Dr. Sand is the Managing Partner and he leads the firm’s investment activities.  Prior to forming Criterion Africa Partners, Dr. Sand led GEF’s forestry investment activities.  He has over 35 years of experience in international finance and investments spanning venture capital, investment banking, commercial banking, and multilateral development financing.

Dr. Sand was with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where he served in several financing roles from 1989 until 2008. Dr. Sand was the Head of the Forest Products Sector Group at the IFC, a position he held since it was established in 2002. Under Dr. Sand's leadership, the IFC's Forest Products Sector Group completed over $1.3 billion of investments, which catalyzed an additional $5.4 billion for new forest products industry projects. From 1976 to 1989, Dr. Sand held various positions in investment and commercial banking in his native country of Norway.

Dr. Sand holds a Ph.D. in International Business from UCLA, a Master of Business Administration from the University of California-Berkeley, Norwegian Law School (section 1 of 3) from University of Oslo, Norway, and a Bachelor of Science, University of Lund, Sweden.

Mr. Carrihill is responsible for sourcing, structuring, and monitoring investment opportunities.  Prior to forming Criterion Africa Partners, Mr. Carrihill was with GEF where he led GEF’s forestry investments in Africa.  He has completed investments in timber plantation and timber processing companies in South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, and Tanzania. He has over 20 years of experience in forestry-related companies and transactions in Africa.

Mr. Carrihill worked for 13 years in the African forestry and timber processing industry with Mondi, a subsidiary of Anglo American plc, a FTSE 100 natural resources company.  During this time he held numerous positions in South Africa in forestry and corporate finance roles.  In 2001, he moved to Europe to assist in the expansion of Mondi’s corrugated paper and packaging business.  Mr. Carrihill also served as the CFO of Mondi Packaging Europe, a business with a turnover of EUR 850 million operating across 10 European countries.

A South African national, Mr. Carrihill holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg) and is Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, South Africa.

Mr. Heyes is a Managing Director and is responsible for sourcing, structuring, and monitoring investment opportunities as well as for Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (“ESG”) matters related to the firm’s portfolio companies.  Prior to forming Criterion Africa Partners, Mr. Heyes was with GEF where he also worked on forestry investments in Africa.  He has over 10 years of experience in forestry transactions, most of which is has been in Africa.

Mr. Heyes worked for the New England Forestry Foundation, where he founded and directed a community-based forestry and economic development initiative known as North Quabbin Woods.  Mr. Heyes also worked for two years at Heyes Forest Products, a sawmill in western Massachusetts owned by his family.

Mr. Heyes studied community-based forestry in the Philippines as a Fulbright Scholar.  He holds Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School with a focus on the environment and international development and a Bachelor of Science in Geology and Environmental Studies from Williams College.  Mr. Heyes is also CFA Charter holder.

Mr. McPherson is a Managing Director and is responsible for capital formation and business development.  Prior to forming Criterion Africa Partners, he was with GEF where he was responsible for capital formation and business development.

Mr. McPherson has over 15 years of private equity experience in the energy and natural resource sectors.  From 1988 through 2000, he held engineering, management and business development positions with Hewlett-Packard.  He began his career as an electrical engineer with Grumman Aerospace and United Technologies Norden Systems.

Mr. McPherson holds a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University and Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Ms. Kapp is responsible for sourcing, structuring, and monitoring investment opportunities.  Prior to Criterion Africa Partners, Ms. Kapp was with GEF where she worked on forestry investments in Africa.  She has six years of experience investing in forestry assets in Africa.

Ms. Kapp was a Vice President in Merrill Lynch’s internal strategic acquisition and integration team in New York and Hong Kong, where she evaluated potential acquisitions in the financial services industry and managed the integration efforts into the overall firm.  She also spent 15 months in Angola working for an enterprise development NGO where she created an access to finance program directed towards helping small and medium enterprises better understand the credit process and interface with local banks.

Ms. Kapp holds a Master of Business Administration from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ms. Ncube is responsible for sourcing, structuring, and monitoring investment opportunities.  Prior to Criterion Africa Partners, Ms. Ncube was with GEF where she worked on forestry investments in Africa.  She has six years of experience investing in forestry assets in Africa.

Ms. Ncube was a financial consultant with the Clinton Foundation, where she provided technical assistance Sub-Saharan African governments, and the Acumen Fund in East Africa where she focused on the clean energy, water, and health portfolios.  Previously, she was an Equity Research Associate at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. and a Financial Analyst with CRA International.

A Zimbabwean national, Ms. Ncube holds a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Economics from Harvard University.

Mr. Kapp is an Operating Partner and is responsible for biomass energy and industrial downstream investment opportunities.  Prior to forming Criterion Africa Partners, Mr. Kapp was with GEF where he also worked on forestry investments in Africa. He has worked with the CAP team in various capacities since 2001 and he possesses strong technical and business expertise in of forestry, wood processing, and biomass energy.  Mr. Kapp has over 20 years of experience in the global forestry sector and significant expertise at the interface of the traditional forestry sector and biomass energy.

Mr. Kapp has served as a senior executive for Global Forest Products in South Africa, where he contributed to the building of the company.  After leaving Global Forest Products, Mr. Kapp was a Senior Consultant with Pöyry Management Consulting in Australia.  He has also worked with clients globally as an independent forest industry specialist.

Mr. Kapp, a South African national, holds a Master of Science in Wood Science from the University of Stellenbosch and a Master of Business Administration in Financial Management from the University of Pretoria.

Ms. Napier is responsible for sourcing and analyzing investment opportunities.  Prior to Criterion Africa Partners, Ms. Napier was with Broadreach Capital where she worked on transactions in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors.

A South African national, Ms. Napier holds a Master of Commerce with a focus on Development Finance, a Honours Bachelor of Commerce with a focus on financial analysis and portfolio management both from the University of Cape Town, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce with a focus on investments from the University of Stellenbosch. Ms. Napier is also CFA Charter holder.

Ms. Leigh is responsible for overseeing the firm’s operations and administrative matters.  Prior to joining Criterion Africa Partners, Ms. Leigh served in a similar role with a South African investment firm and prior to that served as the Financial Director for a South African asset consultant.  She has 20 years of experience in finance and investments including compliance, risk management, accounting and corporate secretarial functions.

Ms. Leigh trained at Ernst and Young in the UK, before joining Chevron Africa's internal audit department, responsible for its African operations.  Ms. Leigh holds a law degree from Cambridge University, UK; a Chartered Accountant through ICEAW; a C(Prac) and C(Prof) through the Compliance Institute of SA (CISA).

Ms. Leigh’s professional memberships include the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Compliance Institute of SA, Institute of Risk Managers South Africa, Institute of Directors.

Mr. Hathorn has extensive experience in the international wood pulp and paper industry, having served as the CEO of Mondi Group for 17 years before retiring in May 2017. Mondi has approximately 25,000 employees and is a FTSE 100 company which is listed on the Johannesburg and London Stock Exchanges with a market cap of £7 billion.

Mr. Hathorn’s management career began with Anglo American in 1989 and he transitioned to Mondi, which was then an Anglo subsidiary in 1991. He served as the general manager for Mondi Europe until he became CEO of Mondi in 2000. He was instrumental in Mondi’s international expansion and led the group through a demerger from Anglo American plc in 2007.

Until 2007 Mr. Hathorn was a member of the Anglo American plc Executive Committee from 2003 and was an Executive director of Anglo American plc from 2005, serving on the boards of a number of Anglo group companies, including De Beers, Anglo Platinum and Anglo Coal.

Mr. Hathorn was recently appointed Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee of Maitland International Holdings plc. He is also Chairman of Kore Potash Limited, an ASX listed company developing a potash mining operation in the Republic of Congo.

A South African national, Mr. Hathorn holds a Bachelor in Commerce from the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg), is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountant, South Africa, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

TEAM

The Criterion Africa Partners investment team has worked together since 2010 and brings a breadth and depth of experience in evaluating, acquiring and improving the management of timber assets. The team is skilled in all aspects of forestry investment and management. Best in class ESG practices and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles are core components of the investment strategy.