Johan Eliasch

In June 2008, the Brazilian and international media reported that the company Gethal, owned by Eliasch, had been issued a fine of R$450 million for alleged illegal deforestation in the Amazon region by IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources). Gethal was investigated facing a possible fine but after the investigation ended, Gethal was not fined. Eliasch did not own Gethal at the time when the activities under investigation took place.

Eliasch, a conservative, served in the British Government, as the non-political Special Representative of the then Labour Party Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Deforestation and Clean Energy from 2007 to 2010. He served in different roles for the Conservative Party between 1999 and 2007, as Party Deputy Treasurer (2003–07), Special Advisor to the Leaders of the opposition (William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith) and shadow Foreign Secretaries (Michael Howard, Francis Maude and Michael Ancram) (1999–2006). He covered Shadow Foreign Relations (2003–2006) as part of the Shadow Foreign Office team. In 2006 he and Michael Ancram set up Global Strategy Forum, a foreign affairs think tank based in London; he remains President. He was a member of the Austrian President's delegation of State for Trade and Industry 1996–2006. He was chairman of the Young Conservatives Party in Djursholm, Sweden (1979–1982).

In 2007 he was commissioned by HM Government to undertake an independent review on the role of international finance mechanisms to preserve the global forests in tackling climate change, 'The Eliasch Review' , which was launched by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street in October 2008. The Eliasch Review has served as a guideline for REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) as part of the international climate change convention.

He has also served on the boards of IMG (2006–13) and the British Paralympics Association (2002-2009), the sports advisory board of Shimon Peres Peace Centre (1997-2016), the advisory boards of the World Peace Foundation (1996-2002), Societe du Louvre (2005-2015), the Centre for Social Justice 2004–2015, the British Olympic Association (2003-2012) and Capstar (2013-2015). He was non-executive chairman and a non-executive director of Starr Managing Agents (2008-2015). He was non-executive chairman of Investcorp Europe (2010-2014). He was non-executive director of Acasta Enterprises (2015–17). He was a member of the Mayors of Jerusalem and Rome's International Business Advisory Councils (2010-2016). He was a trustee of the Kew Foundation (2010-2016). He chaired the Food, Energy and Water security program at RUSI (2010-2016). He was a member of the Mayor of London's (Boris Johnson) International Business Advisory Council (2008-2016).

In 2006, he co-founded Cool Earth, a charity he co-chairs, which sponsors local NGOs to conserve endangered rainforest and has over 120,000 registered members.

In 2005, Eliasch created the Rainforest Trust and purchased for preservation purposes a 400,000-acre (1,600 km) rainforest area in the heart of the Amazon rainforest near the Madeira River.

According to Gethal, technical expert reports were produced proving that the company never caused damage to the environment. Gethal stopped the logging activities in 2005, “when it came under Eliasch's control”. In 2008, a publication of Brazilian government documents shows IBAMA never made any allegations against Eliasch and cancels R$274.2 million fines against Gethal.

In a press release note, Gethal stated that “the logging activity of Gethal Amazonas S/A had been out under the Forest Steward Council (FSC) guidelines, a certification that was obtained in 2000. The company was one of the first companies in Brazil to obtain such a certification”.

Eliasch was married to Amanda Eliasch, a photographer and filmmaker, from 1988 to 2006; and they have two sons. Their son Charles Eliasch is an opera singer.

Eliasch began his career in turning around companies in 1985, when he joined the London-based private equity firm Tufton Group.

Johan Eliasch (born February 1962) is a Swedish billionaire businessman, and the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Head, the global sporting goods group.

Johan Eliasch was born in February 1962, in Djursholm, Sweden.