ABOUT JERRARA
ENVIRONMENTAL
The Jerrara Environmental Difference
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Exceptional depth of experience and proven abilities within our experienced team.
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Our sharp focus and clear objectives are targeted at the Australian waste treatment market.
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Our collaborative partnership approach ensures strength, scalability and sustained growth.
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Local impact with national scale through a unified platform of facilities and expertise.
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Our people and experience in building trust while driving continuously improving environmental outcomes.
Meet the Jerrara Holdings Board
A highly experienced team of independent directors guiding Jerrara’s growth and governance.
Geoffrey Cundle
Chair
Geoffrey brings over four decades of international leadership experience across logistics, marine, beverages, and waste infrastructure. As Chair of John Swire & Sons (Australia) Pty Ltd and Steamships Trading Co. Ltd, he has held senior roles throughout the Swire Group, including Managing Director appointments at China Navigation, Swire Beverages, and Steamships, and as Executive Director of Swire Pacific Marine.
Geoffrey’s tenure as Executive Director of Swire Pacific’s Trading & Industries Division included board-level oversight of Swire SITA, a leading waste management venture in Greater China.
He brings extensive operating and governance acumen to support Jerrara’s ambition to become a best-in-class industrial platform.
Chris Berkefeld
Director
Chris is a seasoned executive with over 35 years of leadership experience spanning waste management, industrial services, and infrastructure across Australia and Europe.
He served as Managing Director and CEO of Cleanaway Australia from 2003 to 2007, playing a central role in its sale to KKR and subsequent acquisition by Transpacific Industries. From 2009 to 2011, Chris chaired Waste Services NSW, guiding its successful transition and sale to Sita Australia. He currently sits on the board of Tellus Holdings Ltd and has held directorships at John Swire & Sons Australia, Wagner, and Hiway Group.
At Jerrara, he draws on a unique blend of operational insight and board governance to lead platform building, strategic acquisitions, and integration.
Daniel Teoh
Director
Daniel offers over 18 years of experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic advisory across industrials and infrastructure. Formerly Co-Head of Industrials at UBS Investment Banking Australia, he has worked across UBS offices in Hong Kong and New York.
His transaction track record includes over 50 deals exceeding $200 billion, covering sectors such as waste, engineering, industrial services, private equity, minority investments, and technology. His clients have included leading corporates, private equity firms, and government bodies.
At Jerrara, Daniel brings sharp financial acumen and transactional depth to drive capital deployment, deal structuring, and investor engagement.
Emmanuel Vivant
Director
Emmanuel is a civil engineer with over 30 years of global experience delivering large-scale industrial and waste infrastructure projects.
Beginning his career with complex turn-key projects including refineries and paper mills, he joined SITA (now Suez) in 1994, taking on senior operational roles across Asia and Australia. As Executive Director, Post Collection at SITA Australia, Emmanuel led the acquisition of WSN and spearheaded the development of high-complexity waste facilities, such as the East Rockingham Energy from Waste plant, which reached financial close in 2019. Through EVI Advisory, he now supports governments, operators, and investors with technical strategy and infrastructure delivery.
Emmanuel brings to Jerrara unmatched expertise in facility development, regulatory pathways, and engineering execution.
Martin Klapper
Director
Martin is a senior legal strategist with more than 30 years of experience advising energy, infrastructure, and industrial clients across Australia and globally.
Widely regarded for his work in the energy and resources sector, he has helped shape legislation and broker complex multi-party agreements involving private industry and government.
Martin previously served as a partner at HopgoodGanim Lawyers and now acts as an arbitrator at the Próspera Arbitration Center. His deep understanding of project structuring, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory frameworks makes him an invaluable asset to Jerrara, where he supports legal strategy across transactions and external engagement.
Jonathan Wong
Director
Jonathan is a Partner at Direct Capital, New Zealand’s largest private company investor. He brings over 20 years of experience across private company investing, infrastructure investing and investment banking.
Jonathan’s experience includes a senior role at Global Infrastructure Partners in the UK where he was involved in investments in the Energy and Logistics sectors.
Jonathan is also a current Director of Hiway Group and Fusion Speciality Group.
Emma Spear
Director
Emma is an Investment Director at Direct Capital, New Zealand’s largest private company investor. Her experience includes M&A and investment banking in New Zealand and the UK (primarily at KPMG). Emma is a Chartered Accountant (CA ANZ).
Emma is also a Director of Wet & Forget.
Mark Baldassarre
Director
Mark is the Managing Director of private Madaus Capital Partners and brings over 25 years of private equity and international banking experience to Jerrara. He has extensive experience in the acquisition, integration, and expansion of businesses as well as providing strategic direction to company boards and management teams.
Based in Sydney, Australia, Mark has successfully invested in numerous businesses and industries including education, telecommunications, defence, healthcare, engineering services, consumer, logistics and has waste management.
He is currently on the boards of Ashley and Martin, Scentia Education and CPS Technology and Infrastructure.
Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Monash University in Melbourne and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Meet the Jerrara Environmental Board
Deep industry expertise and hands-on operational leadership to deliver safe, scalable and sustainable waste solutions.
Chris Berkefeld
Director
Chris is a seasoned executive with over 35 years of leadership experience spanning waste management, industrial services, and infrastructure across Australia and Europe.
He served as Managing Director and CEO of Cleanaway Australia from 2003 to 2007, playing a central role in its sale to KKR and subsequent acquisition by Transpacific Industries. From 2009 to 2011, Chris chaired Waste Services NSW, guiding its successful transition and sale to Sita Australia. He currently sits on the board of Tellus Holdings Ltd and has held directorships at John Swire & Sons Australia, Wagner, and Hiway Group.
At Jerrara, he draws on a unique blend of operational insight and board governance to lead platform building, strategic acquisitions, and integration.
Peter O’Shannessy
Managing Director & CEO
With over 30 years of leadership in industrial and environmental services, Peter is a results-driven CEO renowned for delivering operational transformation, platform growth, and successful exits.
He previously served as Managing Director of three businesses within John Swire & Sons Australia, leading their merger and turnaround to form Swire MLI. Earlier, Peter held senior roles at Brambles and Cleanaway, where he led integration initiatives following Cleanaway’s acquisition by Transpacific Industries. His leadership drove 20% revenue growth over the next three years, with a focus on hazardous waste expansion, network optimisation, and capital allocation into higher-margin services.
At Jerrara, Peter brings hands-on operational expertise, sharp integration capability, and a performance-driven leadership style anchored in scalable systems and disciplined execution.
Seeba Michael
Head of Finance
Seeba brings 16 years of experience in commercial strategy and financial management, gained across consulting, corporate strategy and commercial roles in the logistics, retail and advisory sectors.
Her expertise spans commercial negotiations, financial modelling, budgeting and contract management, with a strong focus on financial discipline. Seeba has led high-value contracts and complex transactions, and is recognised for building trusted relationships with senior leaders through collaborative leadership.
Having worked across multiple countries, Seeba brings a global perspective and a practical, team-focused approach. As Head of Finance, she plays a key role in shaping Jerrara's financial and strategic direction.
Matthew Whelan
Director
Matthew brings over 25 years of operational and executive leadership across waste management, recycling, and infrastructure in both public and private sectors. He has held senior roles with Cleanaway, Citywide, HI Quality Group, and local government bodies, including serving as General Manager Landfills & Post-Collections at Cleanaway and Victorian State Manager at OneSteel Recycling.
Matthew has led the delivery of key infrastructure projects including MRFs, recycled asphalt plants, and organics facilities, while driving performance, safety, and compliance across large teams.
A former President of the Australian Council of Recyclers and an active member of AICD and WMRR, Matthew brings a hands-on understanding of industry standards and stakeholder coordination to Jerrara.
Steve Rooks
Director
Steve brings more than 20 years of senior leadership in the Australian waste management sector, with deep expertise in industrial services and environmental operations. As General Manager of Transpacific Cleanaway’s Industrial Services division, he championed the deployment of global best-practice technologies for clients in mining, petrochemicals, and manufacturing across Australia and Southeast Asia.
Steve has worked closely with State and Local Governments to design and implement sustainable and socially responsive waste management solutions. His technical knowledge spans hazardous waste handling, industrial cleaning, and complex regulatory environments, underpinned by strong stakeholder engagement.
Steve is a key contributor to Jerrara’s mission to lead with operational excellence and environmental stewardship.
Phillip Cook
Director
Phillip has over 30 years of experience across the waste and utility sectors, including water, electricity, gas, and communications. With a track record spanning engineering, finance, and executive leadership, he co-founded ITS and guided its strategic expansion ahead of its 2017 sale. He excels in scaling family-owned infrastructure businesses and delivering operational transformation.
Phillip currently advises SMEs on culture, growth strategy, and systems development, with a focus on succession planning and commercial performance.
At Jerrara, Phillip leads with a collaborative and disciplined style rooted in accountability and operational rigour.
Will Purcell
Commercial Analyst
Will brings a strong background in commercial analysis, strategy, and business transformation, with experience across infrastructure, construction, and industrial sectors. He has held senior analytical and strategic roles supporting operational performance, commercial decision-making, and organisational change.
Will worked as Strategy and Transformation Manager at Evoro, where he led initiatives focused on improving operational efficiency, delivering strategic projects, and strengthening commercial performance. Prior to this, he held roles with Pact Group Holdings as a Key Account Manager and Business Analyst, developing expertise in financial analysis, client management, and business optimisation.
At Jerrara Environmental, Will supports the project team with commercial insight and analysis to help ensure the delivery of sustainable, efficient, and well-governed environmental solutions.
Widely regarded for his work in the energy and resources sector, he has helped shape legislation and broker complex multi-party agreements involving private industry and government.
Martin previously served as a partner at HopgoodGanim Lawyers and now acts as an arbitrator at the Próspera Arbitration Center. His deep understanding of project structuring, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory frameworks makes him an invaluable asset to Jerrara, where he supports legal strategy across transactions and external engagement.