Board of Directors

Willy Paterson-Brown, Chair snap

Willy has been an entrepreneur for more than 35 years, the majority of which has been focussed on environmental science, cleantech and sustainability. He has worked and done business all over the world with a particular focus throughout China. He has experience in Global Financial Markets, including start-ups, taking companies public and private, buy-outs and working with both governments and multi-nationals on behalf of fast growing small businesses.

Willy was formerly Executive Chairman and CEO of Accsys Technologies PLC and led the company through the building of the first Accoya® Wood production facility in Arnhem, the commercialisation of the Accoya^® Wood brand and Accsys’ listing on both the London AIM and Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchanges during which time he organised equity financings of more than €200 million to establish and build the business.

Willy has a B.A. from the University of Durham and has lived in Geneva, Switzerland for more than 20 years, where he has his own Private Office and investment company.

Colin McKendrick, Chief Executive Officer snap

Colin McKendrick is an international business leader with over 35 years of global experience with Shell, heading wholly owned and joint venture chemicals businesses, including the construction, start-up, and operational phases of new chemical production facilities in China, Asia and globally.

Having started his career at Shell Research in 1984, Colin has subsequently fulfilled a variety of roles at Shell Chemicals, including as a director of Shell Chemicals Ltd, before leaving Shell at the end of 2020. Between 2014 and 2018, he was deputy-CEO of the US$10bn Shell-CNOOC CSPC joint venture, one of the largest Sino-foreign joint ventures in China. During his lengthy career, Colin has served as Shell’s shareholder representative and board member on numerous joint ventures. He has been posted in Beijing, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Colin has a PhD in chemistry from Edinburgh University and an MBA from Durham University.

Briony Mathieson, Non-executive Director snap

Briony has 30 years’ experience in communications, marketing and sustainability across multiple industry sectors. Since 2011 she has worked at Olam International, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange, SGX, one of the world’s largest food ingredient and agri-businesses, and is currently Chief Marketing Officer of one of its principal operating divisions, having previously been Head of Global Communications. Prior to that she worked as Head of Marketing and Communications in the UK for Prince Charles at ‘The Prince’s Rainforests Project’ campaigning to halt global deforestation. She previously held a variety of senior roles across the whole marketing mix, having started as a graduate in advertising.

Adrian Wyn-Griffiths, Executive Director and Company Secretary snap

Adrian qualified as a Solicitor at S J Berwin & Co in 1989, specialising in corporate finance and international M&A transactions. In 1995 he joined the in-house legal team at Diageo and was heavily involved in the merger and restructuring of the Guinness and GrandMet businesses. Since leaving Diageo he has held various senior legal and management positions at a number of internationally quoted companies including Scottish & Newcastle, Akzo Nobel, Thales and National Grid. He also worked at Accsys Technologies from 2007 until 2010 as General Counsel and Company Secretary, and including dealing with the Accoya^®Wood Technology Licence Agreement and contractual agreements with Sikkens, the Akzo Nobel wood coatings company.

He has over 35 years multi-cultural experience of the wood, alcohol, coatings, defence and energy sectors including expertise in M&A, restructuring projects, technology licensing, intellectual property development and protection, risk management, compliance and regulatory matters and dispute resolution. Immediately before joining the company he was involved in the sale of a controlling stake of National Grid’s gas distribution business providing legal and M&A expertise to the directors and senior management of the company.

Adrian joined the CBM board on 14 June 2016 and is engaged as an Executive Director and the Company Secretary.

Simon Allocca, Non-Executive Director snap

Simon has 30 years’ experience in banking, spanning capital markets, corporate coverage, risk and investment banking business. From 2011 to 2019 he was the Managing Director of Industrials and Transportation at Lloyds Banking Group. Prior to that he was Global Head of Lloyds’ Loan Markets and Infrastructure Finance, and he chaired, and was a member of, various risk and governance committees for Lloyds’ Commercial Bank Division. He previously held senior roles at BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking based in the UK.