Professional and diverse

Management, Strategic Development

Based on his career as financial consultant and development banker, Thomas thought consulting and management services in the utility sectors should integrate economists and engineers as well as social scientists in a core team of permanent international staff for sustainable solutions. Thus MACS was born.

His experience in micro- and macro-economic policy analysis as well as detailed sector assessments in the fields of Finance, Water and Energy makes Thomas an expert in developing comprehensive finance strategies for network utilities including building the institutional and policy framework around it.

As one of the Partners and Managing Directors of MACS he is responsible for strategic development and controlling.

Management, Chief of Operations

Matthias has a degree in agricultural science and postgraduate honors in rural development and more than 20 years of professional experience in international development projects. At MACS he developed into a prolific Project Manager and Institutional Expert as well as Team Leader who played a major role during the very successful rehabilitation program for water and sanitation in Batumi (Georgia).

In the field of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Matthias has developed a profile for himself and MACS through his work of coordinating the finance division for energy projects in the framework of the Green for Growth Fund (GGF), which has earned a reputation as one of the leading EE/RE funds today.

As one of the Partners and Managing Directors of MACS, Matthias is responsible for operations and financial management at MACS.

Business Development

Zoe holds a bachelors degree in Economics from Frankfurt’s own Goethe University.

At MACS Zoe supports the Acquisition and business development team as well as the overall office administration, focussing mainly on the selection of new interesting projects for the company.

Before joining MACS Zoe could collect some work experience at her voluntary ecological year before starting university.

Wind power

Tim Meyer has a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management with focus on Energy Engineering. With over 15 years of professional project experience in financing renewable energy projects and due diligences studies in India, Vietnam, MENA Region, Latin America, China, Ethiopia and the Caribbean countries, he is now our senior expert with specific focus on wind power. His expertise as Team Leader was proven in several large wind and solar energy projects: e.g. in the Atacama Desert in Chile, and through the ex-post evaluation of wind energy projects in developing countries such as Jordan. In Serbia, Tim has carried out the technical due diligence and project monitoring for the La Piccolina Wind Park close to the city of Vršac, which is one of the first wind parks in the county. Besides, Time performed the technical due diligence for other wind park projects in Serbia in the framework of the GGF activities.

German is his mother tongue, but he also speaks French, English and Spanish fluently, which allows him to pursue project challenges without language barriers in many different regions.

Water & Sanitation utility O&M

Harald is a Technical Engineer in Wastewater Technology, with a post-graduate degree from the Technological University Merseburg, Germany. He used to be a technical utility director for over 20 years and also worked as an operations engineer. Altogether, he has over 25 years of professional experience in the water supply and wastewater sectors.

In his work, Harald focuses on operations and maintenance procedures, manuals and workflow analysis, with special attention directed to improvements in the management of technical water and wastewater facilities.

Harald has excellent communication skills in German as well as English and works well in international and interdisciplinary teams.

Environmental policy & law

Nicolas holds a master’s degree in Engineering from the Ecole des Mines de Paris and also studied Economics and Law at Sciences Po Paris and Université Panthéon-Sorbonne.

He has several years professional experience at the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, advising the French Environment Minister’s staff on public policies for energy efficiency and renewable energies, especially environmental taxation and feed-in tariffs. He took part to a research project aiming at improving European environmental law.

He also helped designing an investment fund and put in place several green credit schemes in some leading European banking institutions. He is used to taking part to the technical and economic evaluation of investment projects. Finally, he has skills in economic modelling and Life Cycle Analysis.

Renewable Energy

Julio Sanchez is a mechanical engineer holding a M.Sc. in Renewable Energies with over 23 years of combined experience with renewable and conventional power generation. Mr. Sanchez was active as a consultant during the privatization of the energy sector in Colombia and between 2004 and 2017 en-gaged by the main German international energy consultancy firms as a Senior Project Manager and Lead Expert for solar and wind projects.

Mr. Sanchez has performed studies and due diligences for more than 300 MW of solar power deals, alongside with technical support for the development of wind parks in Central America and Asia. He is experienced in the preparation of tenders for large solar projects totaling over 500 MW and ambitious renewable energy master plans in the order of several GW, as well as independent engineering for concentrating solar power projects with a total capacity of about 500 MW in different countries includ-ing Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

Gender & Communications

Lia holds a Master degree in English Philology and a PhD in Educational Sciences with the focus on university– enterprise cooperation and curricula modernization. Before that, she was trained as a medical doctor. She is a senior communication expert with MACS and the program coordinator of the Rural Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Program in Ajara, Georgia and also involved as a communication expert in many other projects.

Before joining MACS, Lia held the position of assistant professor at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, where apart from academic achievements, she gained solid experience in staff management.

During her studies in her professional life, she lived in Bulgaria, Spain and Russia. Next to her mother tongue Georgian, Lia speaks English and Russian, as well as basic Turkish and Spanish.

Marketing & PR

Carsten holds an M.A. in Political Sciences, Economic Policies, and German Philology from the University of Münster. With professional origins in journalism and a traineeship in PR, Carsten has 20 years of experience in corporate communications and marketing both in communication agencies and on the corporate side.

Among other positions, Carsten headed the in-house agency of the largest private university in Germany for five years. His focus is in the areas of corporate communications, corporate publishing and in the conception and implementation of cross-media marketing campaigns.

At MACS, Carsten supports the project teams wherever the development and implementation of project-related PR and marketing measures are concerned. Carsten speaks German and English.

Rural Sanitation, Policy and Finance

Kassyo is our Brazilian finance expert who combines an MBA in International Business with over 10 years of professional working experience in non-profit-organizations. He is mainly active in our Latin American projects focusing on capacity development, training and educational measures for the staff of non-profit service providers as well as on management support to project implementation units. Besides Latin America, he has performed assignments in Uganda and Mozambique.

Kassyo uses his financial modeling skills to support the development of cost covering water supply services and his familiarity with participatory training methods has enabled him to implement business plans and financial projections as living documents, which can be administered by the people in the project. Kassyo is fluent in Portuguese and English.

Software Development

Akaki Tugushi is an IT expert who holds a degree in Advanced Engineering Nuclear Physics. He has 25 years of experience in Software Engineering as well as Data Base Management and greatly contributed to the development of our billing and information system Belle TM.

In close coordination with our project managers, Akaki has helped to implement Belle in our urban water supply project in Batumi, Georgia and in several rural water projects in Brazil. In doing so, he gained a comprehensive understanding of the sometimes quite different IT requirements, which are fitting for urban or rural water systems. Akaki is fluent in Georgian, Russian and English.

Green Credit Lines, Energy Audits, Sustainable Energy & Research

Jelena holds two Master of Science degrees, in Physics and in Energy Engineering. In her second master program,  Energy for sustainable development, with a special focus on developing countries, she had the opportunity to work on projects in renewable energy for rural electrification and circular economy.

At MACS, she does research work on alternative energy resources and their efficiency, including environmental and social impact assessment for the Green for Growth Fund. Besides this, Jelena is also doing energy research and energy audits for the Eco credit lines for several banks in Serbia.

Outside of the office, she is a basketball player with experience in international competitions. Thanks to her university career at Politecnico di Milano, Jelena is fluent in English and Italian, apart from her Serbian mother tongue, and speaks some Spanish and German as well.

Green Credit Lines, Technical Evaluations & Energy Audits

Miloš is a mechanical engineer specialized in process engineering and environmental protection. With his previous experience as a project design engineer for industrial facilities, his professional focus lies on improving and optimizing the energy consumption of existing facilities. In addition to that, Miloš has extensive experience in the field of renewable energy, focusing on project design of wind parks and technical evaluations of small hydro-power plants and biomass/biogas facilities.

eSave Implementation and Trainings

Since over 10 years, Valentina Matkovic Kovacevic has supported the MACS consulting team in the conceptualization and didactical design of MACS training activities and has led or moderated RE/EE trainings and workshops for several KfW and GGF sponsored credit lines. She has worked with loan officers of many banks, e.g. Banka Intesa, Komercijalna Banka and Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad in Serbia, CKB and Erstebank in Montenegro, as well as Raiffeisenbank in Bosnia & Herzegovina, and helped them adapt to the requirements of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency lending. Furthermore Mrs. Matkovic provides permanent support and training for eSave, the MACS RE/EE calculation tool for RE/EE Credit lines. As the senior EE trainer, she is assigned to the design of training methods and training materials, and to the supervision of training activities.

Energy and Process Engineering

Holger is Energy and Process Engineer and the Head of our Energy Department. He holds an engineering degree from the Berlin Technical University and has about 20 years of experience in the evaluation, design and management of energy projects, including energy service companies (ESCO).

At MACS, Holger plays a key role in developing and steering the company’s activities in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE/EE). As a chief engineer, project manager and deputy project manager, he has led several expert teams during the implementation of RE/EE credit lines in Southeast Europe. Currently his focus is on the technical operations lead in the MACS role of the Technical Advisor of the GGF (Green for Growth Fund). Moreover, he has carried out market studies for RE/EE in countries like Turkey and Mozambique.

Driven by the vision of sustainable solutions of RE and EE measures counteracting climate change and the carefree depletion of natural resources, he has been key for the development of our standardized validation approach for energy savings and CO₂ emission reductions (eSave).

Heading the Energy Department, he is also representing the company in our relations with clients and partners.

Climate Change and Sustainability

Johannes holds a Diploma in Energy Engineering and has more than 25 years of professional experience within consulting, utilities, and project development businesses.

Johannes brings extensive technological experience in renewable energy systems and energy efficiency to MACS. This includes biomass, landfill and biogas, as well as solar PV assets. His background in energy efficiency ranges from cogeneration and district heating to buildings. His know-how encompasses (pre)feasibility studies, due diligence, energy audits, rehabilitation and expansion strategies for energy systems, market and competition analyses, as well as mergers and acquisitions advice. Johannes’ in depth understanding and hands-on experience in carbon markets and project-based emission reduction activities complement his profile.

As Project and Team Manager at MACS, Johannes puts his competencies in all areas project handling, including stakeholder and intercultural management, to work for our clients. Besides his mother tongue, German, Johannes is fluent in English and Spanish.

Hydro Power and Bio Mass

Reinhold Metzler is a mechanical engineer with over 30 years of professional experience as a consultant for Hydropower- as well as Biomass- and Windpower Projects.

Recently he has helped MACS to come up with a comprehensive due diligence methodology for the assessment and development of Renewable Energy projects in the framework of the Green for Growth Fund.

In comparison to more traditional concepts, our approach transcends the feasibility assessments which are common in conventional due diligence. Instead, we support the full process of project genesis, which means not only approving or disapproving projects but trying to find solutions if a project is stuck or not well designed.

Reinhold’s asset in this regard is his ability to communicate relevant project-aspects according to the perspective of the different stakeholders. This way we are able to support project development and quality assurance from the technical and from the banking side. In addition to German, Reinhold speaks English, Spanish and French.

Planning and Supervision for Water and Sanitation

Wolfgang Schwaab is our senior expert for rural and urban water and sanitary projects with more than 38 years of professional experience. Wolfgang is very experienced in planning, appraising and supervising water and sanitation projects in urban and rural water as well as interdisciplinary projects in infrastructure, energy saving and environmental protection in over 45 different countries around the globe.

At MACS, Wolfgang supports our Water Department with technical and project management expertise in both rural and urban Water and Sanitation and interdisciplinary infrastructure projects. Besides German, Wolfgang is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Green Credit Lines, Technical Due Diligence and Energy Audits

Nikola has an MSc in Electrical Engineering and his professional focus at MACS is on RE/EE projects, knowledge transfer and project management. Since April 2015, Nikola is also the Managing Director of MACS Serbia and responsible for the business development of this office.

Nikola is a “bankers engineer” – having performed technical due diligences of many RE/EE projects and countless RE/EE trainings for bank staff during implementation of RE/EE Credit Lines and loan products at banks in Western Balkan, Caucasus and Turkey.

On top of his technical skills, Nikola possesses outstanding language skills; he is fluent in English, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian besides his mother tongue Serbian.

Financial affairs advisory

The financial analyst and financial affairs advisor Marina Ilić holds a degree in Marketing and has almost 19 years of professional experience in placements, debt collecting, accounting and balancing, financial reporting, financial and client analysis, in diverse management positions.

She advised the credit committee of a factoring company in Belgrade as a financial analyst, developing, negotiating and implementing repayment schedules and controlling interest rates. She is assigned to the verification of RE-EE loans, provides permanent support for eSave and to respective updates of the MACS eSave online tool. Ms. Ilić is a native Serbo-Croatian speaker and speaks English and French, too.

Software Development

Ognjen is a senior computer scientist and IT consultant with over 12 years of experience in commercial, academic and management activities. He holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Computer Science from TU Wien, Austria.

Prior to joining MACS, Ognjen has been working as a software developer for major international software companies, managed and participated in academic and commercial research projects, taught advanced Master courses at the Vienna University of Technology in the fields of Distributed and Cloud Computing, and headed a university spin-off startup company.

At MACS Ognjen is responsible for designing, planning and overseeing the development and maintenance process of the entire portfolio of MACS software tools, as well as for managing and coordinating a team of remote developers.

Besides his native Serbian, Ognjen is also fluent in English, German, Italian and Spanish.

Environmental and Climate Impact

Dr Prosper Evadzi is a Geospatial, Environmental, and Climate Impact Scientist whose primary goal is to contribute to the sustainable development of the environment. 

His past work and research focused on sustainable land and water management, municipal transit waste management, Schistosomiasis, land use/change assessment, and environmental impact assessment at the physical landscape level.

He will explore the dynamics and quantify the impact of the physical climate on Energy and Water infrastructures which is crucial to minimizing risk and supporting the resilience of financial institutions to climate risk.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Ana is an electrical engineer focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon acounting. Her early interstes in renewable energy awarded her master theses on software tools for planning and design of PV plants with the prestious Nikola Tesla Award for Youth creativity. She was part of  investment team for the development of one of the biggest wind power projects in Serbia, where she gained valuable knowledge about project planning and implementation. Later on she extended her skills to design of energy efficient electrical systems in the building sector.

At MACS Ana is in charge for research on enhanced renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, GHG acounting and climate change. She directly supports financing institutions with the managment of their green loan portfolios and non-financial reporting matters related to climate issues. 

Ana is fluent in English and German, besides Serbian as her mother tongue.

Climate and Energy Efficiency

Nima Hosseini holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Izmir, Turkey and a Masters of Science Degree in Renewable Energy and E-mobility. The Thesis topic focused on Artificial Neural Networks on Fuel Cells.

At MACS, he will support the Climate Service Area with a focus on GHG Accounting and Carbon Markets.

He speaks Kurdish, Persian,Turkish, English and a little bit of German. 

Rural Sanitation, Policy and Finance

Karine holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Brazil and a Master's Degree in International Business completed in the USA. She is a Brazilian finance expert with over 20 years of professional working experience in private companies and non-profit organization.

She lived abroad for 11 years and developed her career in national and multinational companies focusing on: Strategic and Financial Planning; Budget Control and Cost Management; Contract management; Negotiation and Relationship with Banking Institutions; Preparation of Financial Reports and Management Presentations; Participation in bidding processes.

Karine is fluent in Portuguese and English.

Software Development

Sven Helemann is an IT development expert with more than 30 years of experience.

He has been part of the MACS team since the company was founded.

Over the past 20 years, he has been actively involved in the development of the in-house IT management software, continuously enhancing functionalities such as a personal mailing system, a cloud structure repository, tools for billing, and asset-planning and controlling.

In parallel, Mr. Helemann has extensive experience in the development of IT solutions, implementation of modern front-end frameworks, back-end solutions, large-scale content management systems and database management.

Mr. Helemann speaks fluent English and German.

Office Management and Administration

Maria is an experienced Office Manager with a background in biology, environmental and project management. She holds a diploma in biology, which has fostered her systematic and analytical problem-solving skills.

She has a wide range of experience in customer service, sales, as well as business development. Her strong focus on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been instrumental in driving business growth and maintaining long-term customer satisfaction.

She is the designated ISO 45001 representative at MACS and also additionally certified as an environmental manager and environmental officer, focussing on the incorporation of sustainable practices into the workplace to promote environmental responsibility. As such she plays a key role in ensuring the smooth running of MACS' office operations and the success of the business.

As a multilingual professional, she is fluent in English, German and Spanish.
 

Water Resources and Environmental Management

Ms. Lina Saenz completed her bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering in Colombia, her home country. Additionally, she holds a master's degree in Water Resources and Environmental Management from Leibniz University of Hannover. During her professional career, Ms. Saenz has worked on a wide range of projects in Colombia, Panamá, Ecuador and Germany. This makes her a highly adaptable professional with experience working in multicultural environments.

She has extensive experience conducting Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) and risk assessments at contaminated sites, following the required international and national environmental and health and safety standards in Colombia, Panamá and Ecuador. During her last professional experience, Ms. Saenz had the opportunity to increase and strengthen her knowledge in hazardous building materials and hazardous materials management, ESDD and further environmental training. Additionally, she had the opportunity to develop and improve her project management skills by providing client technical support to both local and international clients in Germany.

Currently, Ms. Saenz supports the MACS Team as an E&S Expert for the projects 'KfW Perdidas II' in Trujillo, Perú and 'Rural Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Program' in Ajara, Georgia, as well as in the review of the PFI’s ESMS and preparation of the ESDD and ESAPs. Ms. Saenz is fluent in English and German, on top of Spanish as her mother tongue.

Civil Engineering & Contract Management

Bojana has a MSc in Civil Engineering, with an area of specialization in Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering.

Bojana is experienced in contract management and before joining MACS was acting as a Qa/Qc Manager during the execution of multiple international projects, such as construction and rehabilitation of water supply and wastewater networks, treatment plants, water intakes, protective dams, reservoirs and related structures.
At MACS, Bojana acts as Assistant Team Leader on the Ajara Rural Water Supply and Wastewater Program.
Beside Serbian as her native language, Bojana is fluent in English, Russian and Spanish.

Non-Revenue Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering

Dr. Josep Pons is a hydraulic researcher with almost 20 years of experience in water engineering, including Non-Revenue Water (NRW) control strategies, water networks modelling, and water management research.

He is a Doctor in Water Engineering, with his thesis titled “NRW-Smart: a simulation-based tool for the management of the Non-Revenue Water in urban and rural water supply systems using mathematical models”. Josep also holds master’s degrees in Hydraulic Engineering and Environment and in Rural Civil Engineering.

As a lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, his research focuses on water supply management, solar photovoltaic pumping and assessing water system resilience to climate change.

At MACS, Josep is responsible for the research of the Water Smart platform, and for the design, modelling, simulation, and construction of hydraulic infrastructure in both rural and urban project contexts. He has contributed extensively to NRW management in the Municipal Infrastructure Project in Batumi, Georgia, throughout all its phases.

Besides Catalan as mother tongue and Spanish as native, Josep is fluent in English and Portuguese, and he has international experience developing water supply projects, specializing in hydraulic management, and optimizing infrastructure design.