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Our Leadership Team

Bart Nollen, Founder & CEO

Whilst finishing his law degree Bart started in 1998 and worked till 2018 in Asia, Africa and the USA, where he has developed, financed and built multiple successful sustainable development companies and projects in a variety of sectors. In recent years Bart has focused on developing projects that accelerate the transition to the circular economy. His focus has been on renewable energy, biodiversity conservation, biobased economy and ecosystem services. He has over twenty years of experience in working with both the private and public sectors and is an environmentalist at heart and a driving force to achieve change where he invests his resources. Bart runs a portfolio of social-impact businesses including Nollen Group, an environmental finance group that develops and invests in sustainable projects that support conservation efforts while generating attractive financial returns for investors.

Marlies Quirino, Strategy & Development

From launching fashion brands to managing complex multi-stakeholder projects and developing organizational strategies, Marlies has a diverse experience that spans the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Beginning her career as a lawyer in Amsterdam, she went on to manage the marketing department for an internationally renowned fashion brand, and subsequently spent some time in New York working for a charitable foundation that supports upcoming artists. She now uses her expertise and experience to contribute to and develop projects that support biodiversity, conservation, regenerative farming and – more widely – the circular economy. Alongside her work for Circular Investment, she works as an independent advisor for a range of NGOs supporting their networking, fundraising and strategy efforts.

Simon Houghton, Industrial Project Development

Simon has been involved with investments and project management in the circular economy for over a decade. He is the founding investor of a successful ESG software as a service enterprise and a Zero Waste to Landfill execution and consultancy. In addition he has lead project development teams for industrial scale insect facilities in the US and Europe, dealing with basic engineering, detailed engineering and permitting of these projects. Simon has a passion for driving the transition to the circular economy.

Jelte-Pier Slump, Industrial Project Development

Over the last years, Jelte-Pier has actively participated in various sustainable and innovative projects. First, he was involved in building one of the first algae farms in the North Sea. His main focus was on the feasibility of cultivation on open waters. Afterwards, he co-founded, built and managed an insect farm in The Netherlands. His activities included basic engineering, commercialization of insects and obtaining necessary lincenses. As a food technologist and entrepeneur, he remains determined to dedicate his skills to accelerating the protein transition.

Our wider team consists of a network of partners and practitioners across the globe, and we build bespoke and agile teams depending on the specific needs and location and of the project. Read more about how we work here.