Team

Determined to make a difference

What we bring

Forging success through Patience, Hands-On Expertise, and Stewardship

We are entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers dedicated to helping scale the carbon removal industry responsibly. Our team has over 100 years’ experience of building and growing companies in diverse verticals and loves to partner with ambitious founders to help them navigate the unique trials this rapidly evolving space presents.

We love working with others, growing and learning from the global CDR community every day.

Our team

Andrew Shebbeare
Managing Partner

Andrew cherishes invention and has made a career out of nurturing new ideas. As a leader in media and technology his restlessness has given shape to products and business models with market-wide impact. Today he applies that same focus to combating the climate crisis.

Linkedin

Andy Bonsall
Managing Partner

Andy’s experience is in growing businesses, from startup teething troubles to growing pains and international expansion … and all the challenges each stage embodies across product, marketing, practicalities and people. He brings 25 years as an engineer, analyst, marketeer, manager and mentor to helping businesses and those who work in them thrive and now wants to make that count in the face of our biggest threat.

Linkedin

Jenny Record
Fund Operations Manager

Jenny Record is an experienced Chartered Accountant specializing in financial reporting, strategy, acquisitions, and daily operations. She trained with PWC, working in the UK and South Africa before moving into the tech and finance sectors. Jenny joined Counteract after a spell supporting smaller growing businesses and now keeps our Fund Operations running smoothly. Outside the office, Jenny is an avid sailor and cyclist.

Linkedin

Jo Brass
General Counsel

Jo is a lawyer and consultant with 25 years’ experience in PE/VC/early stage investing, infrastructure transactions, and investment funds. Over the course of her career she has been drawn back time and again into the cleantech and sustainable finance spheres and has long been interested in how to mobilise capital towards a greener, more inclusive and climate resilient global economy. She is delighted to bring her skills and experience to the Counteract team.

Linkedin

Matt Isaacs
Managing Partner

Matt thrives on bringing together diverse teams across disciplines to take on challenges with transformational potential. He has operating experience of 10 ventures from pre-launch - some to success and others to failure. Matt knows there is no blueprint for success but brings hard learnt lessons from a working life spanning startups, scaleups and corporate venturing which he now focuses on addressing the biggest challenge of them all - climate change.

Linkedin

Poppy Russell
Research Associate

Poppy comes from a background in plant science, she completed a Masters focusing on stomata, the microscopic pores on plant leaves that control gas exchange. She also disseminated cutting-edge plant science research through her work at an open access publisher. Poppy leverages her research background and applies fundamental scientific principles to evaluate new technologies, providing insightful and informed analysis on the evolving carbon removal landscape.

Linkedin

Richard Barker
Partner

Richard has been in sustainable businesses from before sustainability was even a ‘thing’ – founding, growing and investing in recycling, renewable energy, resource and process efficiency companies. He has learnt lessons and insights from both successes and failures along the way – but always maintained a passion for trying to make a positive impact on the planet.

He wants to bring his 30 years experience as an engineer, academic, strategic consultant, investment banker, entrepreneur, CEO, non-exec and investor to help drive the development of the new carbon economy.

Linkedin

Roberta Franchi
Investment Associate

Roberta cultivated a drive to tackle climate change since her childhood, which led her to graduating with a Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College in London.
Her professional background is in environmental policy consulting and sustainability research before moving into the venture investing space as she believes innovation represents one of the key solutions to the current climate crisis.
She now draws from her experience and passion for sustainable solutions to contribute to the investment process in carbon removal technologies.

Linkedin

Sahaj Kumar
Investment Associate

Sahaj has been focused on sustainability since childhood, having grown up among the diverse and delicate ecosystems in Florida. With experience spanning climate startups, decarbonisation advisory for major corporations, and venture investing, he brings a well-rounded view to the team.
In his spare time, you can find him surfing, playing football, or learning about artisanal food industries across the UK.

Linkedin