Helge is a Vice President at SLM Partners based in the UK and leads our forestry investment activities across the UK and Ireland. He is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm's UK and Ireland forestry portfolio, the evaluation and execution of new investment opportunities, and all matters related to carbon and biodiversity projects, sustainable forest management and portfolio performance.

Prior to joining SLM Partners, Helge was a Senior Portfolio Manager within the Natural Capital team at Foresight Group, where he managed forestry and natural capital investments with approximately £250 million in assets under management. His work included the development of carbon and biodiversity strategies, portfolio optimisation, stakeholder engagement and the expansion of natural capital investment opportunities across Europe.

Before that, Helge held a range of forestry leadership and advisory roles, including Head of Woodlands at Highlands Rewilding, Forest Manager at Aigas Community Forest and independent forestry consultant. His work spanned forestry investment planning, woodland carbon projects, biodiversity enhancement, forest operations and grant funding. He also helped develop innovation partnerships between industry and academia through his role at the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre.

Earlier in his career, Helge worked in timber construction, arboriculture and forestry research across the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, including roles with the University of British Columbia, the University of Göttingen, Bern University of Applied Sciences and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Helge holds a Master of Forestry Science from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the Technical University of Dresden in Germany. He has been awarded the Certificate in Company Direction by the Institute of Directors and has more than twenty years of international experience in forestry investment, natural capital and sustainable forest management.