FOUNDER

Patrick’s mission is to make a sustainable world a reality through skills-building and job creation.

At Olive People, he is responsible for growth strategies and product development.

During his time, as an international HR Manager in both the manufacturing and the nature conservation industries, he has experienced first-hand the complex HR challenges met by sustainability companies and organizations.

Leading projects in the 2nd largest rainforest on Earth, he has measured how urgent our collective need to transform skills and jobs is, if we want to make economies and life sustainable.

Previously he has held directorial and managerial roles in business development and marketing in six European countries.

Patrick has been a Lecturer at the African Leadership University’s Business School (Rwanda and Mauritius) and a guest trainer at the Google Learning Center in NYC.

He is a multi-certified expert : Certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Certified Professional in Human Resources – International (PHRi™).

He holds a Certificate in Instructional Design with ATD, the world leader for training and certifying talent development professionals.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in business management from HEC Liège/University of Liège (Belgium) and a Certificate in Human Resources Management from Rutgers University (USA).

Patrick has travelled in 58 countries.

He is fluent in 6 languages.

PROJECT & FINANCE OFFICER

In her role, Carole is responsible for all administrative and financial aspects of projects.

Also, she manages the company’s finances and reporting activities. She is responsible for financial planning, cash flow operations, and contributes to establishing financial processes and policies.

Carole began her career at Iles de Paix, a prominent non-profit organization in Belgium. She was largely responsible for day-to-day operations, financial processes, administrative support, as well as fundraising campaigns.

She has a solid track record in sustainability projects, including a project in Greece for restoring a community farm and making it self-financing and a project in rural Morocco for building a childcare ecosystem.  

Carole holds a Master’s degree in science of management and a Bachelor’s degree in business management, both from HEC Liège/University of Liège (Belgium).

FORESTRY ENGINEER & ENGAGEMENT ASSOCIATE

Jemima Obandza is a forestry engineer passionate about connecting science, people, and purpose. With a strong background in tropical forest management and biodiversity conservation, she brings both technical expertise and a human-centered approach to her work.

At Olive People, she leads research projects and manages engagement initiatives with higher education institutions, alumni associations, scientific communities, and industry networks across Africa.

In parallel, she teaches geographic information systems (GIS) and emerging technologies at the Denis Sassou Nguesso University (Brazzaville Congo).

Before joining Olive People, Jemima gained hands-on experience in ecosystem services analysis, sustainable forest management, and environmental education through fieldwork and research in the Congo Basin, including collaborations with ERAIFT-UNESCO, Enabel, the international development agency of the Kingdom of Belgium; and the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Brussels Belgium).

She holds a Master’s degree in integrated management and land use planning from ERAIFT -UNESCO, and a Bachelor’s degree in forestry sciences and techniques from Marien Ngouabi University (Brazzaville Congo).