Bernard Bulkin, PhD, OBE
Chair
Independent Non-executive Director
Bernard Bulkin, PhD, OBE
Chair
Independent Non-executive Director
Bernie a Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities plc (“the Fund”). In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing all matters relating to the Fund and chairing its Board which is tasked with approving all recommendations made by other Committees including its Investment Committee. Bernie has had a distinguished career spanning multiple disciplines in the scientific academic and commercial realm, where he occupies roles to this day. He spent 18 years in a variety of industrial management and research positions with BP, including Head of the Products Division, Vice President for Refining, Chief Technology Officer for BP Oil, Vice President for Environmental Affairs, and eventually as its Chief Scientist. After leaving BP in January 2004, Bernie joined the established California venture capital firm Vantage Point and subsequently chaired London-based firm Ludgate Investments Ltd. Bernie has been on the board of over 13 companies throughout his career and has chaired two UK public companies. He has also held several posts with the UK Government including Chair of The Office of Renewable Energy and as a member of the UK Sustainable Development Commission. Bernie also co-founded companies to build solar projects in the Middle East and Africa, and currently serves as a non-executive director of ATN International a NASDAQ-Listed Telecommunication company and ARQ, Ltd a privately-held UK company focused on transforming coal waste into new forms of energy. Bernie has held numerous positions with top educational and charitable organizations. He is Emeritus Professorial Fellow of the Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge and is a Vice President of the Energy Institute. Bernie holds a degree in Chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Purdue University, NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, Eidg. Techn. Hochschule in Zurich. He was also a Professor at the City University of New York; Professor and Dean of Arts and Sciences at the Polytechnic Institute of New York, an Honorary Professor at the University of York in the United Kingdom. As a Professorial Fellow at Cambridge University he organized the Environment on the Edge series, and he has also hosted the radio series on Voice America with the same title. He is the author of the 2015 book on leadership, “Crash Course”. His latest book, “Solving Chemistry”, was published in January 2019. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen in the New Year Honours List 2017.
Louise Kingham, OBE
Independent
Non-Executive Director
Louise Kingham, OBE
Independent
Non-Executive Director
Louise is a Non-Executive Board Member of VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities Fund plc. In this capacity, she will be responsible for advising and assisting the Board on matters relating to the sustainability and energy market trends. Louise has spent almost 3 decades working with energy professionals around the world. She is currently BP’s UK Head of Country & Senior Vice President for Europe working as part of the group leadership team to transform bp into an integrated energy company and help the world get to Net Zero. Prior to this, she was the Chief Executive of the Energy Institute for 22 years promoting industry good practice, evidence-based policy debate and individual professional development, working with energy companies and their people across more than 100 countries. Prior to this Louise was a Director General of the Institute of Petroleum and Chief Executive of the Institute of Energy. Before working in these charitable organisations in the public interest, Louise worked in the commercial sector for a brief time involved in business development, change management and general management positions. Louise is a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the Energy Saving Trust and Chair of its charitable foundation. She also volunteers her time as Chair of Business in the Community’s Climate Action Leadership Board, is an Ambassador for the POWERful Women Initiative and one of 16 CEOs in the Energy Leaders’ Coalition working to accelerate diversity and inclusion across the sector. She has previously been President of the Energy Industries Club and was an Advisory Member of the Energy Policy Board at the University of Birmingham (UK). She has also been a judge for HM Queen’s Prize for Higher and Further Education as well as a Council Member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies as well as a board member of both the Science Council and Engineering Technology Board. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen in the Queen’s Birthday List 2011 and in 2017 she was awarded an Honorary Science Doctorate from the University of Bath.
Margaret Stephens
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
Independent Non-executive Director
Margaret Stephens
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
Independent Non-executive Director
Margaret is a Non-Executive Board Member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities plc. Margaret is also currently a Non-Executive Board Member of both AVI Japan Opportunity Trust plc and Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited. Margaret brings with her a significant amount of executive experience from her over 30 years of professional service with KPMG latterly, as a leader in KPMG’s Global Infrastructure and Investments business. Margaret was the Founder and Chair of KPMG’s Global Sovereign Wealth, Pensions and Infrastructure Funds Group. In this capacity, she led KPMG’s engagements with major global, government investment and pension funds, and built the Firm’s relationships and increasing collaboration with OECD members and National Governments. Margaret was a Trustee, Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Nuclear Liability Fund until January 2024, a Board Trustee of the London School of Architecture until April 2020 and a Non-Executive Board Member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at the Department for Exiting the European Union until it’s closure in January 2020. Margaret holds an MA (Hons) in History from the University of Edinburgh and has been a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland since 1988.
Richard Horlick
Senior Independent Director
Chair of the Management Engagement Committee
Richard Horlick
Senior Independent Director
Chair of the Management Engagement Committee
Richard is currently a Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Management Engagement Committee of VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities plc. In this capacity he is responsible for periodically reviewing the organization’s charter, bylaws, and policies on ethics and compliance matters. Richard is also currently a Non-Executive Chairman of CCLA Investment Management which manages over £10bn of assets for over 38,000 UK charities, religious organisations and local authority funds. Richard is also a Board Member of BH Macro, a Guernsey-based closed end fund investing in the Brevan Howard Master Fund. He has served on a number of closed end fund boards, most recently Pacific Assets Trusts Plc from December 2005 until June 2014 and Tau Capital Plc from May 2007 to January 2014. He was a Partner and Non-Executive Chairman of Pensato Capital LLP until its successful sale to RWC Partners in 2017. Richard has had a long and distinguished career in the investment management industry, having started in the corporate finance department of British Merchant Bank Samuel Montagu, he joined Newton Investment Management where he became a Director and Portfolio Manager. In 1994 he joined Fidelity International as President of their Institutional business outside the US and in 2001 became President and CEO of Fidelity Management Trust Company in Boston which was the Trust Bank for the US Fidelity Mutual Fund range and responsible for their defined benefit pension business. In 2003 he joined Schroders Plc as a Main Board Director and Head of Investment globally. In January 2006, he established Spencer House Capital Management with Jacob Rothschild. In addition, he has been a business angel investor in a wide range of private companies. Richard holds an MA in Modern History from the University of Cambridge (UK).
Daniella Carneiro
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
Independent non-executive Director
Daniella Carneiro
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
Independent non-executive Director
Daniella is a Non-Executive Board Member and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities plc. Daniella is also currently a specialist business advisor to the Department for International Trade (DIT), and her activities are directed towards promoting the global energy transition. A dual British and Brazilian national, Daniella is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Energy &: Decarbonisation Committee of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain. She is also Chair of the UK Trade Wing of the G100, an India-based global network whose mission is to promote actionable thought leadership with multi-lateral organisations in support of the United Nations SDG #5, Gender Equality. Daniella brings with her over 20 years of global experience in project development, governance, strategy and M&A with major companies including Enron, Shell and KPMG, focusing on European, Middle Eastern and Latin American energy markets. Through her professional career she has lived in mid-west Brazil (Cuiabá), Houston, Abu Dhabi and The Hague, before settling in London. Daniella holds a Master’s degree in International Business Studies from the University of South Carolina (USA) and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Universidade Católica de Pernambuco (Brazil).