Why Dryland^carbon?

Not all carbon forestry organisations are the same – far from it. Forestry is a long-term commitment and Dryland ^carbon has objectives and values clearly aligned to New Zealand’s rural sector.

Dryland ^carbon will not plant productive, high-quality pastoral farmland and has walked away from such transactions. But we will work with farmers to plant the steep, erosion-prone parts of a farm which are unsafe and uneconomic to farm.

We seek to be the trusted, transparent forestry and carbon farming partner of choice.

• Knowing who you are dealing with: Dryland ^carbon is backed by four kiwi companies, all committed to transparency, environmental best-practice and to supporting local communities.
• Genuine partnership: Dryland ^carbon prefers a long-term partnership model - farmers retain ownership of the land and receive an annual lease payment. Dryland ^carbon provides the capital and manages the planting, forestry, ETS operations and administration.
• Managing risk: Under this model, Dryland ^carbon manages the risks in a transparent partnership with landowners, leaving them free to focus on the rest of their farming business.

Will is one of the principals behind Dryland^carbon (alongside Chris). Will is not involved in the day to day management of Dryland^carbon but provides assistance to Colin as and when required, along with general governance of the entity.

In Will’s day-to-day role he manages the Lewis Tucker team alongside Chris Morrison, an Agri-focused professional advisory business. Prior to joining Lewis Tucker in 2014, Will worked for Todd Corporation in the Corporate Development team with Chris where he was a senior member of the team whose role included deal origination, execution, investment and sector analysis, strategy development, capital management and raising capital for investee companies in New Zealand and offshore. Prior to joining Todd, Will was at Summerset Group Holdings where he assisted in the facilitation of its successful IPO in 2011. This followed a graduate career with AMP Capital.

Chris is one of the principals behind Dryland^carbon. Chris is involved in the governance of Dryland^carbon.

In Chris’ day-today role he is Managing Director of Lewis Tucker, which he founded in 2013. Prior to Lewis Tucker, Chris spent over 20 years across two tenures at the Todd Corporation, during which time Chris headed the Corporate Development Team charged with the responsibility of originating, acquiring, managing and divesting assets in both New Zealand and offshore. Chris’ wider roles included oversight of strategy development, executing major transactions and proactively managing investments that required competence in senior governance roles. Chris also had 3 years at HRL Morrison & Co in the mid-90’s and as a graduate, worked in the horticultural export sector for PGG Wrightson’s.

Beyond providing oversight of Lewis Tucker, Chris is the Chairman of Veterinary Enterprises Group and, a Director of FarmIQ. Chris also has pastoral farming interests in the Wairarapa.

Colin is responsible for the day to day oversight and management of Dryland^carbon.

Colin joined Dryland^carbon in 2019 and having previously spent 7 years leading teams across the energy and logistics sectors in New Zealand and the UK. These roles included providing governance and financial leadership on sale and purchase transactions at The Todd Corporation and New Zealand Post. Prior to arriving in New Zealand in 2012, Colin spent 5 years in Audit and Assurance Services at Ernst & Young in Scotland.

Colin is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland (ICAS) and has an Honours degree in Accountancy from the University of Glasgow.

Fin joined Dryland^carbon in 2019 bringing with him a deep understanding, passion and knowledge of the NZ agricultural industry.

Fin spent eight years working in senior leadership roles within Farmlands and Landcorp. These roles included strategic management, environmental and financial performance, leadership of large teams, and responsibility for health and safety. Fin also had responsibility for the management of large multiple farm development projects.

Prior to Landcorp Fin spent seven years living in London working in procurement and supply chain management for BP, his passion and interest have however always been in agriculture, having spent much of his early life living and working on farms.

James’s primary responsibilities for Dryland^carbon include initial land and ETS mapping and financial modelling to support the evaluation of new acquisition and landowner Joint Venture opportunities.

James joined Lewis Tucker in 2019 from KPMG Wellington where he worked in the Deal Advisory and Tax teams. During his time at KPMG James worked on numerous buy-side and sell-side assignments, undertook sector analysis, due diligence, and M&A advice across a range of industries.

Through his work at Lewis Tucker, James has developed significant analytical skills in relation to land use economics across the horticulture and agriculture industries which enable him to accurately and efficiently assess land opportunities against the Partnership’s objectives and obligations to the communities in which it operates.