Massachusetts Sustainable Energy Solutions for Business

• Executive Team
• Investment Committee
• Investment Team
• Projects Team
• Support Team

Executive Team

TC Kundi

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner

Mr. Kundi is the Chief Executive Officer of Berkeley Energy. He is a board member of Berkeley Energy Limited, the holding company for the Berkeley Energy management group.

TC has been directing the firm's development and strategy and managing its relationships with investors, promoters, and other stakeholders across the business since its incorporation. Mr. Kundi is a member and Chairman of the Investment Committees across all managed funds. He is also a board member across the managed funds' portfolio investment holdings. Mr. Kundi oversees the Berkeley Energy Group and its subsidiaries responsible for the investment management, operational and administrative support to the business. Mr. Kundi is one of a handful of professionals globally who has acted as a principal owner and operator of renewable energy assets for 30 years.

Mr. Kundi is a Mechanical Engineering (BEng Hons) and holds a post-graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Warwick. He is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer (C Eng) with the IMechE and a Chartered European Engineer (Eur Ing) with FEANI.

Mr. Kundi is based in Singapore.

Luka Buljan

Managing Director

Mr. Buljan is the Managing Director for Africa and member of the investment committee of AREF. He is an experienced energy industry executive with a strong focus on emerging markets, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, and a track record in closing transactions and managing businesses. He was formerly the Chief Operating Officer of African Power Corporation, a power project developer where he worked on a 600 MW hydro project in Congo-Brazzaville.

Prior to that he has spent ten years within investment vehicles for Actis Capital LLP, an emerging markets private equity investor, where he played several roles: CEO of Empower, a start-up providing interim power generation solutions in Africa and Director, Business Development at Globeleq, a company specialised in acquiring and developing power generation and distribution projects. With Empower and Globeleq Mr. Buljan closed several important transactions in power generation and distribution infrastructure in Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Mauritania and South Sudan, and pursued other projects in many other countries across the continent.

Previously he has worked in the New Investment Office of CDC Capital Partners, the predecessor of Actis, as a management consultant in Italy and as an entrepreneur in Croatia. Mr Buljan holds an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Zagreb and is fluent in five languages.

Mr. Buljan is based in Nairobi.

Michael Brown

Managing Director

Mr. Brown is the Managing Director responsible for the Asian funds, a member of fund Investment Committees and manages a centrally based investment and risk management function. He oversees the implementation of investment and fundraising processes across the business and supports all investment activity in Asia where he is a shareholder representative and holds board seats across a number of key portfolio investments.

Mr. Brown has 20 years' experience in investment, corporate finance and advisory work, across equity and debt transactions, with experience of operating across SE Asia, India, China, Korea, the Middle East, North Africa and throughout Europe.

Before joining Berkeley Energy in 2012, he worked with Climate Change Capital, responsible for managing and executing investments in the Indian and SE Asia regions, and prior to that had experience working in corporate finance at a private equity advisory boutique, and at KPMG. His technology investment experience includes wind, hydro, solar, biomass, waste management, industrial energy efficiency and hybrid solutions.

Mr. Brown is based in Singapore.

Jonathan Payne

Managing Director

Mr. Payne is responsible for the asset management of the portfolio investments including financial management and operational excellence. He is a member of the investment committees of AREF, REAF and REAF II.

Mr. Payne has 15+ years' experience of driving performance in operating businesses'. He has extensive experience in M&A activity, financial control, reporting, process improvement, strategic planning, system implementation, and building strong teams. Mr. Payne has held senior finance roles in both the UK and Australia, including as Financial Controller for WRG developing the renewable energy business with TC Kundi. Mr. Payne was also part of the ultimate spin-off of that business into Infinis Plc and helped shape the continued growth.

Mr Payne is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) and holds an Honours degree in Accountancy Studies.

Mr Payne is based in Singapore.

Anwar Zaib

Chief Operations Officer

Mr. Zaib is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer of Berkeley investment funds and Managers. He comes with 14+ years of experience in the fund management industry working for leading financial services organisations including State Street Corporation, Capital Dynamics, and The Bank of New York Mellon.

Mr. Zaib has diverse experience covering regulated and non-regulated investment funds, private equity investments, valuation, investor relations and reporting, financial management and control, project and corporate finance, business operations, internal controls and systems implementation, audit, taxation and regulatory compliance in various jurisdictions including UK, USA, EU, Asia, and Sub-Sharan Africa. Mr. Zaib is also the Chief Compliance Officer with FCA UK.

Mr. Zaib is a Fellow Chartered and Certified Accountant ("FCCA") UK and holds MSt. Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge.

Mr. Zaib is based in Singapore.

Kunal Mehta

Managing Director

Mr. Mehta is the Managing Director for the commercial and industrial distributed energy strategy for Berkeley Energy. Mr. Mehta has over 15 years of experience in financing energy projects across Europe and Asia.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Mr. Mehta worked in Siemens Financial Services leading and executing investments in the power generation sector with a special focus on offshore wind. He has previously worked in Earth Capital Partners, Man Group and Climate Change Capital as both an investor and advisor.

Mr. Mehta holds an MSc in Finance from London Business School and an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford.

Mr. Mehta is based in Singapore.

Shelley Killiard

Group Head of Legal Head of Human Resources

Ms. Killiard is General Counsel for Berkeley Energy. Ms. Killiard is responsible for directing the Berkeley Energy group's legal and HR strategy and function. Ms. Killiard manages the legal teams across the business, ensuring in-house business partnering, legal structuring, negotiation, transaction, corporate governance, and legal and compliance support. Ms. Killiard also manages the HR team ensuring direction, recruitment, training and development, policy, and personnel support.

Ms. Killiard is a board member of a number of the Berkeley Energy and investment holding companies. Prior to joining Berkeley Energy in 2012, Ms. Killiard was with international law firm CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP for six years in the infrastructure and project finance group, based in London. Ms. Killiard has an LLB (Hons) degree in Law and Italian.

Ms. Killiard is based in Singapore.

Investment Committee

TC Kundi

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner

Mr. Kundi is the Chief Executive Officer of Berkeley Energy. He is a board member of Berkeley Energy Limited, the holding company for the Berkeley Energy management group.

TC has been directing the firm's development and strategy and managing its relationships with investors, promoters, and other stakeholders across the business since its incorporation. Mr. Kundi is a member and Chairman of the Investment Committees across all managed funds. He is also a board member across the managed funds' portfolio investment holdings. Mr. Kundi oversees the Berkeley Energy Group and its subsidiaries responsible for the investment management, operational and administrative support to the business. Mr. Kundi is one of a handful of professionals globally who has acted as a principal owner and operator of renewable energy assets for 30 years.

Mr. Kundi is a Mechanical Engineering (BEng Hons) and holds a post-graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Warwick. He is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer (C Eng) with the IMechE and a Chartered European Engineer (Eur Ing) with FEANI.

Mr. Kundi is based in Singapore.

Luka Buljan

Managing Director

Mr. Buljan is the Managing Director for Africa and member of the investment committee of AREF. He is an experienced energy industry executive with a strong focus on emerging markets, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, and a track record in closing transactions and managing businesses. He was formerly the Chief Operating Officer of African Power Corporation, a power project developer where he worked on a 600 MW hydro project in Congo-Brazzaville.

Prior to that he has spent ten years within investment vehicles for Actis Capital LLP, an emerging markets private equity investor, where he played several roles: CEO of Empower, a start-up providing interim power generation solutions in Africa and Director, Business Development at Globeleq, a company specialised in acquiring and developing power generation and distribution projects. With Empower and Globeleq Mr. Buljan closed several important transactions in power generation and distribution infrastructure in Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Mauritania and South Sudan, and pursued other projects in many other countries across the continent.

Previously he has worked in the New Investment Office of CDC Capital Partners, the predecessor of Actis, as a management consultant in Italy and as an entrepreneur in Croatia. Mr Buljan holds an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Zagreb and is fluent in five languages.

Mr. Buljan is based in Nairobi.

Michael Brown

Managing Director

Mr. Brown is the Managing Director responsible for the Asian funds, a member of fund Investment Committees and manages a centrally based investment and risk management function. He oversees the implementation of investment and fundraising processes across the business and supports all investment activity in Asia where he is a shareholder representative and holds board seats across a number of key portfolio investments.

Mr. Brown has 20 years' experience in investment, corporate finance and advisory work, across equity and debt transactions, with experience of operating across SE Asia, India, China, Korea, the Middle East, North Africa and throughout Europe.

Before joining Berkeley Energy in 2012, he worked with Climate Change Capital, responsible for managing and executing investments in the Indian and SE Asia regions, and prior to that had experience working in corporate finance at a private equity advisory boutique, and at KPMG. His technology investment experience includes wind, hydro, solar, biomass, waste management, industrial energy efficiency and hybrid solutions.

Mr. Brown is based in Singapore.

Jonathan Payne

Managing Director

Mr. Payne is responsible for the asset management of the portfolio investments including financial management and operational excellence. He is a member of the investment committees of AREF, REAF and REAF II.

Mr. Payne has 15+ years' experience of driving performance in operating businesses'. He has extensive experience in M&A activity, financial control, reporting, process improvement, strategic planning, system implementation, and building strong teams. Mr. Payne has held senior finance roles in both the UK and Australia, including as Financial Controller for WRG developing the renewable energy business with TC Kundi. Mr. Payne was also part of the ultimate spin-off of that business into Infinis Plc and helped shape the continued growth.

Mr Payne is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) and holds an Honours degree in Accountancy Studies.

Mr Payne is based in Singapore.

Alastair Vere Nicoll

Non-executive member of the Investment Committee of AREF REAF and REAF II

Mr. Vere Nicoll was an original partner in Berkeley Energy from its establishment in 2007 and in 2020 stepped back from a full-time role with the business, whilst continuing as a non-executive member of the Investment Committees of AREF, REAF, and REAFII.

Mr. Vere Nicoll was previously with leading international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in their Private Equity Team. Mr. Vere Nicoll has a first-class BA from Oxford University.

Mr. Vere Nicoll also founded, organised and took part in a ski traverse of the continent of Antarctica in 2004 and 2005 in the footsteps of Roald Amundsen. He has written a book about the experience; Riding the Ice Wind.

Mr. Vere Nicoll is based in London.

Andrew Reicher

Non-executive member of the Investment Committee of AREF REAF and REAF II

Mr. Reicher has been an independent member of all Berkeley Energy's investment committees since the inception of the first fund.

Mr. Reicher has 20+ years of private equity investment and 10+ years of investment banking experience. He is one of a limited number of professionals with deep investment experience of emerging markets and infrastructure, with particular expertise in Asia and Africa, the creation of public/private partnerships, and infrastructure (particularly power generation). He has a successful investment track record in these fields, and in creating and re-engineering processes and devising innovative financial structures.

From 2000-08 Mr. Reicher worked with Commonwealth Development Corporation (including the private equity firm Actis which was created in CDC's privatisation process), as its Chief Investment Officer (chairing all the investment committees), head of its first Infrastructure Fund, and then CEO of Globeleq, the wholly-owned electricity generation company operating in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The funds he was involved with at CDC all achieved high cash multiples and rates of return. Prior to CDC he worked with Credit Suisse First Boston and Citicorp.

Mr. Reicher has a BA in Economics from Cambridge University, and a MA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Reicher is based in London.

Edward Njoroge

Non-executive member of the Investment Committee of AREF

Edward Njoroge is a member of the investment committee of AREF.

For 10 years up to mid-2013, he was the Managing Director of Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen). While at KenGen, Mr. Njoroge played a pivotal role in the strategic and operational transformation of the company and its successful flotation on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. His vision was for Kenya to be powered by green energy and he is credited with having implemented several hydro projects, the first wind project and the biggest geothermal plant in Kenya.

Mr. Njoroge is currently the Chairman of the board of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and Telkom Kenya Limited, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Aureos East Africa Fund and board member of Globeleq. He is a member of the Board of CfC Stanbic Bank and Real Insurance Ltd.

He was previously chairman of the World Energy Council Kenya Chapter and the President of the Union of Producers, Transporters and Distributors of Electric Power in Africa.

Mr. Njoroge is based in Nairobi.

Gordon Power

Non-executive member of the Investment Committee of REAF II

Gordon is co-founder of Earth Capital Holdings Limited (ECH) and has over 30 years of private equity experience, and has over the past six years brought together the companies and management teams with the SET3 group including being principal of the Nobel Sustainability Fund.

Prior to this he founded the private equity business ProVen Private Equity (now re-named Beringea) and led its buy-out from Guinness Mahon in 1997. As CEO of ProVen from 1984 until 2004, he spearheaded the creation and marketing of funds and the investment and exit of deals as head of the investment committee. In 2003 ProVen had funds under management of $340M including Guinness Flight VCT, ProVen VCT and ProVen Media VCT (now re-named ProVen Growth and Income VCT) and funds from institutions such as Hargreaves Lansdown, Gulf International Bank, Standard Life, and Essex County Council.

Gordon has invested in over 230 investments over the last 32 years, generating an IRR of 29%. During this time, he has made several sustainable technology investments; such businesses included forestry, plastic recycling, and eco-friendly building materials and brand packaging. Gordon has an IRR of 45% from 29 sustainable private equity investments.

Mr. Power is based in London.

Investment Team

Daniel Kalya

Investment Analyst

Mr. Daniel is a finance and investments professional with over 4 years' experience in project finance and development management. He joined Berkeley Energy in September 2021 as an Investment Analyst in the AREF team focusing on investment analysis, due diligence and financial modelling.

Before joining Berkeley Energy, Daniel was a Project Finance Analyst and later a Development Management Analyst at Centum Real Estate where he played key roles in identifying bankable opportunities, deal structuring and fundraising at project levels.

Daniel holds a Master of Science degree in Financial Economics from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He is also a registered candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) programs.

Daniel is based in Nairobi.

Divyansh Johar

Investment Director

Mr. Johar is an experienced investment professional who joined Berkeley Energy in 2011. After an initial focus on India, Mr. Johar moved to Manila where he managed the investment portfolio as the country lead for the Philippines. He has overseen construction projects, led exit processes, raised debt & equity capital, and managed key relationships.

He currently has the responsibility for managing specific investments across Asia and Africa, including Berkeley Energy's operational grid-connected portfolio in India as well as pipeline projects.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Mr. Johar worked with the Transaction Advisory team at Ernst & Young for over 4 years. He advised clients in the infrastructure sector (conventional power, renewable energy, and roads) on project finance, restructuring, private equity deals, and bid advisory.

Mr. Johar holds an MBA from IIM Lucknow and received a degree in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from IIT Bombay.

Mr. Johar is based in New Delhi.

Faith Kamau

Investment Analyst

Ms. Faith Kamau is an investment professional with over seven years' experience in transaction advisory and project finance. She joined Berkeley as an Investment Analyst in June 2020, working on financial modeling, investment analysis, and due diligence.

Previously, Ms. Faith worked as a Financial Analyst at Industrial Promotion Services (Kenya) Ltd where she carried out financial modeling and investment analysis on the energy infrastructure portfolio in East and Central Africa. Prior to this, she worked in the Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services department in Kenya delivering on various assignments in financial and commercial due diligences, valuations, financial modeling as well as feasibility and market studies for clients in varied sectors in the East African region and shortly in the EY Birmingham UK office. She has also worked as an Accountant at a PE firm in Kenya, Cassia Capital Partners Ltd.

Ms. Faith holds a BSc in Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi and is a Certified Public Accountant in Kenya.

Ms. Faith is based in Nairobi.

Jai Prakash

Investment Manager

Jai is an Investment Manager & Philippines Country Lead at Berkeley Energy. His primary focus is on Philippines investments but also caters to Berkeley's Indonesia Hydro investment pipeline as well as investment analysis for new markets. He is responsible for investment management of existing portfolio, raising project finance debt and helps in building pipeline of new investments.

Jai has over ten years of experience across banking, project finance advisory, and private equity practices across India, West-Africa and now Southeast Asia. Before Berkeley Energy, he has worked with Standard Chartered Bank, SBI Capital Markets Limited (an infrastructure advisory-focused subsidiary of State Bank of India), and Faber Capital (an Africa and GCC-focused boutique IB services firm). He has worked on transactions in power – thermal & renewables, healthcare, manufacturing, and quasi-sovereign fund-raise sectors.

Jai holds an MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

Jai is based in Manila.

Jonathan Ng Chun Hian

Investment Associate

Jonathan is a finance professional with a background in accounting, financial reporting, investment analysis, and valuations. As a member of Berkeley Energy's investment team, Jonathan focuses on preparing and reviewing financial models for new and existing investments for analysis and valuations, as well as more broadly supporting the firm's investment activities across the renewable energy sector.

Before joining Berkeley Energy, Jonathan worked 2 years for a fund which operates primarily in the Indian Solar C&I space; he was responsible for monitoring and reporting on the portfolio, financial modelling, and supporting fundraising activities. His other work experiences include stints in one of the Big 4 accounting firms, a commercial bank, and a car distributor. Jonathan holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance from the University of London.

Jonathan is based in Singapore.

Nicholas Tatrallyay

Investment Director

Mr. Tatrallyay is an investment professional with 10+ years' experience in environmental finance and renewable energy investments. Mr. Tatrallyay is responsible for the firm's investments in Uganda, Cameroon, Zambia, and Angola.

Prior to joining Berkeley, Mr. Tatrallyay was a Director at a solar developer. He developed the company's strategy for Africa and was in charge of building relationships with funding institutions and EPC firms, as well as originating and evaluating new project opportunities in Africa. Prior to this, Mr. Tatrallyay worked at Climate Change Capital ('CCC'), an asset manager and advisory group focused on the transition to the low carbon economy.

At CCC, Mr. Tatrallyay was responsible for managing and co-managing CCC's emission reduction projects and equity and structured finance investments in South East Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America and developing new investment opportunities and strategies for CCC. Aside from his work at CCC, Mr. Tatrallyay has written papers on climate finance and is a guest lecturer at Imperial College where he has given presentations on the intersection of climate and project finance. He is fluent in French.

Mr. Tatrallyay is based in Nairobi.

Peter Schultz

Head of Business Development

Peter Schultz is responsible for originating, developing and executing renewable energy investments to grow Berkeley Energy's portfolio across Southeast Asia. He has over 13 years of focused experience in the energy and infrastructure sector in Southeast Asia, including work on M&A, start-up, IPO, project development and project finance transactions.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Peter served as a senior executive at Aboitiz Power in the Philippines tasked with investments, capital raising and LNG project development activities.  Prior to Aboitiz Power, Peter led infrastructure investments across several Southeast Asia markets at Infunde Development.

Peter's background also includes nearly seven years' experience with the Thailand office of U.S. law firm Hunton AK.  His work there included supporting one of the first and then largest solar projects in Thailand and the refinancing and expansion of one of the Philippines' premier power projects.

Peter holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BA from Michigan State University.

Robert Kesterton

Investment Director

Mr. Kesterton is responsible for AREF's investments in Ethiopia and Madagascar, among other markets. He has more than 15 years' experience as an investment professional with a track record of developing and financing power and infrastructure deals across multiple regions.

After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte London he moved to the investment team at BP Alternative Energy where he structured renewable energy IPPs across Europe and Asia. While at BP he also helped establish the group's emissions asset aggregation business.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Mr. Kesterton worked for 8 years at the Asian Development Bank in Manila and subsequently at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London where he led project financings of numerous conventional and renewable energy projects. He was instrumental in building a portfolio of nearly 1,000MW in Jordan as well as financing the largest geothermal complex in Turkey and the first wind farm in Serbia.

Mr. Kesterton is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and has an MSc (Distinction) in Environmental Technology and Energy Policy from Imperial College, London.

Mr. Kesterton is based in Nairobi.

Rohit Raj

Investment Manager

Mr. Rohit Raj is responsible for structuring, execution, negotiation, and management of investments for grid-connected as well as commercial and industrial renewable energy at Berkeley Energy. Mr. Rohit has 7 years of experience in executing renewable energy transactions across Asia.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Mr. Rohit was a Senior Investment Manager at Asia Power Development Platform (a JV of Macquarie Capital and STEAG GmbH), for investments in renewable energy projects in South East Asia. He has previously worked in the principal investments team at GE Capital – Energy Financial Services and project finance team at Standard Chartered Bank. He also worked as a Manager at Reliance Industries Limited prior to completing his management education.

Mr. Rohit holds a post-graduate management degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and completed his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.

Mr. Rohit is based in Singapore.

Projects Team

Alessandro Davitti

Project Engineer

Mr. Davitti is a Chartered Civil Engineer. His role at Berkeley Energy mainly consists of technical support to hydropower projects in Africa. Mr. Davitti has 10 years of experience in the hydropower field, spanning from site identification, feasibility studies, design, and construction. His resident site experience includes the construction of the Devoll hydropower scheme in Albania (270 MW) and a small run-of-river project in Kenya (6 MW).

Before joining Berkeley Energy, Alessandro contributed to the growth of an independent small-scale hydropower developer in Scotland, as well as worked for major international consultancies. His research field includes the study of the cost of hydropower projects in developing countries.
Mr. Davitti holds a master's degree from Politecnico di Milano (Italy).

Mr. Davitti is based in Nairobi.

Axel Gnassounou

Business Development Manager

Mr. Gnassounou has experience in renewable energy projects across Europe and Africa. He is currently involved into engineering, due diligence, and project management of AREF projects.

Mr. Gnassounou previously worked at the African Biofuel and Renewable Energy Company where he held a Project Officer position on projects in all 8 WAEMU countries and in Chad. He previously worked for a solar developer in designing, planning and delivering renewable energy projects.

Mr. Gnassounou holds a BEng in renewables energy (University of Montpellier) and a Master's degree in Project Management (EI.CESI).

Mr. Gnassounou is based in Nairobi.

Kelvin Nkole

Development Manager

Kelvin Nkole has over 20 years of experience in the electricity sector with a background in power transmission and distribution. He has worked on numerous projects having started his engineering career in a private utility in Zambia before migrating to the UK where he worked for consulting firm Mott MacDonald.

Kelvin has experience in project management and project development in the UK and various sub-Saharan African countries involving multi-discipline cross-cultural teams. He worked as a Business Development Manager for Copperbelt Energy Corporation, the first private utility member of the Southern African Power Pool, and worked as Mott MacDonald Country Manager between 2017 and 2020 before joining Berkeley.

Kelvin is a Chartered UK Engineer, Registered Professional Engineer in Zambia, and holds a BEng (Hon) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Manchester as well as an MBA from the University of Brighton.

Kelvin is based in Lusaka.

Luiz Junqueira

Business Development Manager

Luiz Junqueira has over fifteen years of experience, globally working in business development, acquisition, and implementation of large-scale engineered assets for private equity investors and major contractors such as Camargo Correa, Alstom Hydro, Contour Global, Tome International, Quantum Global, and others.

Mr. Junqueira has substantial experience in the power sector in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America with more than 1GW of renewable power assets already implemented were he acted in roles including contract manager, project manager, business, and project developer. Most recently he spent six years developing and supervising the execution of infrastructure projects in Angola.

Qualified and experienced Civil Engineer (UNESP, 2002) with a master's degree in Project Management (ITA, 2007) and Industrial Engineering (USP, 2006) moreover, he completed his MBA in International Management at the Swiss Business School of Zürich in Switzerland (2016). He is also a member of the Project Management Institute where he holds an international PMP® certification.

Luiz is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Niel Theron

General Manager

Mr. Theron is the General Manager for Berkeley Energy Uganda, working on all engineering aspects of projects including technical due diligence, contract tendering and negotiation, coordination of lender technical evaluation, project management and operations related to projects in Uganda.

Mr. Theron has thirty plus years of experience in project development, construction, and operations management within the civil engineering industry. Over the past 10 years, Mr. Theron focused mainly on the development of Run-of-River Hydro and delivered the first small Hydro, the 10MW Kakamas Hydro Electric Power Plant, under the REIPPP program in South Africa. This project was delivered through non-recourse finance. He has further owned and managed civil construction companies in South Africa and Ireland.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, he held the position as owners engineer and as CEO of the Kakamas project during construction and the first two years of operation. He holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering, from The Cape Technicon, in Cape Town.

Raul van Ree

Country Manager

Mr. Raul van Ree is Country Manager for Indonesia, based in Jakarta, where he is responsible for managing Berkeley's operating projects and driving the origination and development of renewable energy business opportunities across the Indonesian Archipelago. He has accumulated over 17 years of experience across Europe and Southeast Asia, covering business origination and structuring, project development, project engineering, and project management.

For over 4 years he was Director of Project Development for the Southeast Asian region with Canadian Solar (NASDAQ listed), one of the World's leading Solar PV project developers and module manufacturers. He was part of the region start-up team and led the origination and development of over 500 MW across Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia. Prior to that, he opened the Southeast Asian business for Martifer Solar, a leading European Solar PV EPC contractor, and worked for a large residential contractor in Europe.

Mr. Raul holds an Industrial Engineering degree and an MBA. He is PMP certified, a Chartered European Engineer (EurIng) with FEANI, and a 10 year-long active member of IEEE PES. He is fluent in Spanish, Dutch, and English, and currently, he is finding his way through Bahasa Indonesian.

Support Team

Akiva Bonnick

Environmental & Social Manager

Ms. Bonnick is responsible for Environmental and Social management across the organisation specifically relating to early stage risk assessment and categorisation, supporting the portfolio team on a day to day basis to maintain E&S compliance and awareness, and ensuring continued alignment with investors regarding their prescribed E&S requirements. She has primary responsibility for the Asia portfolio as well as working on African projects.

Prior to joining Berkeley, Ms. Bonnick was a Senior E&S Analyst responsible for (renewable) energy projects at FMO (the Dutch development bank). She has 4+ years assessing the E&S risks and seeking opportunities for energy projects, managing consultants as well as maintaining the E&S quality of the portfolio specifically for projects in Africa and Latin America. Prior to FMO, Ms. Bonnick worked as a project engineer in Jamaica. She holds a Master's of Science in Environmental and Energy Management and a Bachelor's of Science in Civil Engineering.

Ms. Bonnick is based in Singapore.

Amrita Roy Choudhury

Legal Counsel

Ms. Roy Choudhury is the Legal Counsel for Berkeley Energy. Her role involves providing support for transactions (including divestments), involving negotiation, structuring, and documentation. She also helps in managing the operating portfolio of assets, together with corporate secretarial and compliance matters.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, she was an associate with J. Sagar Associates, a leading law firm in India. She has extensive experience in infrastructure and projects space having advised numerous government agencies, multinational corporations, banks, and financial institutions on a wide variety of deals in relation to project documentation, project finance, bid advisory and corporate transactions across a broad range of sectors, including energy; transport and social infrastructure. Ms. Roy Choudhury has an LLB (Hons) degree in Law from the University of Delhi and LLM from the National University of Singapore.

Ms. Roy Choudhury is based in New Delhi.

Anne-Lise Parkin

Executive Assistant

Anne-Lise Parkin is Executive Assistant to the Managing Partner and provides high-level support to the Executive Team. She comes with over 30 years of administrative experience gained in the Travel industry, Tour Operations, Human Resources & Hospitality.

Prior to joining Berkeley in 2019, Ms. Parkin spent 10 years as a Private Personal Assistant in high profile households.

Ms. Parkin is based in the United Kingdom.

Aslima Hosennee

Financial Accountant

Aslima Hosennee has been appointed the Financial Accountant for the AREF in July 2019 and has been since then handling the Fund and its portfolio entities.

Ms. Aslima is a qualified accountant and has worked in the past years for EY as an auditor and more recently at Deutsche Bank / Apex Fund services as an investment operating officer before joining the Berkeley group.

Ms. Aslima is based in Mauritius.

Cirisa Manaig

Financial Controller

Cirisa Manaig is a Certified Accountant in the Philippines, responsible for the financial management of the Philippines portfolio. She has more than 16 years of experience in Finance across various industries, including banking, real estate, and energy. Prior to joining Berkeley, she has worked as a Controller/ Finance Head in the Philippines' largest Solar Developer, Investor, EPC Contractor and Manufacturer, with a 800-MW solar panel factory, the 63.3-MW solar farm currently supplying power in Western Batangas and a 150-MW solar farm under construction in Central Luzon region.

She has likewise served as Finance Head for a PEZA-registered Industrial Park, an 82-MW power generation plant and for a power distribution utility for over 7 years.

Ms. Manaig is based in Manila.

Dan Gonzales

Legal Counsel

Mr. Gonzales is the Legal Counsel for Berkeley Energy, responsible for providing legal support to the growing portfolio of Philippine projects invested in by the Asian funds. He acts as the corporate secretary for Philippines investment and holding companies, manages corporate governance practices and provides general transaction and corporate support for REAF and REAF II.

Before joining Berkeley Energy, Mr. Gonzales had nine years of experience as a lawyer in the Philippines specialising in the natural resources industry and renewable energy sector. He worked for PetroEnergy Resources Corporation, a publicly listed Philippines company, for over five years where he was responsible for handling various corporate, legal, contractual and regulatory issues and requirements of PetroEnergy's renewable energy projects.

Mr. Gonzales holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and a Bachelor of Laws, both from the University of the Philippines.

Mr. Gonzales is based in Manila.

Edward Kasaine

Legal Associate

Mr. Kasaine has seven years of work experience prior to joining Berkeley Energy, primarily in the power and energy sectors. Mr. Kasaine has a Bachelor of Law from the University of Nairobi, Kenya; a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law; and a Bachelor of Business Management and Marketing from Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia.

He is admitted to the Kenyan Bar and is licenced to practise as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. He has previously worked on the development of two large thermal power projects in Kenya and as legal counsel for a downstream oil & gas company.

Mr. Kasaine is based in Nairobi.

Gonyi Ajawin

Legal Counsel

Gonyi Ajawin is responsible for all legal and compliance matters for AREF and is an integral member of the investment team working on the structuring and negotiation of equity and debt financing.

Mr Gonyi trained and qualified as a lawyer in the structured finance team of Mayer Brown International LLP (working in both the London and Hong Kong offices) before joining the energy, infrastructure and project finance team at Fasken Martineau LPP as a Senior Associate.

Mr Ajawin has completed client secondments to Lehman Brothers Europe, UniCredit Bank AG and the East African Development Bank. Among his previous experiences, he has advised clients on a broad range of international capital markets transactions, securitisations (and other complex structured offerings) and project finance matters (with a particular focus on emerging markets). Mr. Ajawin also has extensive experience advising European, Middle Eastern, and African sovereigns, corporates, and financial institution issuers and their bankers on a broad range of securities products, global offerings, commercial paper programs, Eurobond offerings, and private placements (including dealing with key regulatory authorities in various jurisdictions).

Mr. Ajawin has a Bachelors of Laws degree from the University of Bristol and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from Oxford Institute of Legal Practice.

Mr. Ajawin is based in Nairobi.

Jacqueline Nthambi

Office Manager

Ms. Nthambi comes with experience in office and project administration gained from providing administrative support to various teams and departments in her current and previous roles. She has worked in the Manufacturing, Education and IT sectors.

She is passionate about administration, people and projects and is responsible for providing a high level of administrative support to the African team based in Nairobi.

Ms. Nthambi holds a BA degree in Communication from the University of Nairobi and is based in Nairobi.

James Kiarie

IT Support Specialist

James Kiarie is the IT Support Specialist for Berkeley Energy and is responsible for providing technical and operational IT related support for portfolios and projects in Africa and Asia.

Mr. Kiarie has over 8 years of professional experience in the IT space. He previously worked at Liquid Telkom, various 5-star hospitality establishments, and most recently was the IT Manager at Hemingways Nairobi.

Mr. James holds a bachelor's degree in Business Management and Information Technology.

James Kiarie is based in Nairobi.

Jay Caulleechurn

Human Resource Manager

Jay is the HR Manager for the Berkeley Energy Group reckoning over 10 years of experience prior to joining Berkeley Energy as an HR professional cumulating HR consultancy and in-company HR leadership roles.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Jay held management positions notably as People & Culture Leader (Head of HR) with Grant Thornton, HR Senior Manager with Cim Global Business and HR Consultant with Rogers Capital. Jay worked with Ernst & Young and Edge Consulting in the early stages of his career.

Jay holds a Bachelor's degree in Management from the University of Mauritius and a Master's degree in Human Resources Management from the Edinburgh Business School of Heriot-Watt University. Jay is also a Certified Master Practitioner of NLP.

Jay is based in Mauritius.

Juriah Aziz

Office Manager

Juriah Aziz is the Office Manager based in Singapore with over 12 years of professional experience. Ms. Aziz specializes in office management and has worked for the British High Commission in Singapore and subsea provider companies, Harkand Asia Pacific and Hallin Marine.

Ms. Aziz holds a BA (Hons) in Business Management from the University of Derby. She is a keen linguist and speaks several languages including Malay, Bahasa Indonesia, Mandarin and Arabic.

Leenal Soobarah

Finance Manager

Mr. Soobarah is responsible for corporate accounting and reporting across the Berkeley Group. Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Mr. Soobarah was a regional accountant at Puma Energy Services Africa Ltd. Previously, he worked at CIM Corporate Services Ltd and Deutsche Bank (Mauritius) Ltd.

Mr. Soobarah holds a BSc degree in finance from the University of Mauritius and is also an associate of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK).

Mr. Soobarah is based in Mauritius.

Lucy Bray

Manager - Financial Modelling

Ms. Bray is a finance professional with 9 years of experience in corporate and project finance. At Berkeley Energy, Ms. Bray assists both the Asian and African teams by reviewing and preparing financial models for new and existing investments as well as modelling and analyzing fund returns. She also supports the team with market research, analysis and due diligence.

Originally from New Zealand, Ms. Bray worked at Deloitte in Auckland leading the financial modelling practice and advising clients across various sectors including transport, telecommunications, power, and waste. In 2014 Lucy moved to Singapore and into the infrastructure and modelling team at KPMG where she worked on project finance and PPP transactions within South East Asia and the Middle East.

Ms. Bray is a CFA charter holder and holds a conjoint Bachelor of Commerce / Bachelor of Science with majors in finance and applied mathematics.

Ms. Bray is based in Singapore.

Lorsheenee Vydelingum

Fund Controller

Ms. Vydelingum is responsible for fund accounting and reporting in Mauritius. Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Ms. Vydelingum was a fund accountant and administrator in a management company. Previously, she worked at Deutsche Bank (Mauritius) Ltd.

Ms. Vydelingum holds a BSc degree in management with finance from the University of Mauritius and is also an associate of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK).

Ms. Vydelingum is based in Mauritius.

Parvez Musaphur

IT Manager

Parvez Musaphur is the IT Manager for Berkeley Energy Group and is responsible for IT infrastructure, procurement, IT policies and enterprise communication.

Mr. Musaphur comes with 18 years of experience in the IT industry. Prior to joining Berkeley, he worked for several offshore companies, Government of Mauritius and more recently as Head of IT for Linkbynet.

Mr. Musaphur holds an MBA and BSc in IT Enterprise and Business Informatics. He is also ITIL & Information Security Management System (ISO27001) certified and is a professional member of the Information System Audit and Control Association, ISACA.

Mr. Musaphur is based in Mauritius.

Paul Kizito

Head of Finance

Mr. Kizito is responsible for financial control across the Africa portfolio. He has more than 15 years of experience, 10 in senior financial management roles, across leading companies in Kenya and the Eastern Africa region. He has considerable experience in streamlining financial management systems and business operations.

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Mr. Kizito worked as Finance Manager at G4S Kenya Group, overseeing both strategic and financial management operations across its security solutions businesses. He has also held senior management positions at Achelis Kenya Group and Everest Enterprises.

Mr. Kizito is a Certified Public Accountant (Kenya) and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Nairobi.

Mr. Kizito is based in Nairobi.

Rachel Mutahi

Finance Manager

Ms. Mutahi is a Finance Manager responsible for financial control across of AREF's investment portfolios. She has over 8 years' experience in accounting across the automotive, manufacturing and real estate industry.

Prior to joining Berkeley, Ms. Mutahi was the finance and administration manager of a local real estate firm where she was responsible for the finance function, managing the company's properties and the ongoing construction projects.

Ms. Mutahi holds a BSc. degree in International Business Administration – Finance option from United States International University.

Ms. Mutahi is based in Nairobi.

Samuel Ngigi

Environmental & Social Manager

Samuel is the Environmental and Social Manager with a primary focus on the BE AREF portfolio. Samuel has over 10 years' experience working as a senior consultant across Africa focusing on environmental and social risk assessments, due diligence assessments, internal and external audits, stakeholder engagement and monitoring and management of projects.

Samuel has worked for international consulting firms and brings into BE extensive African experience that will assist in addressing project-related environmental and social challenges to ensure projects create positive value and sustainability in the long term.

Samuel holds a Master's degree in Environmental Science from the University of the Witwatersrand and is based in the Nairobi office.

Valary Akoth Aywak

Finance Manager

Valary has more than 8 years of financial management and audit experience, having started her career at Deloitte and Touche Nairobi, where she worked for 5 years in various positions in the audit department.

Prior to joining BE, Valary was a Financial Controller, responsible for leading the accounting and financial reporting functions at Mobile Decisioning Africa Limited, a mobile financial technology firm providing digital financial services with operations across Africa, Middle East and Asia.

She holds a BSc. in Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi.

Wee Yong Ang

Head of Finance

Wee Yong is responsible for financial management and control across the Asia portfolio. He has close to 25 years of related working experience, with more than 15 years in senior management roles covering finance operations in Asia. Wee Yong started his career as an auditor with an international audit firm and subsequently joined a global petrochemical company in a financial controls capacity before taking on senior finance leadership roles in the professional services industry. Wee Yong has considerable experience in financial controllership and managing diverse finance teams across Asia

Prior to joining Berkeley Energy, Wee Yong was a Director of Finance & Operations with an international consultancy firm where he managed and oversaw the finance operations across the APAC region. In that role, he provided strategic and finance controls support to the senior leadership team to capitalize on opportunities to expand revenue growth and manage operating costs.

Wee Yong holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) degree from the Nanyang Technological University and is a Chartered Accountant.

Wee Yong is based in Singapore.

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Source: https://www.berkeley-energy.com/

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