Antti-Jussi Ahveninen

Advisor - African Investment

Antti has 20+ years of emerging market real estate fund management experience with the last 10 years solely focusing on Africa. He has led two Africa real estate development funds, headed the real estate funds operation of the investment banking arm of the largest Saudi bank, Al Rajhi, in Riyadh and worked as a fund manager in London for Pramerica (now PGIM RE) that is one of world’s largest real estate fund managers by AuM.

Baptiste Pouchot

Investment Manager

Baptiste has 8+ years of working experience in hospitality and real estate development in Africa. Prior to joining Verdant Ventures, Baptiste has worked for one of the largest hospitality consulting companies in Africa, completing more than 30 projects spread over 19 African countries.

Benson Thuku

Development Manager

Ben has 13+ years of experience in real estate development. Prior to joining Verdant Ventures, Ben worked at HF Group and Pinnacle Projects Limited as a development and project manager leading various residential and commercial developments valued at more than $1Billion.

Bertrand Philogene

Operations Manager

Bertrand has 25+ years’ experience in the US and Mauritius, holding operational leadership positions for the past 18 years. He worked 15 years in the construction industry, successfully delivering large projects and high-end villas. He also co-founded and led the largest 3D imaging and real estate marketing company in the Indian Ocean over a 10-year span.

Brenda Mokaya

Development Manager

Brenda has 8+ years of experience in Real Estate Development. Prior to joining Verdant Ventures, Brenda worked at Cytonn Investments Management and Trident Estates as a Project Development Manager across East and South Africa, leading and completing various residential and hospitality projects valued at more than $700 Million.

Clinton Minnaar

Head of Real Estate

Clinton has 15+ years of real estate experience as an Investment Manager. He has worked in the investment and asset management fields for Grit Real Estate Income Group and Stanlib, leading and concluding several large deals across Africa.

Connie Muhanji

Project Coordinator

Connie has 7+ years of working experience in the construction and parastatal fields. She worked in Kenya Power as a HR Clerk in Planning, Directing and Organizing company’s confidential documents. At Quaint Holdings Ltd, Connie led small teams in 2 KeNHA (Kenya National Highways Authority) road construction projects from initiation to successful execution.

Dheera Mungur

Project Accountant

Faizal Soobhany

Financial Controller

Jean Michel Lan

Project Accountant

Jean Michel has 10+ years of experience in finance related fields. Prior to joining Verdant Ventures, he has worked at KPMG, Medine Limited, Aspen Global Incorporated and Mont Choisy Group.

Marie Lynn Young

Office Manager

Marie Lynn has over 10 years of experience in HR Operations and over 5 years as Personal Assistant to CEO. Prior to joining Verdant Ventures, she worked for a Real Estate Company in Mauritius for 9 years as PA and HR & Admin Executive, where she set up the HR department and lead a team of 3 staff members.

Ricardo Cardiga

Business Development Manager

Ricardo has 40+ years' experience in Africa. As a TCN/GSO for US State Department AF Bureau, he served at the US Embassies in Mozambique, Cape Verde, and Angola. From 2002 to 2005, he was seconded to OBO on the New Embassy Chancery project in Luanda. He also worked as Local Content Manager for the Angola LNG Project and on the Mozambique LNG FEED for Bechtel Corporation.

Sarah Jackson

Head of Finance

Sarah has been working with Verdant Frontiers and its portfolio of companies including Verdant Ventures since 2014. She served both as Head of Finance & Legal and as CEO of Verdant Consulting where she supported Elevation Residences, Verdant Ventures’ first residential project, throughout its lifecycle, whilst supporting a diverse range of companies across Ethiopia in improving their management systems and processes.

Sherri Holland

Group Financial Controller

Sherri has 25+ years of experience in the Controller role. Her background includes founding, scaling profitably and selling businesses in the technology and media industries. She is a talented financial and operations leader who is able to successfully manage all aspects of a highly profitable business.

Thomas McCallum

Chief Investment Officer

Thomas has 30+ years of real estate experience. He is the founder of Richard Ellis Inc and Deloitte Real Estate Advisory Services in Canada. He has spearheaded many of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest real estate debt and equity transactions on behalf of IFC.