Mike is a botanist and conservationist with over 35 year’s experience in leading conservation initiatives, He started his conservation career studying horticulture and botany at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, later doing a PhD on the conservation management of threatened plants.

Over the last 35 years Mike has worked with some of the most threatened species and habitats on the planet, having worked on species conservation and ecological restoration in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, USA, and Hawai’i. Mike has worked with business looking at biodiversity impacts and opportunities for biodiversity gain. Until recently Mike was Executive Director of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative with oversight of the Endangered Landscapes Programme-one of Europe’s largest restoration initiatives. Mike is a board member of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (UAE) and the Conservation Collective (UK), a scientific advisor to the Fondation Franklinia, a frequent collaborator with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership (CISL) and research associate at the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter.