Steering committee
Will Aitken
William has had a lifelong relationship with Ibiza. His grandmother Lady Penelope “Pempe” Aitken first bought the family finca on the island in the 1950s before there was an airport. William has spent many full summers on the island and is a regular visitor to Ibiza in both winter and summer. William currently is based between Mongolia, Beijing and London where he works for private equity group Origo plc. Previously he worked in private equity for the Reuben Brothers for 5 years, and prior to that worked for the UK Conservative Party.
Serena Cook
Serena first visited Ibiza in 1995 while studying Spanish and Hispanic Studies at Bristol University and fell in love with the island. Her early career was in the restaurant world in both Colombia and London, that culminated in setting up Britain’s first certified organic cafe in 1999. Serena moved to Ibiza in 2001, and set up a successful business Deliciously Sorted Ibiza, which ensures that she spends 6 months of the year on the island. Keen to give something back to the island where she has made her home, and having watched the changes in Ibiza since she first visited, Serena jumped at the opportunityto create the Ibiza Preservation Fund with co founders Will Aitken and Ben Goldsmith in late 2008.
Ben Goldsmith
With 8 years’ clean technology investment experience, from originating, analysing and executing venture investments to ongoing value addition to investee companies, Ben Goldsmith is recognised as a leading clean technology investor and a pioneer in the sector. After spending several years leading a group of private investors backing clean technology businesses at an early stage of their development, Ben co-founded WHEB Ventures with Rob Wylie and Kim Heyworth. Ben sits on the board of companies both on behalf of WHEB Ventures and within the WHEB group of companies, which includes Ruston WHEB (www.rustonwheb.com) alongside WHEB Ventures. Ben is also actively involved in environmental philanthropy through the JMG Foundation which funds campaigning and advocacy work around a small number of key environmental issues. In 2003, Ben founded the Environmental Funders’ Network (www.greenfunders.org)which now brings together more than 80 grant-making organisations with a combined annual budget of more than $80m.
Philip Muelder
Philip has long standing roots in Ibiza ever since his grandmother bought a plot of land on the island in the late 60’s. He spent many summers in his family vacation home in Calla Mastella in the North East of Ibiza and remains a frequent visitor to the island ever since, including getting married here in 2007. Philip has over the years been actively involved in fundraising efforts close to his heart, most recently supporting orphanages in Thailand and Burma. Philip lives in London with his wife Rebecca and works at Permira, a global Private Equity firm.
Jeremy Smith
Jeremy has worked in the investment and clean energy arena since 2000. He is a Co-Founder of Berkeley Energy (www.berkeley-energy.com), a private equity firm focused upon renewable energy in emerging markets. Prior to Berkeley Jeremy gained experience with Tersus Energy (clean energy project development), Conduit Ventures (clean energy venture capital), Gartmore (fund management) and CSFB (mergers and acquisitions). Jeremy is also a Co-Founder of the Carbon Disclosure Project (www.cdproject.net), a $64 trillion institutional investor collaborative focused upon shareholder valueand climate change, and a founder Trustee of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford (www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk). He has an MBA from London Business School and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. Jeremy first visited Ibiza in 1997 and owns a property on the island which he and his wife and three children visit as much as they can.
