Omari Bowers

Omari Bowers is an entrepreneur and businessman, but also a dedicated philanthropist. While managing a successful investment company providing returns on investments for his customers and a livelihood for himself, Bowers was deeply affected by the conditions of crushing poverty that he encountered in Brazil, and has committed himself and Global Forestry Investments to helping the local community adjacent to the company's plantations. The company is in the planning stages of building a school next to the plantation for the children of the local employees. A performing arts and sports facility is planned for the future. Omari Bowers and his business partner Andrew Skeene founded Global Forestry Investments in 2008, after studying emerging market trends, and agreeing that the real estate market in London, in which they were both active, was no longer stable. GFI promotes timber investments, particularly in teak, which has proven to be a solid and stable investment over time. Investment in teak allows investors to diversify their portfolios by purchasing leasehold rights in teak plantations in Brazil. These leaseholds are then managed by Timber Management Companies and the investor receives returns from both rental and harvests. As well as being considered a stable investment for the mid to long term, timber investments makes a significant contribution to the preservation of the environment by reforesting the natural rainforests of North Eastern Brazil, that have been devastated by deforestation for industry, furniture production and more. Keeping abreast of worldwide forestry trends and the developments in the agricultural market falls under Omari Bowers' responsibilities at GFI. This is in addition to many aspects of the daily management of the company,including business development,client services and more.

In 2009, a year after founding GFI, Bowers also assumed the position of Director with a Brazilian forestry and agriculture management company, Mãos Seguras. As a Director of the company, Bowers is required to attend meetings of professional groups and coordinate with architects, consultants and others. Bowers manages a team of some ten professional forestry engineers who address issues of forestry management including budget planning and control, reports to customers, meeting