Greensphere Capital appoints Graham Ramsbottom as new Partner and Head of Nature-Based Climate Solutions

October 2022 (London) – Greensphere Capital has appointed Graham Ramsbottom as Partner and Head of Nature Based Solutions. Sustainable private equity firm Greensphere Capital launched its Nature Based Solutions at COP26 in 2021 and announced it path-breaking joint-venture partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in July 2022. The appointment of Graham Ramsbottom brings further market-leading expertise to the senior leadership of the firm to drive this forward further.

Graham is a leading investor in the agtech and food space. Having 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 he was appointed in 2012 by the Grosvenor Estate to create a new diversification strategy. Graham founded the Wheatsheaf Group in 2012 and 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.

Divya Seshamani, Managing Partner of Greensphere Capital, said: “Greensphere has been a leader sustainable investing for over a decade. As we address the dual crises of climate stress and biodiversity loss, we see nature-based solutions as a critical means of mitigating these systemic risks. There are very few leaders in this space who both possess the investment, sector and thought-leadership experience as well as the ethical values that Greensphere holds dear. Graham is someone who possesses both these things and we are fortunate to have him join Greensphere’s senior leadership to lead our efforts in this space.”

Graham commented “I am excited by the opportunity to lead this new initiative for Greensphere which so neatly brings together the various strands of my career and experience. The opportunity to help commercialise the science and intellectual property of one of the world’s leading plant science institutions at Kew is a real privilege, developing solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges including climate change and global biodiversity loss. We have already identified our first ‘spin out’ opportunities and I am eager at the prospect of recruiting and bringing together new teams to deliver positive impact in this field.”

Prior to Wheatsheaf, 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 and was educated at Newcastle University (BSc Hons in Agriculture), The Royal Agricultural University and Harvard Business School.