REMOVING ONE TRILLION TONneS OF CO2
One ton of processed olivine can remove one tonne of CO2
from the atmosphere. To save our planet,
we need to remove one trillion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.
There are trillions of tons of olivine on Earth
LEADERSHIP TEAM
FOUNDER
Declan Murphy
Born in Limerick, Ireland, Declan is a passionate and committed entrepreneur and leader in the climate change and environment sciences area. He graduated from the University of Limerick in 1996 with a degree in Electronic Engineering.
In his early career, as worldwide Corporate Sales Director with Misys plc, he delivered innovative strategic solutions to some of the largest retail and commercial banks in the world, working on projects in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
His time at Misys was followed by three years as a private equity investor in the media and technology sectors where he led numerous worldwide technology and media investments, ownership strategies, growth programmes and exits.. The largest exit was a $160m company sale to a blue-chip corporate.
In 2004 and based on his personal observation of the urgency of the climate crisis, he founded The Ecology Foundation. Over the years since, Declan has become deeply involved in driving awareness of the crisis at corporate and government level, especially through high impact strategies, personal initiatives, and government projects. He has founded a number of successful businesses, was a delegate at COP7, COP8, and COP0 and has developed relationships with Governments in Europe, Asia, and Africa and the Middle East.
In 2022, Declan founded NetZero FCZ LLC, (now, Olivine Development Company). Central to his success is his ability to analyse and create growth strategies and then to lead their implementation. He has extensive media experience and is an accomplished public speaker.
Ben Swainbank
Director(Science)
Ben is a tech startup veteran with three decades of software development, project management, and IT experience across climate, telemedicine, insurance, e-commerce, education, and B2B industries. He has founded multiple ventures including the Appleseed Initiative, Coastal Carbon Solutions, and the Oceanid MRV.
As the founder of Oceanid MRV, Ben is a recognised leader in CDR MRV methodology and systems development. Ben’s work leading Oceanid MRV has given him a critical perspective on the nascent and rapidly evolving CDR industry, working at the vital intersection of commercial, project development, scientific, carbon market, and research organizations. His work builds on prior experience in standards development within the insurance, health care, and mortgage industries.
Andries Hoekema
DIRECTOR(FINANCE)
Andries is a highly experienced financial markets professional with a background in developing customised investment and risk management strategies for insurers, pension funds, banks, and corporates. He develops a deep understanding of the regulatory, accounting, and business constraints of institutional investors and building and leading project teams to develop customised investment and risk management solutions. In recent years investment solutions have evolved to additionally incorporate decarbonisation pathways to align with Net Zero commitments made by investors.
Andries has experience working on the buy-side (investment management) as well as the sell-side (investment banking), giving him a unique breadth of experience in the financial markets.
Andries now uses his financial experience to develop financial models and funding structures for carbon removal projects.
T. Gerard Bennett
Director(Administration)
Gerard brings more than 40 years’ experience across sales, technology, and the introduction of innovative technologies and processes. He has held executive Director level positions with a number of businesses.
He has held senior level positions with business in Ireland, UK, and USA and has worked on projects across Europe, Africa, the Americas (North, South, Central and Canada) and Asia. He has also been involved in a number of start-ups in Ireland, UK, and USA in healthcare (both operational and ICT), climate change practice, the software sector addressing commercial vehicle workshops and testing. The most recent of these was a digital healthcare start-up, based out of Boston, MA, and addressing a critical digital healthcare issue. As part of his responsibilities in these start-ups, he was centrally involved in raising investment at the critical early stage of their development.
Gerard brings a wealth of experience in technology, business growth, and corporate management to the ODC leadership team.
John Douglas
John retired in senior rank from military service in 2006 and worked on the Shell Pearl (GTL) project in Ras Laffan, Qatar for MW Kellogg as head of leadership development, responsible for the 250,000 strong international construction workforce. He then developed a national construction skills programme in Yemen, in partnership with Pearson Education and Sheikha Mouza’a youth foundation.
1n 2013 John joined Inspirational Development Group, to deliver leadership development programmes and a nationwide worker welfare programme for Petroleum Development Oman (Project Prism – PDO) the King Abdullah Fund and major development programmes in the UAE. Latterly John returned to Yemen in a MD appointment with G4S, to run the country’s foremost security company in providing services in support of the energy sector and for national critical infrastructure.
In 2015 John accepted a President’s appointment with US based Chenega Corporation to develop international commercial business (Chenega is an Alaskan Native Corporation and a billion-dollar turnover business providing support services to the US Federal Government). John led Chenega companies based in Europe, Virginia and the Middle East focusing on building international business streams and in major energy projects (hydrogen and low sulphur shipping fuels) in Europe and the Indian Ocean.