Our Team
Directors
Belynda Petrie CV (LLB) (Hons, Psychology)
CEO
belynda@oneworldgroup.co.za
Belynda has led several medium- to large-scale projects, including the current five-year Southern African Regional Climate Change Programme funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID). This vast programme aims to help equip the region’s leaders, decision makers, scientists, economists and other experts to respond and adapt to the impacts of climate change and to work towards securing political and financial equity in the subregion.
Belynda also leads the British Foreign Country Office project on human security and climate change in the region, for which the documentary, Too Many Degrees: Human Security and Climate Change was produced. After premiering in Copenhagen at the global climate change negotiations in December, 2009, the documentary was screened at the UN Security Council following an address to the Council by her.
Earlier projects include the development of the internationally acclaimed Western Cape Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, the Ibhubesi Gas Field development project, the restructuring of the Datatec International Group and the George (Southern Cape, SA) Mobility Strategy. See www.oneworldgroup.co.za.
She has extensive corporate experience in strategy, human resources and corporate social responsibility, as well as enterprise and skills development and capacity building, corporate social responsibility and organisational design.
Sven Kreher (CA)
Commercial Director
sven@oneworldgroup.co.za
As a OneWorld co-founder and its commercial director, Sven’s corporate finance and merchant banking experience is invaluable in the world of energy finance. He brings expertise not only as a consultant in financial analysis and project finance, but also energy development and logistics. Prior to joining OneWorld, Sven led a South African Breweries team assessing logistics and distribution strategy.
Other projects include the Madikwe game farm development, conservation and business development of the South African fish-farming industry, carbon market analysis for Nedbank, while remaining as a team member on the group’s biodiesel project in the Eastern Cape. In early 2009, Sven spent a month in Antarctica.
Research Team
Arthur Chapman (MSc, Hydrology)
Water Sector & Environmental Specialist
arthur@oneworldgroup.co.za
Arthur’s expertise as a hydrologist and an environmental specialist lies in the areas of hydrological impacts of land-use change, as well as hydrological modelling and risk assessment—areas into which he has done extensive research, including an ongoing project to assess the risks involved in land-use change in Uruguay.
Arthur has contributed to numerous studies on the impacts of and vulnerabilities to climate change—including the Western Cape, South Africa, Status Quo Report and consequent Strategy and Action Plan, as well as long-term scenario modelling apropos climate change vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation in Southern Africa. He is helping assess vulnerabilities to climate change in the Ugandan water resources sector and has given numerous presentations on the impacts of climate change in the water resources sector in Southern Africa. A regular contributor to Business Futures, published by the Institute for Futures Research at the University of Stellenbosch, Arthur is also frequently called upon to teach.
Stephanie Midgley (PhD, Bot) (MSc, Agric, Hort)
Climate Change, Land Use and Food Security Specialist
stephanie@oneworldgroup.co.za
Stephanie has worked in the field of climate change impacts and adaptation for 17 years, focusing on natural and crop plants. Before joining OneWorld as a researcher in land use, land use change and land use management—with a strong initial focus on food security—she was an Associate Professor at Stellenbosch University (AgriSciences). A frequent speaker at public events on the topic, Stephanie was the agriculture specialist for the Western Cape Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, and is currently in the same position for the Southern African Regional Climate Change Programme.
Nicky Sasman (BSc, EGS) (MCRP)
Built Environment and Infrastructure Development Specialist
nicky@oneworldgroup.co.za
As a town and regional planner with extensive experience in local government, Nicky has diversified her work experience to include community participation and stakeholder engagement around local government transformation, infrastructure development and poverty intervention. Most recently, she built on these capacities to assist in driving the major land restitution projects in Cape Town, assisting in managing the investigation, planning and stakeholder engagement processes required for land development. She is also experienced in strategic planning—from undertaking social research through a variety of methodologies, applying information to policy and strategy formulation, as well as implementing projects and programmes to meet the policy and strategic objectives, and assessing their success.
James Eustace (BSc Hons)
Economic Analyst
james@oneworldgroup.co.za
Having worked as an economist in the oil and gas sector in the UK, James joined OneWorld in early 2009. He also did macroeconomic research for an investment bank and worked in the financial services arm of an international auction house. James’s skills lie in project evaluation and risk assessment. He graduated from the University of Surrey with a BSc (Hons) in Economics.
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James Cumming (BBusSc, Hons Ec) (MSc, Environmental Change and Management)
Analyst and environmental economist
jamesc@oneworldgroup.co.za
As an intern at OneWorld, James worked on the Western Cape Climate Change Response Strategy and Action Plan in 2007, joining the company on a permanent basis in October, 2009. In September of the same year he completed his MSc in Environmental Change and Management at Oxford University, where he won the Environmental Change Institute‚s award for best dissertation (thesis). This followed his completing a 30,000km overland expedition in 2008, during which he led a team of researchers across Africa and Europe from Cape Town to London carrying out research in volunteer tourism and corporate social responsibility for an NGO and an energy company. He also has a Bachelor of Business Science and Honours in Economics from the University of Cape Town.
Public Services and Stakeholder Engagement
John Notoane
Public Services Director
john@oneworldgroup.co.za
Responsible for public services strategy and stakeholder participation, John Notoane drives OneWorld’s Public Services Unit. Having worked as a senior manager in port operations, developing expertise in business strategy development, systems design and logistics management, his experience in the public sector is extensive. John contributed to resolving stakeholder challenges in the development of the Coega deepwater port in the Eastern Cape and facilitated the stakeholder platforms for the Forest Oil development on the West Coast, as well OneWorld’s Western Cape Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.
John is lead facilitator for the stakeholder engagement process of the Majeng Land Restitution Project in the Northern Cape. He has a Management Associate certificate from the University of Cape Town and is fluent in English, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Zulu and Sotho.
Mandy Antzoylatos
Stakeholder Engagement
mandy@oneworldgroup.co.za
Mandy Antzoylatos is a skilled facilitator and life coach. She worked as a diversity facilitator for five years, prior to which she was a local government community development officer at Cape Town City Council, where she was an active member of a gender task team. A mentor and coordinator for the Mandela Rhodes Foundation Scholarship, her focus at OneWorld is stakeholder engagement and developing a shared learning platform for the company.
Research and Publications
Linda Cilliers CV (MA, Creative Writing)
Head: Research & Publications
linda@oneworldgroup.co.za
Communication strategist Linda Cilliers is head of the Research Publications Unit at OneWorld Sustainable Investments. In this capacity, she is responsible for the design, development and execution of of OneWorld’s communication strategies and publication lists, including those of projects undertaken by the company—for example, that of the Southern African Regional Climate Change Programme.
She is a widely published journalist and author, as well as a skilled editor, subeditor, translator, publishing consultant and web strategist. A former editor of Research Africa—a Pan-African science and technology policy journal—her experience in the publishing and media industry spans 25 years. In 2008, she commissioned, compiled and edited the critically acclaimed Happy Years: A Guide for Parents. She also edited the South African bestseller, So Close: Infertile and Addicted to Hope by Tertia Albertyn, which was shortlisted for the Lulu Blooker Prize in 2007.
She has written for Mind Shift; Reader’s Digest; Marie Claire; Enterprising Women; African Leader; Acumen; Die Burger (art reviews); SA Process Engineer; Cape Times; Laugh it Off; The Big Issue and Fine Living, among others. She leads an annual seminar on freelance journalism at UCT’s Centre for Film and Media Studies and presents courses on subediting for the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism.
Philippa Tsilik (BA)
Proposal and Strategy Developer, Writer and Editor
pippa@oneworldgroup.co.za
Before joining OneWorld, Pippa taught English as a second language (ESL) at high-school level and to adults in several foreign countries. She has written several textbooks for schools and specialised in educational materials development in subjects across the curriculum. Over the last three years, she has worked extensively for One World, specifically on Climate Change strategy writing, editing and development. She speaks several languages and spent 15 years on a kibbutz in the Negev.
Gretchen Ndlovu (BSocSc Hons, Soc Dev)
Editorial Assistant/Writer
gretchen@oneworldgroup.co.za
Zimbabwean-born Gretchen joined the OneWorld team in July 2009. She completed her honour’s degree in social development at the University of Cape Town at the end of 2009. She reports on climate change and related topics for the Southern African Regional Climate Change Programme (RCCP), making substantial contributions to the weekly RCCP eNews, which is sent to ±2,000 members. She is increasingly taking on the role of webmaster for the RCCP website and information clearinghouse and assists with research wherever needed. She is in the process of compiling an operating manual for www.rccp.org.za. She is continuing her studies at UCT this year, where she hopes to complete a master’s degree in social development.
Coordination and Administration
Monica Schlottau
Office Manager
monica@oneworldgroup.co.za
Before returning to South Africa in 2005, Monica was the senior manager responsible for securities at a privately owned bank in Hamburg, Germany. Her experience in private banking spans 25 years. Among other duties, she was responsible for implementing new banking systems as well as for merging acquired assets into existing securities services. As head of department, she managed staff and reported to internal and external auditors. Monica joined OneWorld in October, 2009, as office manager. She is responsible for internal coordination and administration. This involves project coordination, logistical planning, project budget control and general administration.