Wesley E. Lipner

Current Roles

Green Drake – San Francisco, CA / Queenstown, New Zealand (Head of Conservation and Land Use Planning | 2019 – Present)
Grassy Creek – London, England (Partner / Co-Founder | 2008 – 2014)
Eleven Experience – London, England (Partner / Co-Founder | 2008 – 2014)
Handprint Impact Partners (Special Advisor / Consultant | 2024 – Present)
Local Capital Group – San Francisco, CA (Partner | 2014 – 2019)
The CAC Group (now owned by CBRE) – San Francisco, CA (Associate | 2004 – 2008)
Otago Trust Group – Dunedin, New Zealand (Associate | 2002 – 2003)

Developed and implemented sustainable land use, conservation, and habitat restoration strategies on multiple New Zealand Stations spanning more than 100k acres
Led carbon credit program by registration with the New Zealand Government’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)
Expanded Carbon credit program as a template in a study across 30 stations with a combined area of 990,000 acres
Created and managed 8,500 acres under Conservation Covenants with the NZ Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust (QEII)
Launched a native tree reforestation program leveraging carbon credit revenues
Designed and led biodiversity repopulation programs for endangered bird species
Co-founded Grassy Creek with Chad Pike, former co-head of Real Estate and co-founder of Tactical Opportunities at Blackstone
Sourced and executed $200 million in cross border acquisitions across nine countries
Created and scaled three construction companies, and directed architecture and design/build development in multiple countries
Co-founded Eleven Experience and built / led teams in the US and internationally
Co-created Grassy Creek Foundation for environmental conservation and wildlife protection

University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand – Graduate Studies – Corporate Entrepreneurship / 2003
St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York – B.A. English / 2001
North American Aviation – Danbury, CT – FAA Certified Flight Instructor | 2001 – 2002

Angler and hunter
Landscape conservation projects uniting nature and sustainable farming and ranching
Adventure races, including Coast-to-Coast race across the South Island of New Zealand

California Trout – Ambassador, San Francisco, CA 2005 – 2010
North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NASF) – Ambassador, Reykjavik, Iceland 2008 – 2015
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), New Zealand – Active member; US / NZ fundraising & events 2019 – Present

Resides in Mill Valley, CA with his wife Megan and two young children, Annabelle and Wyatt