in international leadership positions in the professional services and the not-for-profit sectors. He also held several directorships on international boards, served as a public prosecutor and started as a small business entrepreneur at the age of 17. Since 2006 he has been the CEO of Accountancy Europe. In these different roles, he strove to advance the public interest as well as social and environmental responsibility.
Andy Middleton
Andy is a strategy & policy innovation specialist helping leaders grow appropriate ambition and creative responses to the challenge of shifting the world towards the regeneration of climate stability, ecosystem and human wellbeing. He’s CEO at Slipstream Impact, a Partner at NOW Partners, Chief Exploration Officer at The TYF Group and an advisor/trustee for a handful of environmental organisations.
Jo Jones
Jo joined North Star Transition as project manager supporting Wales Transition Lab. Jo has a background in project management and stakeholder engagement across industries from local government to CICs, think tanks to start ups. With experience spanning sustainability and climate, transformation, the adventure sector and social care and housing, she now supports a range of purposeful organisations. Driven by the need for change towards a regenerative relationship with the planet, she is happiest Making Stuff Happen.
Martin Rich
Martin is a sustainability and impact specialist with over 25 years’ experience in both mainstream and social investment. Following a career in international finance working for UBS, JPMorgan, HSBC and Social Finance Ltd, he co-founded Future-Fit Foundation with a vision to create a truly sustainable future for all. He now works on the cutting-edge of sustainability, helping companies and financial institutions address the radical transformation that the future demands of their business models.
Vicky Vanderstichele
Vicky is a lawyer currently taking a break from private practice in a major London law firm, where she worked in environmental and product litigation, to do a Master's in Law and Sustainability at the University of Utrecht. Vicky has joined the North Star Transition team in parallel to completing her Master's. Vicky is currently based in Amsterdam.
Rebecca Annells
Rebecca Annells is a science and systems researcher at North Star Transition. She has an academic science background, with a BA Hons in Cell and Systems Biology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Bath. Alongside strong research skills, Rebecca has passion for science communication, systems thinking and championing equality, diversity and inclusion. She is a podcast-nut and keen cold-water swimmer, currently based in South East Cornwall. At North Star Transition, Rebecca works on the Wye and Usk Transition Lab as well as the OFWAT Mainstreaming Nature Based Solutions project.
Peter Harris
Peter moved to Portugal in 1983 with his wife Miranda and family to establish and run A Rocha’s first field study centre and bird observatory for environmental conservation. In 1995 the work was given over to national leadership and they moved to France where together with national colleagues they oversaw the establishment of two other centres, while travelling worldwide to resource the growing movement of Christians active in nature conservation. A Rocha is now established in 21 countries on 5 continents, and Peter spent many years as its president. He has been part of the thinking and development of North Star Transition since our inception.
Matthew Phan
Matthew works at a financial institution and is based in Asia. He has several years of experience in analysing securities across the capital structure, and has also spent time in bank corporate treasury, after starting working life as a journalist. He has a BA in Economics and Mathematics from Columbia University and is a CFA charterholder.
Dan Ward
Dan is a systems thinking and multidisciplinary specialist. An experienced ecologist, he worked in the environment and conservation sector on river catchment and landscape scale projects, before moving on to work on national ecosystem resilience policy for Natural Resources Wales. Dan enjoys working with multiple stakeholders with competing and sometimes conflicting interests, finding a way through Wicked problems and complexity to realise opportunities and solutions that deliver multiple benefits. This led Dan to work in wider systems thinking, in everything from ecosystems through to energy, transport and economics, helping drive progressive change for better outcomes.
Luke Penny
Luke works to create meaningful connections between people, organisations and issues to configure and facilitate systems change for better futures. He has worked across housing, land management, local authorities and Welsh Government supporting purposeful collaboration and imagining new, conscious methods of working together. After completing his MESci from Cardiff University, Luke co-authored a paper on evolutionary dynamics of paleoclimatic proxies published in PLOS One. He lives and makes music in Cardiff. At North Star Transition, he supports our work in Wales Transition Lab.
Harriette Brainard
Harriette helps build networks for global change based on positive and accelerated environmental outcomes and health initiatives; and advises start-ups working on regenerative practices. She was an early board member of the non-profit C- Change Conversations working to bring the discussion of climate change out of the political arena and into local communities. Harriette is also on the national conservation team for the Garden Club of America and assistant editor of the GCA conservation magazine, ConWatch.