Offaly woman appointed CEO of global environmental company

Birr woman Margaret O'Gorman has been appointed the Chief Executive Officer of an important, global, environmental company.

The company she was recently named CEO of is called Tandem Global, which is a nature and biodiversity, non-profit and advisory organisation created through the merger of Wildlife Habitat Council and World Environment Center.

Margaret has been working for many years as a corporate environmental conservation advisor in the United States, during which time she has garnered an excellent reputation for hard work and the quality of her advice.

Before moving to the States she studied Geology and Geophysics for five years in Galway University; and Micropalaeontology for a year in Southampton University.

Wildlife Habitat Council advised corporations on water stewardship and conservation strategies since 1988.

World Environment Center, founded in 1974 as part of the United Nations Environment Programme, was more broadly focused on advising companies about sustainable development strategies.

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Tandem Global advises companies around the world. It focuses on helping businesses integrate their operations with nature and the environment, providing expertise and a network to promote long-term impact. They work across various sectors, from field operations to boardrooms, offering strategies and solutions for nature, water, climate resilience, and social impact.

Tandem Global corporate members, consulting engagements, and certified programs can be found in 47 U.S. states and 19 countries.

The company points out that with over half the world’s total GDP moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services, corporate leaders turn to Tandem Global for “impactful strategies and resilient solutions” that support a better future for nature and business. “Tandem Global offers meaningful private sector value,” said Margaret, “through proven approaches in nature, water, climate resilience and social impact, including the world’s leading voluntary sustainability standard for corporate conservation actions, WHC Certification.

“At Tandem Global, we believe there is no greater cause with global consequences than the intersection of business and nature. The formation of Tandem Global through the combination of WHC and WEC and the establishment of our new brand reflect our commitment to working across sectors for the benefit of both business and nature.” She said she has spent nearly two decades working in various disciplines which “activate environmental commitments and practices. As business and nature rapidly evolve, it is increasingly clear that together leads to better.”

Margaret was previously CEO of Wildlife Habitat Council since 2012. She published a book on corporate approaches to nature and biodiversity in 2020, called “Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning: A Guide to Meaningful Engagement.”

Tandem Global has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., with an office in Bethesda, Maryland. It also has offices in Europe (as Tandem Global, e.V., based in Germany) and Latin America (in El Salvador and Peru). It operates with a dispersed workforce across all continents. It has close to 100 corporate members, including a half-dozen or so companies that previously worked with both organizations such as pharmaceutical firm Bristol Myers Squibb, chemical company Chemours and building products maker CRH.

“During 2025,” said Margaret, “our main priority will be focusing on helping corporations consider how to extend their strategies for water conservation, nature conservation and biodiversity across their supply chains. We hear a lot of conversations about this. We will collaborate with other organizations helping companies operationalize conservation strategies such as Business for Nature, Science Based Targets Network and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. We will position ourselves as the voice of the corporate sector on nature-related issues.

"We will help companies navigate the narrow route between doing and talking. I think companies will be doing, but not talking as much, because that is where they might be punished. Already, we have felt the impact of the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid, but I am confident that the Wildlife Habitat Council’s track record of success will help the Tandem Global diversify its funding sources. To be the leader of an NGO, you have to be an optimist.”