George Polk is deeply involved in sustainable real asset investments, notably through his affiliation with Vision Ridge and his board positions at Vision RNG, C-Quest Capital, and Cool Planet Group.
Since 2020, George has served as a Partner at Vision Ridge and is responsible for investment into sustainable real assets for the organization. Previously, he has built a reputation as a serial entrepreneur, with his most recent role as the founder and CEO of The Cloud Networks Ltd.
George’s expertise extends to advisory roles where he has served as a Senior Advisor to McKinsey and as an Adviser to George Soros on climate change-related investments. Recognized as a Global Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, George has also pioneered several nonprofit organizations and initiatives, including the European Climate Foundation and the Carbon War Room. Currently, he sits on the board of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
George earned an AB in History from Harvard University.
Ken Newcombe
Founder & Vice Chairman
Ken is the Founder and former CEO of C-Quest Capital, the culmination of his lifelong dedication to providing sustainable and clean energy solutions to help those most vulnerable to climate change.
Ken spent his early career as the CEO of the Papua New Guinea Power Utility company and Head of Energy Planning for PNG before spending over two decades at the World Bank where he pioneered the global carbon trade. He designed and raised funding for the world’s first carbon fund (Prototype Carbon Fund), which led the way in creating high integrity greenhouse gas emission reductions as a commodity for global trade. He then oversaw the design and management of seven additional carbon fund with US$2B under management.
Ken subsequently joined Climate Change Capital as a Co-Head of Carbon Markets, and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in the Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodities Division in New York, and then finally founding C-Quest Capital in 2008. He has a doctorate in Energy and Natural Resource Management and Health from the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, and Business Management training from Harvard Business School.
Jules Kortenhorst
Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director
Jules Kortenhorst serves as the CEO of C-Quest Capital. Prior to assuming this role, Jules was a partner at Vision Ridge Partners, a sustainable real assets investor capitalizing on the global transition to sustainability.
Beginning his career as a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Co, Jules spent nearly a decade in various roles, including Managing Director for Royal Dutch/Shell/Shell Bulgaria. He also served as a member of the Dutch parliament for the Christian Democratic Party.
Jules's credentials include leadership roles as CEO at several organizations dedicated to addressing climate change, including RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute), a leading climate change NGO, the European Climate Foundation (which he founded), the largest philanthropic organization dedicated to climate change in Europe, and the International Operations of ClientLogic Corporation, a global leader in outsourced customer relationship management.
Notably, Jules has chaired the WEF Global Future Councils for Energy and for Net Zero. He is a founding member of the global Energy Transitions Commission, chairman of ENSTALL Solar Group, and a board member of Circle Economy, an NGO supporting the circularity movement.
Jules holds a master’s in economics from Erasmus University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mark Woodall
Chief Revenue Officer & Executive Director
Mark leads all capital raising, business development, investment, and commercial activities for CQC. As an entrepreneur, investor, adviser, and board member, Mark has been a leader in the development and financing of renewable energy, carbon, and clean technologies for more than 25 years. He has founded and led two specialist investment banking firms focused on the low carbon economy: Impax Capital (1994) and Climate Change Capital (2002), where he raised the world’s largest private-sector carbon fund (over $1 billion) in 2005 and served as the Chair of the Investment Committee. He has been the adviser, investor, or principal in c.100 cleantech transactions with total capital deployed of over US$5 billion. Mark has also acted as a non-executive board member of a dozen companies and has been a member of half a dozen investment committees for clean energy infrastructure and technology funds.
