Ben Guilllon

Dr. Ben Guillon oversees WRA’s work on the financial and strategic aspects of rural land management and ecosystem conservation. In this position, Ben helps a wide range of clients — including investment funds, infrastructure developers, public agencies, private land owners, NGOs and philanthropic donors – to develop innovative financing strategies to acquire, conserve, and manage large tracts of land in the US and abroad. In addition, Ben leads WRA’s asset management group, which allows investors and land owners to unlock the value of their land assets through ecosystem markets, such as mitigation banks or carbon offset projects. Ben has 12 years of experience developing and managing projects for some of the most renowned green investors. In his former capacity as Manager of Acquisitions at New Forests, Inc. Ben led the origination, underwriting, acquisition and asset management for the Eco Product Fund, a $50 million private equity investment fund focused on mitigation banking and carbon offsets. In this position, Ben developed New Forests’ investment strategy in the mitigation banking space and assembled a pipeline of projects worth well over $100 million. Prior to working with New Forests, Ben worked at the World Bank and at the International Finance Corporation on projects aimed at creating economic incentives to improve biodiversity conservation in Africa and in Asia. Recognized as an expert in emerging ecosystem markets, Ben regularly presents at conferences in the U.S. and in Europe.