Board of Directors
Patty Akopiantz | Director
Patty has amassed deep expertise across the consumer-facing landscape having spent over 35 years as an ASX Board Director and senior manager in companies including Coles Myer, Energy Australia, Ramsay Healthcare, AMP, McKinsey, David Jones and P&G. She is a co-founder of Assembly Climate Capital which invests in companies and ideas that can significantly impact climate change. She also serves on the boards of Belvoir Theatre Company and The Hunger Project.
Mark Kirkby | Director
Mark Kirkby is a Chartered Accountant and works for the PGA Group as its Commercial Director. Mark is a member of PGA’s Advisory and Investment Committees and provides support as a non-executive director to the group’s various operating businesses. Mark has experience in chairing Finance, Audit and Risk Committees. Prior to joining PGA, Mark held various senior financial executive roles in diverse industry sectors for both listed and unlisted companies.
Jeremy Atkin | Director
Jeremy is an experienced consultant with an extensive track-record of driving innovation within companies ranging from start-ups through to large enterprises within the technology, media and retail sectors. Jeremy is an active investor in early-stage start- ups with a focus on sustainability and brings a broad network of connections within the Australian venture capital community and the broader agriculture sector.
Alex Berger | Director
Alex brings to Sea Forest sophisticated investment banking capability. Following tenures at some of the world’s leading financial institutions, Alex spearheaded private asset development enterprises that originated, capitalised and delivered major projects and project activities in both the African and Asia Pacific regions that were focused on carbon abatement and climate change. Accordingly, Alex affords Sea Forest access and influence where sustainable development capital channels and global carbon asset markets are concerned.
Sam Elsom | CEO
Sam Elsom is a passionate environmentalist with over 16 years experience in sustainability. Having founded one of Australia’s first sustainable apparel businesses to measuring social and environmental impact across supply chains as well as implementing a satellite factory in India to support poor communities with income, training, clean water and education. Sam was drawn to explore seaweed cultivation for its impressive capacity to sequester CO2 as a potential solution to reverse Climate Change.
Roger Millichamp | Director
Roger gained a Master's degree in Natural Sciences at Oxford University followed by an MBA and Diploma in Marketing. Roger has over 25 years International General Management experience working in Australia, China, UK, Latin America, Africa / Middle East, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
Roger recently led the Apotex business in Australia for 12 vears which under his leadership became a leader in the market and developed very strong strategic partnerships in the global pharmaceutical industry.
Stephen J Turner | Managing Director
Stephen Turner has a record of delivering large scale greenfields projects. He co-founded International Ferro Metals; a mining and smelting company which produces 4% of global ferrochrome supply and was listed on the LSE. For seven years Stephen was its CEO. He was also a founding director of South American Ferro Metals, a Brazilian iron ore producer that was listed on the ASX where he was CEO for three years. Until 2014 Stephen was also a non-executive director of Iluka, the world’s biggest producer of zircon.
Dion Cohen | CFO
Dion is a Chartered accountant with an Investment banking and Private equity background. Over the past 15 years, he has specialised in CFO roles with a focus on assisting companies to reach the next level in their growth life cycle, through effective capital raisings, outstanding financial modelling and professional corporate reporting, as well as the establishment and maintaining of effective, streamlined finance functions to support growth.