The team
The people building Neos
Founders who moved their lives to the land, a growing team around them, and the studios designing the village with us.
Founders
Vincent and Karen
Vincent and Karen founded Neos Life as mission partners. When they met, they found they had each been developing complementary halves of the same vision on their own for years. Joining forces felt like destiny.
Both live full-time on the land. Together they hold the blueprint of Neos, working with a wide circle of team members, partners and collaborators.
Co-founder & Business Lead
Vincent Daranyi
Entrepreneur and truth seeker, weaving together land, capital and execution that make Neos possible.
Co-founder & Creative Lead
Karen Aiyana Birch
Guardian of the village's soul, architecting community, education, and ritual into a whole evolutionary culture.
The team
The wider team
The people running the Center, growing the food, minding the money and telling the story.
Wisdom Council Lead
Lisa Margulies
Leading the wisdom council guiding Neos' vision and culture.
Fractional CFO
João Luis
Stewarding the project's finances.
Retreat Center operations
Costanza Sibio
Coordinating the hospitality and volunteer operations of the Neos Center.
Marketing
Timofay Kostenko
Shaping Neos' brand and telling its story through film.
Permaculture Gardening
Shafiq Sha
Growing the organic farm that feeds the community.
Coaching
Ricky Reemer
Providing organisational and therapeutic coaching for the team and community.
Neos Labs
Tom Van Der Vlugt
Building Neos Living Labs in partnership with Montemor-o-Novo and universities
Center Development
Josine Dams
Developing Neos Center into a world-class destination.
Designing the village
The village building team
Planners, architects, designers, an engineer and our legal counsel, working with us on the masterplan and its permitting.
Urban planning & permitting
Pedro Leão / SONA
The planning team steering the masterplan through permitting.
Development & Execution
Vitor Chitas
Civil engineer ensuring the successful execution of the project.
Visionary Architecture
Inphinity Design
The studio shaping the architectural vision of the village and centre.
Regenerative Design
Ekogaio
Leading the regenerative and ecological design of the land.
Biophilic Housing Design
Biotonomy
Designing self-sufficient, biophilic housing for the village.
Eco Village Systems Design
Smarthoods
Integrating food, energy and water systems into the village design.
Legal Counsel
Isabel Tenreiro Martins
Supporting Neos on all things legal since the beginning.
Bring what you love doing
We are looking for experienced, committed people to build Neos with us, on the land, nearby or remotely.