Sustainable Ventures

Founding Partner and co-founder and former Managing Director of E-Car Club, which was acquired by Europcar in 2015. Holds an MBA from London Business School and was named 2016 Business Green Entrepreneur of the Year.

James Byrne is an equity partner at Sustainable Ventures, a European climate technology investor and growth partner. He is a founding team member at the firm, which has supported over 1,200 climate tech startups through investment, workspace, and venture support services. Byrne brings entrepreneurial experience across early-stage investment, business scaling, and strategy, with particular industry focus on energy efficiency, property development, energy storage, heating control, and electric vehicles.

Stuart Ferguson is a partner at Sustainable Ventures with 20 years of experience in lending and investment. He has led over 50 direct debt and equity investments ranging from startups to companies valued at £1 billion, and has served on more than 15 boards and advisory committees. Ferguson has raised a £22 million impact fund, established a circular economy venture capital fund and accelerator program, and maintains an active network within London's technology and clean tech startup ecosystem.

Ankit Gupta is a Chartered Accountant (FCA) with over eight years of professional experience, including roles at GGI and as head of Accounts & Finance for an industrial SME, spanning consultancy, audit, and in-house finance management. He holds an MBA from London and currently serves as R&D tax senior Consultant at Sustainable Ventures, where he manages finances across the group's companies and leads the Financial Services team on Research & Development Tax Credits.

Austin Hellstrom leads bids and proposals at Sustainable Ventures, managing complex tender submissions across infrastructure, housing, and land development projects, including initiatives valued at $200M and above. His work encompasses the full bid lifecycle, utilizing tools such as Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Suite while coordinating cross-departmental teams to develop proposal documentation. He has experience evaluating submissions from both bidder and client perspectives.

Breno do Carmo is a finance associate at Sustainable Ventures with a BSc in Accounting and four of thirteen ACCA papers completed. He has hands-on experience in accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank reconciliations, VAT compliance, and month-end close procedures across UK and international organisations, with proficiency in Sage 50, Sage Business Cloud, Xero, and Oracle Retail. Based in London and fluent in English and Portuguese, do Carmo has identified duplicate supplier invoices worth BRL 85,000 and implemented digital record-keeping practices that reduced retrieval time by 30%.

Brenton Gardiner is a communications and engagement professional with over a decade of experience in internal communications, employee engagement, and events. At Village Entertainment, he led internal communications and culture initiatives while contributing to large-scale brand experiences through TES Live, working with clients including Disney, Mattel, the Australian Open, and the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Based in London, he is currently Front of House at Sustainable Ventures.

Charlotte Clift is an Event Sales Manager at Sustainable Ventures, a central London venue. She has professional experience in events, hospitality, and marketing within the sustainability sector.

Daisy How is the Membership and Ecosystem Lead at Sustainable Ventures, a collaborative workspace supporting climate technology startups, where she manages front desk operations and guest services. She holds a 2:1 degree in International Relations from King's College London, with coursework in economics, international law, trade, international development, and politics.

Deepa Nayar is Finance Director at Sustainable Ventures, having progressed through roles as Financial Controller and Head of Finance. With over 20 years of experience in financial management, commercial finance, and operations, she has built finance functions across entrepreneurial organizations including Plan Strategic and Class35. Her expertise encompasses board reporting, management accounts, budgeting, forecasting, cashflow management, audit, compliance, and financial controls, with a focus on supporting senior leadership decision-making and operational efficiency.

Emily Barrett is Strategic Growth Director at Sustainable Ventures, where she focuses on facilitating collaboration between organizations and climate technology startups. Her work spans strategy, systems thinking, behavior change, and complex project management in the sustainability and innovation sectors.

Izaak Chung-Graham is a Venture Account Executive at Sustainable Ventures, where he works with companies operating in climate technology, artificial intelligence, and sustainability sectors across Europe.

James Wright is Co-Head of Innovation & Growth at Sustainable Ventures, where he leads design and new product development. With over 11 years of experience in the climate tech sector, he has managed projects across R&D, trials, manufacturing, and market launch in startup, venture builder, and consultancy settings. His work focuses on people and planet-centered design approaches.

Jo Dennison is Director of Operations and Partnerships at Silicon Mingle Manchester, an organization that facilitates connections among founders, investors, and ecosystem partners in the North West tech sector through community events and collaborations. The organization hosts monthly networking events and Silicon Sessions Roundtables where tech founders address business challenges with experts in innovation, investment, and growth, and manages partnerships with organizations supporting tech innovation.

Joe Sylvester is Head of R&D Tax at Sustainable Ventures, bringing seven years of UK tax consulting experience in employment and expatriate taxation. He specializes in R&D tax credits for technology companies, with particular sector focus on climate tech, and provides both financial and technical report writing for R&D tax claims.

Jordan Ishaku is the founder of EthicPath, a project and operations support consultancy offering operational setup, documentation, workflow design, and delivery support. With experience across public-sector, private, and non-profit environments, Ishaku has managed day-to-day operations, office relocations, contractor coordination, compliance, and cross-team delivery in collaboration with HR, IT, Finance, and SHEQ functions. Areas of expertise include cost and efficiency improvements, operational change delivery, stakeholder coordination, and international logistics for events and exhibitions.

Josh Watts is a Senior Venture Associate at Sustainable Ventures focused on green and clean technology. He previously held leadership positions at a Big Four consulting firm, local government, social housing, a major European conservation organization, and grassroots groups. He is also co-founder and CEO of DIY Earth, which identifies and highlights climate impact projects with limited funding.

Lauren Pilgreen is Associate Director of Product & Innovation at Sustainable Ventures, where she supports early-stage companies in securing funding through equity rounds, innovation grants, and government schemes. With over a decade of experience in product and business development, she has facilitated approximately £15 million in funding for more than 50 startups and holds an executive MBA in Corporate Strategy from Bayes Business School. Her background includes work as a womenswear designer and an established network of relationships across climate-focused ventures.

Lee-Ann Perkins is Group Operations Director at Sustainable Ventures. She brings 24 years of military experience and expertise in leading teams through organizational change, compliance, and operational challenges. Her background includes process improvement, budget management, and strategy development in both large institutional and social enterprise environments.

Matilda Trevitt is an Event Sales Lead at Sustainable Ventures with experience in production across conferences, exhibitions, live panels, workshops, and performances. She founded Earthlings, a grassroots arts collective that has raised over £8,000 for local charities, and serves as co-curator and editor of Colèchi Journal: AGREENCULTURE.

Niamh Donovan serves as Regional Development Lead for Sustainable Ventures in the North West, where she supports climate tech startups through strategic introductions, funding access, and founder support. She is also Founder and Director of Future Fashion Fair CIC, which develops circular fashion infrastructure in Manchester. Her background includes work in international development, inward investment, and partnerships.

Olivia Lyth is Head of Membership Sales at Sustainable Ventures, an organization that provides funding and collaborative workspaces to climate tech startups. Previously, she worked at Green Angel Ventures, where she built membership communities in the climate sector. Her experience includes developing sales strategies aligned with sustainability objectives.

Petros Michael is a tax consultant specializing in personal tax and R&D tax relief at Accounts and Legal. He has experience across personal, corporate, and innovation tax advisory, and manages over 150 personal tax returns annually while delivering approximately £2 million in net R&D tax benefits across sectors including pharmaceuticals, software, and AI. His background includes cloud accounting work and tax senior roles involving loss relief planning, capital allowances optimization, and direct liaison with HMRC during compliance matters.

Philip Hunt is a Senior Venture Associate at Sustainable Ventures with over 20 years of experience in business development and corporate strategy. He has advised private and government clients on market entry, branding strategy, fundraising, and technology development, with particular expertise in strategic sales growth and stakeholder negotiation at the C-suite level. His operational background includes managing P&L, establishing legal and tax structures, and building teams for early-stage companies seeking domestic or international expansion.

Stuart Duncan is Head of Partnerships at Sustainable Ventures. He has experience building teams and developing strategies across private and public sector projects, with a focus on partnerships in innovation and corporate social responsibility.

Valentina Silvestri is a Workspace Manager at Sustainable Ventures with over ten years of experience in the hospitality industry, including five years in managerial roles. She has supported operations for sustainability-focused events and organizations across Europe, and previously served as General Manager overseeing team leadership and customer relations. Silvestri holds IEMA Associate certification.