Former OC&C consultant in Board of Circle Economy
Martijn Lopes Cardozo, a former consultant at OC&C Strategy Consultants, has joined the Board of Directors of Circle Economy, a social organisation that stimulates the implementation of circular economy around the world.
Founded in 2012 in the Netherlands, the Circle Economy has in the past three years grown to one of the leading international enterprises that accelerates the transition towards a circular economy. From its base in Amsterdam the 20-man strong team among others conducts research on circular economy topics, creates awareness through marketing and media exposure and supports firms with embracing the phenomenon, through for instance the sharing of best practices and connecting organisations with experts and service providers.
To reflect the Circle Economy’s growing footprint, the organisation has decided to add two new members to the Board of Directors, joining founder Robert-Jan van Ogtrop and Herman Wijffels. As of September 21, Louise Vet and Martijn Lopes Cardozo have joined the Board, bringing their expertise from the world of science and the world of startups, respectively, to the leadership platform.
Martijn Lopes Cardozo started his career in 1996 with OC&C Strategy Consultants, a global management consultancy, where he contributed to a variety of assignments in the Netherlands, UK and France. After three years with the consulting firm Lopes Cardozo moved into the industry, and since held management roles with among others Ericsson, as well as Dutch media firms DTG and TMG. In his current role, he serves as CEO of Black Bear, a producer of carbon black from end-of-life tires for the tire, rubber and paint industry. Besides his corporate functions, Lopes Cardozo has a track record as a serial entrepreneur, being part of several successful exits in Europe and the US, and serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Yes!Delft, where he advises and supports a wide variety of start-ups including many in the clean-tech space.
Lopes Cardozo: “As a board member I want to challenge other companies to join the circular future. At the same time, in my experience as an entrepreneur, I understand the challenges and great opportunities that exist for the Circle Economy team. I look forward to applying my expertise to Circle Economy in order to help the team achieve even greater impact.”
Louise Vet, Director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology and professor in Evolutionary Ecology at Wageningen University, has been named as the fourth Board member. Andy Ridley, CEO of Circle Economy, reflects on the new joiners: “We are proud to welcome two such experienced and visionary professionals. We are very fortunate to have them on our side as Circle Economy focuses ever more strongly on implementing practical and scalable solutions for the circular economy.”
Looking forward, Circle Economy anticipates the need for a fifth board member to realise on its “ambitious goals”, says Ridley, with the new executive expected to be announced early 2016.