Aaron Paul

Chief Commercial Officer - Aurora Sustainable Lands

Seattle, Washington, United States

About

Experience

  • Aurora Sustainable Lands (Seattle, Washington, United States)
    • Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
      Jan 2026 - Present · 6 mos

      Lead commercial officer and co-founder of the seventh largest timberland owner in the US. Oversees all corporate development, timberland acquisition, dispositions, carbon sales, non-timber revenues, energy leases, and new business lines.

    • Vice President, Head of Transactions and Analytics
      Nov 2023 - Jan 2026 · 2 yrs 3 mos

      Member of five person senior leadership team. Responsible for all acquisitions, dispositions, non-timber revenue transactions, and long-term financial projections. Part of founding team in 2021. Rebranded from "Bluesource Sustainable Forests Company" to "Aurora Sustainable Lands" in December 2023.

  • Bluesource (Full-time · 4 yrs 7 mos)
    • Vice President Acquisitions and Divestitures
      Oct 2021 - Dec 2023 · 2 yrs 3 mos

      Member of four person senior management team. Due diligence and financial analysis lead for BSFC's merger with The Forestland Group (1.7M acres. Largest North American timberland acquisition in 15 years.) Responsible for all transactions, operational, and financial analytics for the $1.7B asset manager

    • Director of Forest Carbon Origination
      Jun 2019 - Oct 2021 · 2 yrs 5 mos

      Senior nature-based climate solutions transaction originator. Underwrote, negotiated, and closed 20 voluntary and compliance forest carbon projects representing approximately 15M tons of greenhouse gas sequestration over ten years. Crafted investment thesis, financial models, and oversaw underwriting of Bluesource's $500M timberland asset management subsidiary. Transitioned to subsidiary following a successful close with Oak Hill Advisors in October 2021.

  • Director of Conservation Investments at The Nature Conservancy
    Oct 2015 - May 2019 · 3 yrs 8 mos

    I led The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Washington chapter’s work in conservation finance and impact investing. My focus areas were timberland conservation, water rights acquisition, and forest restoration. • Portfolio manager for a 75,000-acre portfolio of FSC certified timberland. Responsible for financial management, 8000 acres of acquisitions, and 5000 acres of dispositions. • Successfully presented conservation transactions to investment committees and C-level leadership • Responsible for seven-figure operating budgets and eight-figure capital projects • Negotiated joint venture with operating partners, investors, and the Nature Conservancy. • Managed teams of 25 conservation professionals and external advisers • Technical forestry advisor to three carbon projects conserving 750,000-acres in Alaska, British Columbia, and Maine

  • Tilson Technology Management (Portland, Maine Metropolitan Area)
    • Director Energy and Broadband Consulting
      Oct 2014 - Oct 2015 · 1 yr 1 mo

      Held profit and loss responsibility for a strategy consulting business unit. Advised private and public sector clients on technology, business, financial, market, and policy strategies. Led all business development responsibilities for the unit and sold over 15 new customer accounts. Principal, client-facing consultant on over 25 client engagements. Increased group annual revenue 4X Hired seven staff Managed teams across a matrix organization of up to ten consultants, engineers, executives, and technical experts. Principal financial adviser to $50M forest products venture. Negotiated ten-year, 600,000 ton fiber supply contract for softwood lumber Led technical diligence on six telecom acquisitions worth $1.2B Closed three private placements in forest products, telecom, and agricultural technology companies.

    • Senior Consultant
      Jul 2013 - Oct 2014 · 1 yr 4 mos

      Management consultant serving the biomass energy and telecommunication sectors.

  • Summer Associate at The Nature Conservancy
    May 2012 - Aug 2012 · 4 mos

    I developed a strategy to broaden the Nature Conservancy's base of support in Connecticut and defined the businesses case for a more diverse membership in the state. Using intensive big data analysis, I was able to show how members behave predictably over time and identified the most promising audiences for outreach.