Forum speakers
BRENDA ACHIENG
Legal and Human Resource Director – Finlays Horticulture
Fairtrade Africa Board Member
Brenda, who is the assistant chair to the board of Fairtrade Africa, is a lawyer by profession. She is the Legal and Human Resource Director for Finlays Horticulture in Kenya. Finlays Horticulture is a subsidiary of the Finlays Group based in the UK.
CHRISTOPHE ALLIOT
Political Advisor – International Alliance of Fairtrade Producers (CAN)
Before becoming Fairtrade’s political advisor for the International Alliance of Fairtrade Producers, Christophe was the International Project Manager for the Strategic Review for Fairtrade International. He was also Head of International Relations & Deputy Director at Max Havelaar France, where he was project leader on new products (cotton/textiles and cosmetics). He also liaised with internal and external partners and was Max Havelaar’s spokesperson on development & international trade issues.
RICHARD ANSTEAD
Head of Product Management – Fairtrade Foundation
Richard is the Fairtrade Foundation’s Head of Product Management and has worked for the Fairtrade Foundation since 2005. As part on the Commercial Relations Team, Richard is responsible for managing Fairtrade’s relationships from producer through intermediary business to consumer-ready products. As the Fairtrade Foundation works towards it’s five-year-strategy taking Fairtrade into the mainstream market, Richard and his colleagues have worked on projects with a wide variety of companies and brands including Ben and Jerry’s Ice-Cream, Nestle UK, Cadbury’s, Finlay’s and Cafe Direct.
LAWRENCE ATTIPOE
Country Director – SNV Zimbabwe
Lawrence is currently director of SNV in Zimbabwe, where he leads the organsiation’s agricultural projects in Eastern and Southern Africa. He also coordinates SNV’s Global Partnership with Fairtrade International and the Impact Investment Initiatives. Prior to that he was SNV’s Portfolio Coordinator in Ghana, where he was responsible for private sector development, tourism, inclusive business and environment.
DOREEN CHANJE
Managing Director – Food Sec Consulting
Fairtrade Africa Board Member
Doreen Chanje is the founding chairperson and trustee of the Malawi Fairtrade Network. The Malawi Fairtrade Network is a platform through which growers and workers from Fairtrade certified organisations can speak with a common voice, in their quest for empowerment. In her position, she specialises in compliance training for smallholder farmer organisations in regard to Fairtrade standards and food safety management systems. She also sits on the Fairtrade Africa Board.
ANDREW K. ETHURU
Director – Michimikuru Tea Company
Andrew is the non-executive director of Michimikuru Tea Company, a Fairtrade producer organisation in Kenya. He is mainly involved in policy making and implementation. He is also a non-executive director of Fairtrade partner Cafédirect, a position he has held since 2009, and a trustee of Cafédirect’s Producers’ Foundation – a charity based in the UK.
PETER GAYNOR
Executive Director – Irish Fair Trade Network (IFTN)
Peter has worked as executive director for over 15 years. The IFTN, with financial support from the Irish Government’s official overseas development assistance programme, Irish Aid, has been one of the largest contributors to Fairtrade International capacity building projects for small farmers in both Central America and East Africa in recent years. Peter is also the Chair of the Fairtrade International Workers’ Rights Advisory Committee
MICHAEL GIDNEY
Interim Executive Director – Fairtrade Foundation
Michael, who is currently the acting executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation in the UK, has been Fairtrade Foundation’s deputy executive director since mid-2009. From 2005 to 2008, he was already involved with the organisation as chair of the Board of Trustees, having been a member of the Board since 2002. Previously he has worked as a director of policy at Traidcraft.
MARTIN HILL
Director Global Account Management – Fairtrade International
Martin joined Fairtrade International in a senior capacity, as director. Martin has a huge wealth of experience from over 25 years with the ethically oriented UK Co-operative Group where he worked as Chief Officer of the South-East region’s retailing division. Before coming to Fairtrade International Martin was Commercial Director for the Fairtrade Foundation making significant progress in raising the profile and penetration of Fairtrade products within mainstream retailing.
LIZ JARMAN
Board Member – Fairtrade International
Liz Jarman is a member of the Board at Fairtrade International since 2010 and represents Fairtrade traders. She has been a part of the senior leadership team for Sainsbury’s Supermarkets in the UK since 2003. For the last 6 months, as part of a sabbatical year, Liz has supported Fairtrade Africa with their HR, marketing and partnership development programmes.
ZACHARY KIARIE
Regional Coordinator – East Africa, Producer Services & Relations, Fairtrade International
Zachary Kiarie and his team of local liaison officers are mainly involved in coordinating Fairtrade support programmes for producers in the region. Previously, Zach was Fairtrade International’s liaison officer for flowers in Kenya & Tanzania. He has also worked as a labour relations officer for the Agricultural Employers Association of Kenya.
FRED KITENG’E
Senior Loan Officer – Root Capital
Fred oversees lead generation, loan application processing, and client relationship management in East and Southern Africa for Root Capital. Previously, he worked as a senior business development manager at GroFin and as a small and medium enterprise manager at Standard Chartered Bank.
HARRIET LAMB
Chief Executive Officer – Fairtrade International
Harriet is the new chief executive of Fairtrade International. Having served for over 10 years as the Executive Director of Fairtrade Foundation in the UK, where she and her team have built the world’s most dynamic market for Fairtrade products, Harriet has the right background to keep all stakeholders connected to Fairtrde’s vision and mission. She has won numerous awards for her contributions to sustainable development and business.
TADESSE MESKELA
General Manager – Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union (OCFCU)
Tadesse is the founder and general manager of OCFCU in Ethiopia. He is an agricultural economist and served in the Ethiopian government as a farm management expert in planning and programming. He was also head of extension and cooperatives. In 2006, Tadesse was followed by a camera team in his quest to find buyers willing to pay a fair price, resulting in the awardwinning documentary Black Gold.
JAMES G. MWAI
Director of Programmes – Fairtrade Africa
James Mwai holds the overall responsibility for the development, direction and coordination of Fairtrade Africa programmes. He is responsible for Regional Networks, Policy and Advocacy (including communications) and Standards teams ensuring effective programme development and implementation, with the objective of delivering high quality support (technical, organisational and financial) and obtaining greater impact for Fairtrade certified producers in Africa.
DANIEL NDEGWA
Investment Officer – responsAbility Social Investments AG
Daniel is responsible for transaction origination, business and industry due diligence, and monitoring of agribusiness portfolio investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. Previously he has worked for several years at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and was responsible for the coordination of transaction teams in the origination, structuring, credit analysis, negotiation, disbursement and monitoring of transactions within the agribusiness sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.
JUDY NGARACHU
Regional Director East Africa – Oikocredit
As regional director of Oikocredit in East Africa, Judy is responsible for managing and growing an existing regional loan and equity portfolio encompassing 82 project partners. She is one of the directors of Baraka Foundation, an educational NGO in Kenya, and is also the vice-chairperson of the Association of Microfinance Institutions.
MICHAEL K. NKONU
Executive Director – Fairtrade Africa
As Executive Director, Michael Nkonu works with the Fairtrade Africa Board to develop and manage the strategic direction of Fairtrade Africa. He ensures the organisation’s vision is effectively communicated and implemented to various stakeholders both within Africa and internationally to advance the cause of Fairtrade African producers. Before moving to Africa, he worked for the Fairtrade Foundation as Africa Manager spearheading the expansion of Fairtrade activities in Africa.
ANDREW W. SHEPHERD
Senior Technical Advisor – Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA)
Prior to joining CTA in September 2011, Andrew had worked with FAO for 25 years as an agricultural marketing and value chains specialist, heading the organisation’s Value Chains Group. He has published extensively on value chain topics, including contract farming, linking farmers to markets, market information and multi-stakeholder associations.
JONATHAN ROBINSON
Managing Director – Bean There Coffee Company
Combining his passion for Africa with his love for coffee, Jonathan founded Bean There Coffee Company, South Africa’s first roaster of certified Fairtrade coffee. Bean There is committed to providing unblended, single origin coffee, meaning the coffee is from one growing region therefore not mixed or blended with any other region.
TUULIA SYVAENEN
Chief Operating Officer – Fairtrade International
Tuulia started working at Fairtrade International in February 2009. In a rapidly growing organisation, her major contributions have been strengthening communications with member organisations, NGOs and business partners. Additionally, she has worked on implementing the organisation’s revised strategy model and executed Fairtrade expansion to new consumer markets, especially in the South.
ALEX TACK
Credit Manager – Alterfin
As credit manager, Alex specialises in the financing for Fairtrade producer organisations and value chains, a position he has held since 2006. At present he is in charge of a large part of the organisation’s portfolio in Peru, Paraguay, Ivory Coast and Niger. Alex is also a member of the Credit Committee of FEFISOL, an innovative fund for Africa set up by three European social investors: ALTERFIN (Belgium), ETIMOS (Italy) and SIDI (France).
CHIEF ADAM TAMPURI
Board Chairman – Fairtrade Africa
As the board chair, Chief Adam ensures that Fairtrade Africa delivers on the expectations of producers in the market. He also ensures that there is continued delivery of services by Fairtrade to its members. Chief Adam has over the past four years been heading the Gbankuliso Cashew Farmers Association, which produces cashew nuts and shea butter.
PAUL K. TIONY
Director – Sireet Outgrowers Empowerment Company
As the director of Sireet Outgrowers, Paul is responsible for representing the company in various meetings or conferences and also undertaking farmer’s education on investments and Fairtrade standards. Paul has held this position since the inception of the company in March 2006. He is also the secretary to the board of directors.
WILSON MALAKWEN TUWEI
Chairman – Sireet Outgrowers Empowerment Company
As chairman of the board, Wilson is in charge of convening and chairing all in meetings in the organisation ranging from board meetings, annual general meetings and premium committee meetings. He is also responsible for overseeing the implementation of various premium projects. Wilson heads the day-to-day financial and administrative operations.
More speakers to be announced soon.