Ilse Maas of Veghel comes to join GreenTrust

Financial expert with a passion for regeneration

As of May 11, we welcome a familiar name in the energy world to GreenTrust. Ilse Maas-van Veghel will start four days a week as a business developper. One day a week, she will work on a subject close to her heart: regeneration.

In doing so, she explores how energy projects can help restore soil, nature and habitat.

Lots of experience in financing energy projects

Ilse brings extensive experience at the intersection of finance and renewable energy. She worked for years as a financial advisor on energy projects, with a focus on wind. Actually never straightforward projects, but initiatives with a ‘plus’ for the environment: in the hands of local collectives, extra eye for nature restoration, or replacing asbestos with solar roofs.

From complex financial models to negotiations with banks, Ilse knows the playing field inside and out.

A familiar name for GreenTrust

Moreover, Ilse is no stranger to GreenTrust. The first contact goes back more than ten years, when we worked together on Windpark Krammer.

“Ilse is a jack of all trades,” says director Lieuwe Dragt. “A real professional with a lot of knowledge and experience. But just as important: she is also just a very nice person. Someone who fits the family feel of our company perfectly.”

Interest in regeneration and healthy soils

After years in the energy sector, Ilse also became increasingly immersed in another issue: food security and healthy soils. During the corona period, this became especially tangible for her. When the shelves of baby food were temporarily empty, she realized as a young mother how vulnerable and unhealthy our food system actually is.

From her own company, she then worked on initiatives around regeneration and sustainable food systems.

Connecting energy projects with nature and environment

She now brings that interest to GreenTrust. “I would like to explore how we can connect energy projects with regenerative initiatives,” Ilse says. “That can start small, for example with a food forest near a wind farm. It’s about looking beyond energy production and also contributing to the restoration of nature, soil and the environment in which people live together.”

Math also remains just fun

In addition to this new angle, Ilse also continues to engage in work she enjoys: math. “Excel is actually the vegetable gardening of the office for me,” she says with a laugh. “It has just such a calming effect – yes, really!”

Why GreenTrust ?

Why she chose GreenTrust? Ilse doesn’t have to think long about that. “When I asked myself who I would most like to work with again in the energy world, I quickly came to GreenTrust. People work here with the same drive, a passion to think just that (green) step further and with attention for each other.”

We look forward to working with Ilse. Welcome to GreenTrust!