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.
Coordination and Administration
Mon
ica 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, logistics and administration. This involves project coordination, logistical planning, project budget control and general administration.
Research Team
Arthur Chapman (MSc, Hydrology)
Water Sector & Environmental Specialist
arthur@oneworldgroup.co.za
Arthur has been working in the field of hydrological impacts sciences for 20 years, more recently on the impacts of climate change on a range of affected sectors that includes water resources, human health, food security, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), local knowledge and adaptation management. He has consulted in Uganda on the impacts of climate change on water resources and in Uruguay on the impacts of large-scale plantation forestry on ground and surface water resources. He has also undertaken various hydrological risk consultancies and contributed to several climate change-related strategy developments.
He holds an MSc in hydrology from the University of KwaZulu Natal, worked for South Africa’s department of water affairs and at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) before taking up a post at OneWorld Sustainable Investments as a water and climate change specialist. He is also the theme leader on the Regional Climate Change Programme (RCCP) managed by OneWorld. He is a specialist lecturer in the Disaster Management Programme at the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at the University of Cape Town.
Dr Stephanie Midgley (PhD, Bot) (MSc, Agric, Hort)
Climate Change, Land Use and Food Security Specialist
stephanie@oneworldgroup.co.za
Stephanie Midgley has been working in the field of climate change impacts and adaptation for 17 years. Her focus has been on natural and crop plants, but more recently she has concentrated on agricultural and food systems. She holds a PhD in Botany and an MSc Agric in Horticultural Science. Before joining OneWorld as a researcher, Stephanie was an Associate Professor at Stellenbosch University (AgriSciences). She is frequently invited to speak on climate change, agriculture and food security—fields of research that she specialises in for the Southern African Regional Climate Change Programme.
In her academic research, Stephanie has had a particular interest in ecophysiology and the impact of rising CO2 and weather extremes on crop production and quality. She was the agriculture specialist for the Western Cape Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, and is currently leading the food security focus for the RCCP. She recently led a study on climate-related risks and coping strategies of rural agricultural communities in Lesotho and was a member of the team that developed the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan for the Ugandan Water Directorate in 2009.
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.
Natalia Pagliuca (BA Hons)
Socioeconomic researcher
natalia@oneworldgroup.co.za
Natalia received a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2009. As part of her qualification she wrote an undergraduate thesis in which she researched the various economies of Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on the informal sector and urbanisation. Upon her qualification in Sociology and International Studies she worked as personal assistant to the director of St Joseph’s Home for Children with Chronic Illnesses in Cape Town (2009). She was responsible for marketing and fundraising activities, and enhancing media initiatives.
In November 2009 she interned with OneWorld, assisting with survey data compilation and analysis on the Niall Mellon Township Trust and Strengthening Capacity for Climate Change Adaptation in the Agricultural Sector in Lesotho projects. Natalia permanently joined OneWorld in 2010.
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.
Richard Sherman
Analyst: Multilateral climate change negotiation
Richard leads OneWorld’s work related to the multilateral climate change negotiations
He founded and managed the International Institute for Sustainable Development Africa Regional Coverage Project and initiated the Climate-L.Org knowledge management process. He has participated in more than 70 intergovernmental negotiations on sustainable development and environment. Richard works as a consultant to the Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, with a particular focus on institutional reform and global governance. He was a member of the South Africa delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998—2001, 2009).
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 responsible for the design, development and execution 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 (RCCP). Her portfolio includes the branding and strategic positioning of both OneWorld and the RCCP. She has a keen interest in developing effective strategies for transboundary communication through Africa.
She is a widely published journalist and author, as well as a skilled editor and translator. A former editor of Research Africa—a Pan-African science and technology policy journal—her experience in the media spans 25 years. She commissioned, compiled and edited the critically acclaimed Happy Years: A Guide for Parents and edited the South African bestseller, So Close: Infertile and Addicted to Hope by Tertia Albertyn (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); Cape Times; Laugh it Off and The Big Issue, among others. She has led seminars at UCT’s Centre for Film and Media Studies and presented courses for the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism.
Philippa Tsilik (BA)
Editor: Research Publications
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.
Leigh Page
Documentary film producer/director
leigh@oneworldgroup.co.za
Leigh has worked in various areas of industry for more than 20 years. Having turned her attention during the past three years to documentary making, Leigh has focused specifically onclimate change since joining the OneWorld team. Her formal training in journalism (majoring in photography) positions her well for documentary story-telling and her management experience as a film crew agent renders her more than capable of directing a crew under the most stringent of circumstances. Quick-thinking Leigh will find the filmic value in almost any scenario.