Our Advisors
Patagonia Sur has assembled a Board of Advisors comprised of accomplished experts in fields relevant to our venture:
VICTORIA ALONSO, President of the Tierra Austral Foundation
A partner at Templado, a land planning and policy consulting company in Santiago, Chile, Victoria is also an advisor to Asi Conserva Chile, a new Chilean non-profit organization dedicated to advancing private land conservation initiatives in Chile. Victoria previously served as the Private Lands Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy’s Southern Andes Office. She was instrumental in launching the Chilean Private Lands Initiative, which has formulated and created enabling legislation for conservation easements in Chile, the Derecho Real de Conservacion. Victoria has also worked for the Chilean Environmental Agency CONAMA, where in 2004 she obtained approval of the Chilean National Biodiversity Strategy. She received her MSc in Environmental Sustainabilty from the University of Edinburgh, and lives in Santiago.
A partner at Templado, a land planning and policy consulting company in Santiago, Chile, Victoria is also an advisor to Asi Conserva Chile, a new Chilean non-profit organization dedicated to advancing private land conservation initiatives in Chile. Victoria previously served as the Private Lands Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy’s Southern Andes Office. She was instrumental in launching the Chilean Private Lands Initiative, which has formulated and created enabling legislation for conservation easements in Chile, the Derecho Real de Conservacion. Victoria has also worked for the Chilean Environmental Agency CONAMA, where in 2004 she obtained approval of the Chilean National Biodiversity Strategy. She received her MSc in Environmental Sustainabilty from the University of Edinburgh, and lives in Santiago.
ARISTIDES BENAVENTE ANINAT
Arístides was a stockbroker in Santiago from 1988 to 1993. Since then, he has been involved in retail, as owner and CEO of Komax SA, a company dedicated to bringing high-end consumer apparel brands, such as Polo Ralph Lauren, The North Face, Brooks Brothers, Gap, and others to the Chilean market. Arístides is also Director of the Rodelillo Foundation, an organization that works with families, teaching them long-term skills to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Arístides loves nature, especially Patagonia, a region whose land, people, and social and economic projects he knows extremely well—and an area he considers unique in the world and full of dreams. Arístides is an avid horseman and is the champion in Chile of endurance horse-drawn carriage racing. Arístides holds a degree in Civil and Industrial Engineering from the University of Chile.
BRIAN HOESTEREY
Brian joined AEA in 1999 and focuses on investments in the specialty chemicals and value-added industrial products sectors. Before joining AEA, Brian was an executive at BT Capital Partners, the private equity group of Bankers Trust. Before entering the private equity industry, Brian advised corporate management and boards of directors throughout the world on financial and strategic issues. One such position was with the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley, during which he was located in New York and Hong Kong. Brian received a B.B.A. in accounting from TCU and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
Arístides was a stockbroker in Santiago from 1988 to 1993. Since then, he has been involved in retail, as owner and CEO of Komax SA, a company dedicated to bringing high-end consumer apparel brands, such as Polo Ralph Lauren, The North Face, Brooks Brothers, Gap, and others to the Chilean market. Arístides is also Director of the Rodelillo Foundation, an organization that works with families, teaching them long-term skills to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Arístides loves nature, especially Patagonia, a region whose land, people, and social and economic projects he knows extremely well—and an area he considers unique in the world and full of dreams. Arístides is an avid horseman and is the champion in Chile of endurance horse-drawn carriage racing. Arístides holds a degree in Civil and Industrial Engineering from the University of Chile.
BRIAN HOESTEREY
Brian joined AEA in 1999 and focuses on investments in the specialty chemicals and value-added industrial products sectors. Before joining AEA, Brian was an executive at BT Capital Partners, the private equity group of Bankers Trust. Before entering the private equity industry, Brian advised corporate management and boards of directors throughout the world on financial and strategic issues. One such position was with the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley, during which he was located in New York and Hong Kong. Brian received a B.B.A. in accounting from TCU and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
CHARLES KIMBER
Charlie is the Corporate Affairs & Marketing Director of Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A.(Arauco), a Chilean company that is positioned today among the world’s leading forestry companies. Charlie joined Arauco in 1986 and has since held several positions as well as served as a member of the board of several of Arauco´s subsidiary companies. He is also a board member of the Chilean American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and the Chilean Forestry Association (CORMA). Charlie graduated from the Catholic University of Chile with a degree in Commercial Engineering.
JAMES LEVITT
Jim is director of the Program on Conservation Innovation at The Harvard Forest, Harvard University, and a research fellow at the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Jim is the editor of Conservation in the Internet Age: Threats and Opportunities (Island Press, 2002), as well as From Walden to Wall Street: Frontiers of Conservation Finance (Island Press, 2005). Jim is a graduate of Yale College with a degree in Anthropology and holds a Master's in Public and Private Management from Yale.
DIVYA MANKIKAR
Divya has earned three related Master’s degrees in energy and environmental analysis from Boston University, a degree in international human rights law from Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and an International MBA from IE Business School in Spain. As General Manager of Carbon Offsets at Patagonia Sur, Divya wrote and executed the business plan for the Reforestation and Biodiversity Project — Chile’s first VCS-certified forest carbon project based on native-species trees. She continues to serve on our Board of Advisors on matters relating to the global carbon markets and forestry. Prior to Patagonia Sur, Divya evaluated renewable energy projects for the InterAmerican Development Bank, and conducted clean tech equity analysis at KLD Research and Analytics and Walden Asset Management. She has considerable international experience including consulting for entrepreneurs in Ecuador and Senegal, and studying in Spain and Costa Rica.
PATRICK McCLOSKEY
Patrick is a Managing Director with StormHarbour Partners and a sixteen-year veteran within the financial services industry. He served as Managing Director with Evolution Markets Inc., where he provided financial solutions to companies in the renewable energy, carbon, natural resource, and clean tech industries. Prior to this, he was a Managing Director for Lazard’s Private Placement Group where he was jointly responsible for sourcing, structuring, and marketing private financing transactions on a global basis. He has also held similar roles at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, Credit Suisse, and Lehman Brothers. Mr. McCloskey participates in the Aspen Clean Energy Economy Roundtable and the Bordeaux Energy Colloquium. He serves on the Board of Pioneer Renewable Energy and the New Leaders Group for the Institute of International Education. He received his law degree from Fordham University School of Law and an undergraduate degree in Finance from Georgetown University.
FELIPE VALDES
Felipe has spent the last seventeen years developing technology start-ups in Latin America, most recently as founder and CEO of Tiaxa, a Santiago-based billing clearinghouse for wireless operators throughout the region. An avid climber and outdoors enthusiast, he has explored and trekked throughout Patagonia, Alaska, Africa, and the Himalayas. Felipe has collaborated with many wilderness conservation, education enhancement, and poverty alleviation initiatives. He authored Energy Conservation Potential in Chile for the International Institute for Energy Conservation. Felipe holds an Aerospace Engineering degree from Princeton University.