About us

Divya is a private equity and venture capital investor with over 22 years of experience, growing and investing in businesses in sustainable technology, infrastructure, energy, sustainable agriculture and forestry. Educated at Oxford (BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics) and at Harvard (MBA, the Harvard Business School), she built her track record at industry-leading organisations such as Goldman Sachs, Parthenon, Unilever Ventures, GIC (Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund) and at the global Private Equity house, TPG, where she was a Partner. Divya is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader for her work in sustainable and impact investing and has served on the Investment Committee for the Global Innovation Fund anchored by USAID and the UK’s DFID. She was previously a council member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) where she was re-elected for two consecutive terms. She is currently a Non-Executive Director of Forterra PLC, a FTSE-250 British manufacturing business. In 2019 Divya was appointed by the Secretary of State to advise the UK Government as a member of the HMG’s Council for Sustainable Business where she leads the Net-Zero Initiative.

Graham has held a wide range of leadership roles during his 30+ year career, growing and investing in businesses in food and agricultural technologies, sustainable development, renewable energy, and rural land management. Appointed to create a new diversification strategy for the Grosvenor Estate, Graham founded the Wheatsheaf Group in 2012. Over the next 10 years he led the business to become one of the leading, largest, and longest established international investment groups in Agritech leveraging a farsighted approach to rethink the food system to positively influence human health, ecosystems, and the climate. Prior to this, Graham was responsible for the expansive rural land portfolio of The Co-operative Group, developing a strategy to combine commercial activity with the Groups’ social and community goals through large scale sustainable land development and renewable energy projects throughout the UK. Previously, Graham was a partner with a national land management consultancy responsible for rural estates, enterprises, and landholdings throughout Scotland and northern England (including farming forestry and conservation) and served for five years as a Royal Navy Officer. Graham has held numerous Non-Executive Director Roles across a range of business, public sector, and educational organisations. Educated at Newcastle University (BSc Hons in Agriculture), The Royal Agricultural University (MSc Rural Land Management) and Harvard Business School (Advanced Management Programme).

Barry is a long-standing member of the Greensphere team, marrying a strong financial background with a deep understanding of the business and regulatory environment that Greensphere’s engineered solutions portfolio operates in. Barry is a Chartered Accountant with over 2 decades of cross-sector experience, having spent 15+ years in PE-backed businesses as CFO and in other senior finance, commercial and strategy roles. Barry is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and holds a BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes.

Dan is a leading technologist, strategist and operator. His unique background combines pioneering success in strategic technology and organisational transformation with the leadership skills of an operationally-proven Royal Marines Commando Brigadier. He was handpicked as the inaugural Royal Navy Chief Technology Officer charged with the rapid acceleration of technology across an £8Bn, 40,000 employee, no-fail, global organisation operating in the most demanding of environments. He was a permanent visiting member of the Navy Board and member of its Executive Committee where he spearheaded the Royal Navy’s embrace of AI, Cloud/Edge, cyber, autonomy, novel lethality, additive manufacturing, cross-reality, Agility and more. He created Defence’s first AI Accelerator (the £100M ‘NELSON’), its first Venture Capital arm, was Defence’s instigator and champion of its Agility@scale Transformation Programme, and the founder of NATO’s first air, land, sea and subsea Autonomy Accelerator (NavyX). For impact delivered, he was nationally recognised with promotion to CBE in 2022. Other career highlights across 26 years’ service, include Commanding Officer 45 Commando Group Royal Marines, COO 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, delivering a £1Bn Electronic Warfare Programme and being the Royal Marines’ most senior Special Forces Communicator. He was appointed MBE in 2008 for his role as a Rifle Company Commander in Sangin, Afghanistan. Dan continues to serve in a limited capacity as a Regular-Reserve. He is a Chartered Manager and qualified MOD Director. Educated at The University of Birmingham (BSc Geology), King’s College London (MA Defence Studies) and Oxford (Visiting Fellow, Pembroke College and Saïd Business School).

He has over 20 years in senior financial, operational and strategy roles across multiple industries, with the last 4 years spent in Operating Partner roles in Private Equity. Ben qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen and has a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and an MPhil in Economics from Cambridge University.

Sri has extensive expertise in the sustainable farming, seed technology, food processing and organic waste processing industries for over 10 years. As a qualified agricultural scientist, seed technologist and long-standing operator in sustainable agriculture and organic waste, Sri has engaged with leading technologies in green energy production as well. Sri has held a number of roles from Vale Green Energy, ReFood, Biffa and Severn Trent. Sri has a Bachelors degree with Distinction in B Tech Biotechnology at Allahabad Agricultural University, India, and an MSc Applied Sciences at Nottingham Trent University.

Jamie is Group General Counsel and is a qualified solicitor with over 14 years’ experience advising at City firms Bevan Brittan, Eversheds and Dentons on large-scale energy and infrastructure projects, with a particular focus on renewable energy projects. During her time at Dentons, Jamie advised Greensphere on a number of transactions, contractual arrangement and operating matters relating to portfolio companies. Jamie has an LLB in law from the University of Birmingham.

Dai is Chartered Forester with over 30 years of experience of Forest Management in the UK. Dai brings experience of managing forests and woodland of all scales and forest planning, an understanding of landowners approach to development and his up to date knowledge of forestry industry’s cost base. Dai has unique balance of experience having worked for 23 years in the state forest sector before transferring to work in the private forest sector in 2014. Dai held the position of Forest District Manager, a senior staff position in Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) for over 15 years, during this time Dai was a member of the FCW Estate Management team and the National Forest Estate Wind Energy Project Board. Dai is a member of the CONFOR Wales Committee, CLA Dyfed Committee and a member of The Institute of Chartered Foresters.

Alison is a Consultant Ecologist and Chartered Forester with over 30 years of experience working in the field of nature conservation and native woodland management with a particular emphasis on woodland creation. Alison brings experience of managing large woodland creation projects and undertaking a wide range of ecological survey, planning and land management programmes. She has been working professionally since 1992. After achieving a Masters in Ecology at Aberdeen University in 1988 Alison worked on the voluntary sector, employed as Conservation Officer by the Wildlife Trusts in Lancashire and South & West Wales. In 1998 she joined the private forestry sector as an Ecologist gaining Chartered Status with the Institute of Chartered Foresters in 2015.

A chemist and chartered accountant by training and a polymath by default Jon never fails to challenge the investment team with rather detailed chemistry and financial questions. Jon was formerly Managing Partner and Founder of Schroder Ventures where he served from 1985 to 1994. He was also the Managing Partner of Alchemy Partners, which he founded in 1997. Jon has previously worked with Citicorp Venture Capital, Permira, and was a Director at Apax Partners. He was an inaugural member of the British Venture Capital Hall of Fame and serves on the Board of the Corporate Finance Faculty of The Institute of Chartered Accountants. He has sat on the Board of several public companies and is currently a director of a number of private companies and charities.

An engineer at heart, Paul has over 30 years experience at the senior management or director level of businesses. He currently serves as Non-Executive Chairman of Signia Wealth Limited, Readypower Group Limited, and McCarthy and Stone. Paul previously served as Non-Executive Chairman of Forterra, John Laing Infrastructure Fund Limited, a FTSE 250 company where he led the initial public offering of the fund in 2010; and was a Non-Executive Director of Invensys, a FTSE 100 company, and Chief Executive of VT Group Plc, amongst a variety of other directorships. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and a diploma in Management Studies from Nottingham Trent University. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a member of Her Majesty’s Major Projects Review Group. Paul was awarded a CBE in 2007.

With a passion for technology, Ian has over three decades of experience in private equity and investment management and currently also serves as Partner of Circularity Capital, a sustainable investment fund. Ian was chosen by the UK Government as founding CEO in 2011 to establish the UK Green Investment Bank and was its Chief Investment Officer until 2014. Previously, Ian spent 25 years at at 3i during which time he was Chief Investment Officer with responsibility for managing £10 billion of assets across Europe. He was also a member of the 3i Group Executive, Investment Committee, Risk Committee and Conflicts Committee. Ian qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen and graduated with a BA in Economics from Cambridge University.

Paul has an extensive background in the chemical industry and private equity for over than 35 years. Paul is currently an investor in and NXD at Marine Biopolymers Limited, and Group Chair of multinational chemicals and materials company, Scott Bader Company limited. He is also a founding partner and director of the advisory group Cogency Chemical Consulting Limited, providing commercial strategy and market due diligence services to the financial investment sector. Paul is a graduate Chemist (1976), enjoying a long and successful career within a number of large multinational chemical companies until moving into private equity and venture capital in late 2001. His early roles included General Manager – Commercial for Albright & Wilson’s Surfactant Business in Europe, Marketing Director at Brent International PLC, and European Managing Director – Elementis Pigments. Paul has held a number of leadership roles in VC-backed businesses and has an enviable track record of creating value and highly profitable exits for investors. These include the sale in 2018 of the three Catexel Group companies to ICIG portfolio company, Weylchem, and US based Borchers Company, respectively, and Rahu Catalytics Limited (a business where he worked with Divya Seshamani at Unilever Ventures) to Wall Street listed US Specialty Chemicals player, OM Group Inc. in late 2011. He has extensive international experience in Europe, North America and Asia, and lived and worked in Germany for 4 years.