Team By Location

Dan makes primary commitments to private equity funds in Australia and New Zealand (over $500m since joining in 2007). He sits on Investment Advisory Boards of a range of private equity funds. He also makes co-investments alongside the private equity funds, and acquires secondary private equity fund interests. Prior to joining Stafford, Dan spent three years in Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs, where he advised companies on mergers, acquisitions and capital raisings.

Ryan Franz is an Investment Director in Stafford’s Private Markets team.

Prior to joining Stafford Ryan worked at Audant Investments, a Sydney-based family office, where he was focused on private capital investments. Ryan has a private equity and investment banking background and has worked across numerous industry sectors including Industrials, Technology, Real Estate and Agriculture.

He has a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Masters of Science in Property Studies from the University of Cape Town.

Brett Himbury is Chairman of Stafford Capital Partners.

Brett is Non Executive Director and Senior Advisor to a number of Commercial, Charitable and Community Organisations. This follows a successful executive career spanning over 38 years in financial services. Brett was most recently CEO of IFM Investors for ten years where he led the transformation of the firm from A$20Bn to A$167Bn, with 89% of products and mandates outperforming on behalf of over 450 institutional clients across 23 countries.

Brett has an MBA (Exec) from the AGSM, University of NSW, and works closely with the team at Stafford providing strategic advice and support globally.

Yoon Ku Kang is an Assistant Manager in Stafford's Client Solutions team in Asia.

Yoon Ku initially joined Stafford as an intern at the Seoul office before joining full time. Prior to Stafford, he interned as an equities analyst at Meritz Asset Management where he conducted due diligence on the Korean healthcare sector.

Yoon Ku attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and majored in Biomedical Engineering.

Graeme is an experienced company director and executive with over thirty years' experience in banking and financial services.

Graeme has occupied numerous senior positions within the Commonwealth Bank of Australia involving audit, property investment, finance, operations and compliance. Graeme is a director of Solutions in Business Pty Ltd, a company that specialises in providing advice to the funds management industry. Graeme also currently acts as an independent director and executive director for a number of companies and as an external member on a number of compliance committees.

Graeme's qualifications include a Bachelor of Business, Postgraduate Diploma in Banking Management and a Masters of Business Administration from Macquarie Graduate School of Management. Graeme is a member of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants, Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

Elysse Morgan is the Head of Client Solutions Australia at Stafford Capital Partners.

In this role, she leads relationship management, business development and capital-raising efforts across the region. 

Prior to joining Stafford, Elysse built a distinguished 15-year career in journalism, as the editor and presenter of the ABC's business television program The Business and as the network’s economics correspondent.

Elysse is a former trustee director of Media Super.  

Jayden is an Investment Associate in Stafford's Private Equity team. Jayden is responsible for sourcing, due diligence, execution and ongoing investment management.  

Prior to joining Stafford, Jayden was a Consultant at EY Port Jackson Partners where he was involved in Commercial Due Diligence for private equity funds. 

Jayden holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of NSW.

Geoff co-founded Stafford Capital Partners and was Chair from 2000 - 2021.

Prior to this, he founded Pantheon Ventures’ Asia Pacific operations before it was acquired by Pantheon. Geoff holds Bachelor degrees in law and accounting from the University of Canterbury (BComm/LLB(Hons)), a Masters degree in Management (MS) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan Fellow), is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a New Zealand Harkness Fellow.

Daan is involved in relationship management, investment sourcing, due diligence, negotiation and research for investments in timber.

Daan was previously with URS as a senior consultant specialising in timberland appraisals and environmental audits.

He holds a Bachelor degree in forestry with honours from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma in applied finance (FINSIA).

Chris is responsible for the operation of Stafford Private Equity’s funds, including cash management, processing of corporate actions and performance monitoring of investments. Prior to joining Stafford, Chris worked at Computershare for six years where he was a project manager in the corporate actions division. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance from Kaplan.

Daniel is involved in investment research, due diligence, transaction execution, portfolio management, and origination. He also works on various sustainability projects.

Prior to joining Stafford, Daniel was part of the assurance and advisory team at Deloitte in Australia, servicing listed, multinational, and private clients across a range of industries.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Accounting & Finance from the University of Sydney, is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ) and has completed level 1 of the CFA Program.

Dan is an Vice President with Stafford’s Timberland team. His focus areas are market analysis, investment due diligence and operational management of timberland investments.

Prior to Stafford, Dan worked as a Forestry, ArcGIS and Bioenergy Analyst at Pöyry in both New Zealand and Australia. His experience includes: forest appraisals, asset due diligence, market trends and analysis and forecasting with a focus on the Asia Pacific region.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Forestry Science from the University of Canterbury.

Stephen is involved in relationship management, strategy formulation and investment sourcing and evaluation for Private Equity in Australia and New Zealand. He co-founded Stafford Capital Partners in 2000.

Prior to Stafford Capital Partners, Stephen spent over 10 years at Macquarie Bank’s Asset Management Division, where he established and invested its $220 million private equity program. Stephen joined Macquarie Bank when it acquired Risk Averse Money Managers, of which he was an owner and director.

John is an Investment Manager involved in investment research, due diligence, portfolio management and marketing.

Prior to joining Stafford, John was at Grant Thornton Australia managing a broad range of clients across various industries. He has over ten years of experience in providing taxation and advisory services to private and entrepreneurial clients.

He has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Sydney.

Amy Zhao is Portfolio Analyst with Stafford Timberland. Her focus areas are portfolio management, investment modelling, and investor reporting. 

Prior to Stafford, Amy worked as a Senior Portfolio Analyst at Challenger where she was responsible for origination, due diligence, portfolio management, and credit reporting.

Amy is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ) and holds a Master of Accounting from the University of New South Wales.

Valentina Abbott is Global Head of Client Solutions and is responsible for the development of Stafford’s Client Solutions and Relationship Management function.

Prior to Stafford, Valentina was Global Head of IFM’s Global Relationship Group where she was responsible for international business development and private markets capital raising programs, investor relations and product development efforts.

Valentina holds a Masters of Operational Leadership from Melbourne Business School and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne.

Stephen is co-Managing Partner of Stafford’s Timberland team and is responsible for client services, investment sourcing and due diligence.

Stephen was previously the Forest Business Manager for Willmott Forests where he managed large afforestation and acquisition projects. He was also a senior consultant at URS, specialising in plantation management, timberland appraisals and due diligence.

He holds a Bachelor degree in Forestry from the University of Melbourne.

James is responsible for portfolio management, origination, due diligence and investor reporting.

Prior to Stafford, James was a Senior Analyst at EBG Capital, an agricultural investment advisory firm, where he completed mandates for various Family Offices, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the German International Development Agency. Before this, James was an Investment Manager at EnerCap Capital Partners in Prague, focusing on wind farm project finance and M&A in central and eastern Europe. He also has experience in carbon finance (with Climate Change Capital) and public market transactions.

James holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences from Clare College, Cambridge.

Niels is a portfolio manager and private equity product specialist for Stafford’s Client Solutions team.

Prior to joining Stafford, Niels was co-heading the private equity activities at Robeco, which managed and advised over USD 2bln of assets in private equity. Niels started his career at ING Structured Finance.

Niels holds a Masters of Science in Business Administration from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

Theodoros Benavidis is an Analyst of Stafford Infrastructure and is involved in market research and due diligence for Infrastructure investments.

Prior to joining Stafford, he worked with Swiss Life Infrastructure and had various internships in the Risk Management division of NBG Securities and with Stafford Infrastructure.

He holds a MSc in Finance from University of Lausanne and a BSc in Banking and Financial Management from the University of Piraeus.

Malek Benlarbi Delai is Senior Investment Associate, and is responsible for the sourcing, acquisition, and financing of the STAR investments.

Richard co-founded Stafford Timberland and co-developed Stafford Private Equity’s initial international expansion plan. Prior to this, Richard was CEO of Pantheon Ventures. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in London and has a BSc Honours in Chemistry from Exeter University.

Isabella is a Marketing Manager at Stafford and is responsible for the fund marketing and branding across each business line.

Prior to joining Stafford, Isabella worked at an impact investing fund, Conduit Connect, where she headed its marketing activities.

Isabella holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science in History and Global Sustainable Development from the University of Warwick.

Jade Collins is Stafford’s Marketing and Communications Associate and is responsible for supporting the Client Solutions team and brand development. She contributes across digital publishing, content creation, events, and communications.

Prior to Stafford, Jade was a Marketing Executive at a venture capital firm that was an investment vehicle for the Mayor of London. There she was responsible for their marketing content and strategies, as well as their start-up accelerator programme for underrepresented founders. 

Jade holds a MSc in International Marketing and BA in Film from the University of Surrey. 

José de Bruin is Head of Risk Management and is responsible for independent risk oversight and control at Stafford Capital Partners. 

Prior to Stafford, José was an investment risk manager at Dutch pension investor PGGM where she provided independent risk advice directly to the pension fund board on strategic and fiduciary topics. She was also responsible for independent risk management for the Listed and Private Real Estate portfolios and led multiple initiatives focused on climate risk management and impact investing.

José  is a CFA Charterholder and holds a master's degree in International Financial Management from Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and a master's degree in Business and Economics from Uppsala University.

Vicky is a Finance Assistant for Stafford, responsible for the management of corporate invoices received for the corporate entities within group.

Prior to joining Stafford, Vicky worked in finance for a digital print company, and has experience in company mergers.

Vicky is a part qualified AAT accountant.

Charlie Cushing is a Fund Associate in Stafford's Real Assets team, working in fund operations, finance and investor reporting, with a focus on Infrastructure.

Gurdeep Dhillon is Head of Technology and is responsible for setting and delivering the organisation’s technology strategy, ensuring systems and services are secure, reliable, and aligned with business goals.

Elisa Dunisha is part of the Stafford Infrastructure team and is primarily involved in investment research, due diligence, and transaction execution.

Before transitioning to the infrastructure team, Elisa was a member of the Sustainability Team, where she worked closely with Stafford's Investment teams to integrate ESG factors into the investment process. 

Prior to joining Stafford, Elisa worked as a Senior Consultant for Avanntive Consulting and at the same time served as a back-stopper expert in a joint capacity-building project with Roland Berger Gmbh.

She holds a Master of Arts in Corporate Finance from Toulouse School of Management, France and a BSc in Finance from the University of Tirana.

Emma is a Fund Controller at Stafford working in the Real Assets Team.

Prior to joining Stafford, Emma initially worked in Assurance at both PwC, Jersey and Deloitte, Cape Town where she focused on asset management, trust and fiduciary services. More recently, Emma was a Junior Client Relationship Manager at Stonehage Fleming, Jersey working in the family office division with UHNW clients.

She is a qualified Chartered Accountant (South Africa), and holds both a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Cape Town.

Sarah is Stafford’s Head of HR, and responsible for defining our people related strategies to ensure we attract, develop and retain our talent.

Prior to joining Stafford, Sarah worked at Insight Investment in both London and New York offices and across several HR specialisms.

Sarah holds a BA in History and Classics at Swansea University and an MA in Human Resource Management at London Metropolitan University.

Niccolò Ferraris is Senior Business Controller and is responsible for the valuation and the optimization of operative plants in STAR project.

Eleonora Firrincieli joined the team in 2021 and, as a Senior Associate in Business Development, contributes to business growth by developing new opportunities and managing the UK market from an investment perspective.

Laurence Gallo is a Natural Capital Client Portfolio Manager within Stafford’s Client Solutions Team, where she focuses on managing investor relationships and supporting capital raising initiatives. 

Prior to joining Stafford, Laurence was a Product Strategist at BlackRock, where she specialised in fundraising strategy and client relationship management across a range of asset classes in both public and private markets. 

Laurence holds an MSc in Economics and Mathematics from La Sorbonne, Paris, and an MSc in Investment Management from Bayes Business School, London.

Michael is Head of Fund Operations, and is responsible for the operation of the timberland, infrastructure and agriculture and food funds, including reporting, cash management, investor relations, assisting the investment team and administration.

Prior to joining Stafford, he worked in the oil and gas industry.

He trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales whilst at Stafford and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Sheffield.

William manages various global investments for Stafford Infrastructure and contributes to Stafford Sustainable Capital investment activities. He has more than 10 years of industry experience and has held senior management roles with Macquarie Investment Management Private Markets, Swiss Re, and the Asian Development Bank, where he was responsible for sourcing, due diligence, and financing projects in the infrastructure and renewables sectors. William has a Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, a Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, and both a Masters and Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from The National Superior School of Hydraulics of Grenoble, France.

Beth Greenhalgh provides administrative support to the Operations, HR, IT, General Counsel, and Compliance teams, as well as across all offices outside London. Some of her responsibilities include vendor management and onboarding/offboarding support.

Marek is an Investment Manager focused on investor relations, industry research, asset due diligence and monitoring of investment performance.

Prior to Stafford, he was the Forestry Director at Green Resources, a vertically integrated forest products company operating across East Africa. Previously, Marek was a Principal with Pöyry Management Consulting where he led a team providing advisory services to a wide range of stakeholders in the forest sector.

He holds Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from the University of Stellenbosch.

Chloe is Stafford's HR Manager overseeing the day-to-day operations of our HR function whilst partnering with the business to deliver people focused and commercial outcomes.

Prior to Stafford, Chloe spent 11 years working within the legal sector across several HR specialisms and managed HR operations teams regionally and globally.

Chloe holds a BA in Business Administration at The University of Greenwich and an MA in Human Resource Management at London Metropolitan University.

Marta Jankovic is the Head of Sustainability at Stafford. Marta works closely with Stafford’s Investment Teams and is focused on shaping Stafford’s sustainable investing strategy, fostering engagement with clients, policy and industry stakeholders.

Prior to Stafford, Marta was responsible for the delivery of client responsible investment policy objectives at APG Asset Management, representing the Responsible Investment team on the Committee for Investment Proposals, and later advised APG’s Private Markets teams on implementation of EU sustainability regulation (SFDR). Marta was also a Director in the Stewardship team at BlackRock.

Marta holds a Masters of Arts in EU Law from King’s College London and a Bachelors of Arts (German Studies) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales, in Sydney.

William Javaux is part of the Sustainability Team and supports the implementation of Stafford’s sustainability strategy and objectives, including the firm's Net Zero commitments and ESG integration effort.

Prior to joining Stafford, William worked for ESG Book and Iceberg Data Lab where he supported investment firms with integrating ESG, climate and biodiversity data within the investment process.

William holds a MSc in Climate Change Management & Finance from Imperial College London and both a BSc and MSc in Business Engineering from the Louvain School of Management.

Gregor is responsible for business development efforts across Europe.

Prior to Stafford, he was Managing Partner at Cartesius Corporate Finance, an advisory boutique offering placement agent services for alternative investment managers and corporate finance services targeting the energy and cleantech sector. Previously, Gregor was Director and Head of Finance at KBR Finance, a corporate finance boutique, and a sell-side analyst for Sal. Oppenheim, covering European utility and renewable energy companies. Gregor started his career as a management consultant at Capgemini’s energy practice.

He holds a PhD in business administration from the University of Duisburg-Essen/Germany where he worked as post-graduate at the Chair of Energy Economics.

Jesse de Klerk is Partner at Stafford Capital Partners in The Netherlands, with a focus on European private equity investments and global thematic private equity investments.

Prior to joining Stafford Capital Partners in June 2020, Jesse was Head of Private Equity at Robeco, where he worked since 2004. Prior to that, he worked as consultant at KPMG and Andersen, advising global organizations on risk management, financial management, and performance improvement. He started his career at Deutsche Bank in London, where he worked in the Global Markets Research division.

Mr. De Klerk holds an M.Sc. cum laude in Financial Econometrics from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, an M.Sc. cum laude in M&A and Valuation from the University of Groningen, is a CFA-charter holder, and a CAIA-charter holder.

Charlie Kyaing is a Fund Controller in Stafford’s Real Assets team, responsible for overseeing fund operations and investor reporting, with a focus on Infrastructure.

Before joining Stafford, Charlie spent seven years at Kreston Reeves, an accountancy practice, gaining experience across multiple service lines, and later worked as a Fund Accountant at Praxis Group, a private equity real estate investment firm.

He is a Chartered Accountant (ACCA) and holds a First Class Honours degree in Business from the University of Brighton.

Seb is an Anssociate with Stafford Timberland, and is involved in investor relations, monitoring and reporting of investment performance, asset due diligence and market research. 

Prior to Stafford, he worked in the Technology Risk Management team at Natwest Markets.

Andrew works on venture capital and growth equity opportunities.

Prior to Stafford, Andrew worked with Macquarie Investment Management Private Markets and GKM Newport as an investment manager. In these roles, Andrew was responsible for due diligence of primary and co-investment opportunities.

He holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and a Bachelors degree from the University of California-San Diego.

Lee is an Investment Associate for Stafford’s Private Equity group. He is involved primarily in due diligence, transaction sourcing and assists in manager research.

Prior to joining Stafford, Lee was a Deal Advisory Senior Associate at KPMG where he had experience in Lender Due Diligence and Corporate Finance practices.

Lee is a Certified Public Accountant and has a Bachelors Degree in Finance and Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Kurt is responsible for relationship management, sourcing and due diligence for sustainable investments.

Prior to Stafford, Kurt worked for Macquarie Investment Management Private Markets as Senior Vice President. He also spent several years identifying clean tech ventures and technologies, incubating start-ups for launch and growth, and consulting with sustainable start-ups.

He earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas-Austin and a Bachelors degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Rick is involved in relationship management, due diligence and negotiation.

He was previously Managing Director for Macquarie Investment Management Private Markets which advised on over $7 billion of assets, including private funds, secondary investments and co-investments. Prior to co-founding MIMPM global private equity and real asset operations, Rick was Vice President at Pacific Corporate Group.

He earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas-Austin and a Bachelors degree from the United States Naval Academy.

Lane French is a part of the Stafford Infrastructure team and is primarily involved in sourcing, research and due diligence, and the structuring and execution of infrastructure secondaries investments in North America.

Prior to joining Stafford, Lane was an Associate underwriting infrastructure secondaries transactions at another secondaries firm. Before that, he worked as a Senior Analyst at BP Capital Fund Advisors and an Equity Research Associate at Baird.

Lane has been a CFA® Charterholder since 2018 and is a member of the CFA Society of Austin. He holds a BBA in both Finance and Entrepreneurial Management as well as a Certificate in Financial Risk Management & Insurance from the University of Iowa.

Andrew is responsible for oversight and strategy for Stafford's U.S. timberland investment portfolio. 

Prior to joining Stafford, Andrew held roles in risk management at Alliant Insurance Services and as Portfolio Manager & Manager of Business Development at Campbell Global, where he focused on timberland portfolio operations, strategy, acquisitions, dispositions, analytics & fundraising.

Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon with a concentration in finance & economics.

Juli is an investment analyst focused on providing project support across the Stafford Group. She delivers various business process improvements and special projects across the business.

Prior to joining Stafford Juli assisted in the development of research for Brazilian public agricultural research corporation.

Juli is a qualified Chemical Technician and Forest Engineer and is currently enrolled for a Masters in Business Administration specialising in Big Data and Market Intelligence.

Ashley works on the client solutions team in North America.

Prior to joining Stafford, she worked in business development and client relations with DW Partners, a multi-strategy/special situations credit firm. Previously, Ashley was Director of Investor Relations at Meritage Capital, a boutique investment management firm specializing in differentiated hedge fund solutions and was a Senior Associate, Business Development with Pine River Capital Management, a global alternative asset manager. Ashley began her career in alternatives as an Investor Relations Analyst at King Street Capital Management.

She received a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurial Management and Spanish Studies from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

Kate Pargaman is a Private Equity Associate in Stafford's US Private Equity Team.

Prior to joining Stafford, Kate was an International Tax Senior Consultant at Deloitte where she helped clients with compliance and strategic planning around international M&A and financing.

Kate is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas and has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and Master degree in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.

Juliana is an Analyst with Stafford Timberland, where she is involved in all aspects of due diligence for Timberland investment opportunities. Prior to graduation, Juliana supported the Stafford Timberland team through conducting market research on a range of industry-relevant topics.

Jay Peay is a Vice President with Stafford Timberland and is involved in due diligence and transaction sourcing for Timberland investments.

Prior to joining Stafford, Jay was a Deals Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he focused on M&A valuations, market research, and analytics.

Jay is a Certified Public Accountant. He has a Master of Accountancy from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management as well as a BA in Finance and Accounting from Wofford College.

Carlos Ruiz is a Vice President with Stafford Timberland and is involved in due diligence and transaction sourcing for Timberland investments.

Prior to joining Stafford, Carlos was a Transaction Manager at Manulife where he focused on Farmland and Farmland plus acquisitions in US and Canada

Carlos holds a master’s degree from the University of Georgia as well as a BS in Industrial Engineering.

William is an Investment Analyst at Stafford.

Prior to joining Stafford, William worked as an Investment Analyst with Cintra, a Ferrovial company. Before that, he held various internship positions relating to Civil Engineering.

William holds a master’s degree in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jordan Vincent supports Stafford with sourcing, execution, and monitoring of investments within the Timberland team.
 
Prior to Stafford, Jordan oversaw finance and corporate strategy responsibilities serving on the leadership team of a private equity platform acquiring and managing renewable power and oil & gas mineral investments.  Before this, Jordan worked at Equilibrium Capital and Lime Rock Resources, where he led and monitored private equity investments in sustainable agriculture and natural resources, and at Petrie Partners, where he advised on a variety of mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructurings.
 
Jordan holds an MBA from Northwestern University and bachelor's degrees from the Business Honors Program and Engineering Route to Business Program at the University of Texas at Austin.