Simon A. Black is a member of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent. His research and practice covers both conservation science and conservation management including performance measurement and evaluation. He has nearly thirty years of experience in management development and organisational improvement and over the past decade has focused on the wildlife sector including recovery of endangered species, human-wildlife conflict, community conservation, and captive population management. He has trained hundreds of conservation professionals world-wide on project management, leadership and personal effectiveness and works directly with organisations on goal-setting, programme design, monitoring and evaluation.

Jim J. Groombridge is Professor of Biodiversity Conservation at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology in the School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent. His research interests include the conservation genetics and ecology of small populations, evolutionary genetics, phylogenetics and biogeography.

Carl G. Jones is Chief Scientist at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Scientific Director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. In 2016 he won the prestigious Indianapolis Prize for Conservation. He has developed and led many programmes enabling some of the most striking animal population recoveries in the world, including the Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, echo parakeet, and the Rodrigues warbler.