Our Team
Our edge
Over the past years we have developed tailor-made country teams in the countries where we invest, to ensure transparency and operational control with the end goal of maximizing profitability. These local teams allow us to knowledgeably operate within frontier countries with high barriers to entry and imperfect information. Additionally, our local teams are instrumental in leveraging our expertise to generate sustained positive social outcomes for the communities living in or near our project areas. These frontier markets are where vast opportunities exist and where the Fund will thrive with operational excellence.
The GFC team is comprised of seasoned professionals with extensive experience in sustainable investment, carbon finance, and project development. We have deep expertise in frontier markets and have an extensive network that we leverage to identify and develop high-quality nature-based carbon projects.
We have developed deep ties with stakeholders in key regions where we are sourcing projects. This allows us to mitigate potential political risk, ensure the acquisition of projects, and honor our promise to execute carbon initiatives and conserve land for 40+ years.
GFC Partners
Andrew Mueller
Andrew is a co-founder of GFC. He is also the co-founder and president of Global Decarbonization Solutions and head of global operations. Andrew is experienced in international project management and transnational project execution with local partners. He earned a Masters in International Relations from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and graduated from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. For the last 20 years, he served as an Intelligence officer and Foreign Policy expert for the United States Marine Corps. Much of those years have been spent in frontier markets throughout Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East planning and implementing projects for the US, as well as building professional networks and personal relationships. Before the Marine Corps, Andrew was Vice President of an import and wholesaling company for agricultural products from Latin America. He also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Guatemalan highlands.
Eddy Sambuaga
Eddy is a co-founder of GFC, in addition to helping to co-found Global Decarbonization Solutions and serving as its Head of Indonesian Operations. Eddy has over 20 years of executive experience at the intersection of business, government, politics, and communities, with a deep understanding of the complex challenges and opportunities that arise when these sectors intersect, and a unique ability to navigate this dynamic environment. A native of Indonesia, he started his career as a R&D Engineer at a Silicon Valley technology company. He moved onto various management roles in media and real estate companies, and later ventured into entrepreneurship. Eddy co-founded Global Decarbonization Solutions in 2021 and currently serves as Country Director for Indonesia. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from the George Washington University and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Ed Grgeta
Ed is a co-founder of GFC. Additionally, he co-founded Global Decarbonization Solutions in 2021. He has 20 years of experience as a professional economist in various areas of finance including investments, due diligence, compliance, financial projections, financial reporting, private equity, project finance, insurance, and more. Ed has a deep understanding of corporate finance, financial markets, and risk management. He has worked with large corporations and prominent law firms on global front page matters. Dr. Grgeta earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago, bachelor’s degrees in economics and math from the George Washington University, and is a CFA charter holder.
Chip Perkins
In addition to being a co-founder of GFC, Gilman C. “Chip” Perkins is the Principal and CEO of Perkins Fund Marketing, LLC (“PFM”). PFM is a placement agent for alternative investment private funds with a team of eight investment professionals; five who are selling the funds PFM represents. He is responsible for overall operation of the firm, new business development, managing the sales team and sales coverage of key accounts. PFM is located in Jupiter Florida and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Since its founding, PFM has raised in excess of $7 billion for its fund managers. Chip is a graduate of St. Lawrence University.
James Eaton
Founder and CEO of Climate Investment Partners
As the founder and CEO of Climate Investment Partners, James has dedicated his career to developing and implementing ecosystems services projects making a substantial impact on the field of forest conservation around the world. He is a VCS technical expert and carbon market expert with over 20 years’ experience in the forest carbon field. He has led 20 forest carbon projects from conception through validation, verification, and registration. Additionally, James supported 40 ecosystem services projects around the world resulting in over 25 million emission reduction and removals credits to date, improvements to local community livelihoods, conservation of biodiversity, and improvements in water quality. He received his Master of Science in Environmental Science from University of Virginia, with concentration in tropical ecology.
Technical Partners
Brian McFarland
COO of Climate Investment Partners
Brian is the Chief Operations Officer of Climate Investment Partners. As such, he has more than 15 years of direct experience in sustainability, global carbon markets and conservation finance. He specializes in coordinating large-scale, community-run projects that reduce deforestation and protect biodiversity. Over the past decade, Brian managed a portfolio of four VCS-CCBS REDD+ projects and financed over 260 carbon projects across 30 countries and 43 U.S. states, which represented 22 million offsets, 540,000+ renewable energy certificates, and approximately 2 million trees planted. In addition to being a Certified Sustainability Professional, he is a widely published author and speaker, including three books on conservation finance. He holds a dual MBA in Emerging Markets Finance and MA in Global Environmental Policy from American University.