Governance
GCP’s governance process is a multi-stakeholder structure which represents all relevant stakeholder groups directly involved in the coffee supply chain, namely producer organizations, coffee trade and industry and civil society organizations.
GCP Board
The Board is the operational, political and strategic decision making body of the Global Coffee Platform, acting under the overall mandate and guidance established by the Membership Assembly. Its composition reflects the open, inclusive and multi-stakeholder character of the Global Coffee Platform.
The GCP Board consists of up to 16 seats filled by individuals within the GCP Membership. 13 seats are elected by the entire GCP Membership, for a 3-year term, with options for re-election:
4
Four Board seats
for coffee producer representatives;
2
Two seats
for trade representatives;
4
Four seats
for coffee industry representatives (with three seats for roasters, thereof at least one representing small/ mediums sized companies, and one for retailers)
3
Three seats
for Civil Society organizations.
The GCP Board guides the strategic direction of the organization and oversees and endorses the annual work plans and budgets. It comes together at least three times a year and is supported by four sub-committees: Nominations and Elections Committee, Finance Committee, HR Committee, and Technical Committee.
Click on the photos to learn more about GCP Board Members
Producer
Moenardji Soedargo
Individual Member
Moenardji Soedargo
Individual Member
Moenardji Soedargo is currently Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at PT Aneka Coffee Industry (ACI), one of the most reputable producers of bulk instant coffee ´liquid extract in Indonesia.
Prior to this role Moenardji served as Director of PT Prasidha Aneka Niaga (PAN) which has been an active exporter of Robusta beans through its branch unit in Bandar Lampung.
Moenardji also gained extensive experience and knowledge of the coffee sector as Chairman of the Sustainable Coffee Platform Indonesia (SCOPI) from 2015 until 2018 and as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SCOPI from 2018 until 2021.
In addition, he has been supporting GAEKI (Indonesia Coffee Exporter Association) in an advisory role since 2011 and serves as an active member of the Indonesian delegation in the International Coffee Organization (ICO) representing the Indonesian Private Sector.
Rafael Furtado Fonseca
Coomap/Brazilian Coffee Producers Council (CNC)
Rafael Furtado Fonseca
Coomap/Brazilian Coffee Producers Council (CNC)
Rafael Furtado Fonseca is Business Manager/Communication at Coomap. In this role he has worked to establish a direct link between small co-ops and international buyers. Since then direct exports have increased exponentially. He has also conducted a series of projects linked to sustainability, like improving the Quality of the Coffee produced by the co-op members, teaching English for members’ children and grandchildren, expanding growers awareness toward the importance of developing a professional approach of the coffee business and women empowerment. Rafael believes that co-ops might have a key role regarding empowering growers by means of education and fair commercialization conditions.
Dr Joseph K. Kimemia
Individual Member
Dr Joseph K. Kimemia
Individual Member
Dr. Joseph K. Kimemia is currently working with Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) as a Chief Research Officer and the Director, Planning, Performance Management and Quality Control. He holds a PhD in Crop Science from University of Nairobi, an MSc Agronomy from Andra Pradesh Agricultural University/International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and a BSC Agriculture from the University of Nairobi. He has attended many local and international courses on research and research management.
At his present job at KALRO he is in charge of planning performance management and strategy development. He has worked at Coffee Research Foundation for over 30 years, 10 of which he was the CEO/Director of Research. Previously Dr. Kimemia had worked as a Farming Systems Agronomist in the arid and semi-arid lands of ASAL of Kenya for six years and as Agronomist for High Altitude maize program in Kenya for two years. He carried out research in farming systems for dry lands of Kenya and introduced the whole farm approach to research for the dry lands. In coffee, he focused his research on a cropping system approach in areas of intercropping, shade studies, organic production, and production systems for coffee in new areas and adaptation for climate change. He has published extensively and undertaken many consultancies nationally and internationally. He has been a board member of the African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA), Global Coffee Platform (GCP), Kenya Coffee Producers Association (KCPA) and Egaads Co. Ltd, a coffee farming company in Kenya. Dr Kimemia is a key founder member of the Kenya Coffee Platform (Sauti ya Kahawa) where he is currently the chairman. Dr. Kimemia has been decorated by the Government of Kenya with a Head of State Commendation (HSC) and Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) for his contribution to the development of the coffee sector in the country.
Trade
Teddy Esteve
ECOM Agroindustrial Corp
Teddy Esteve
ECOM Agroindustrial Corp
CEO Coffee Division
Teddy Esteve was born in the US and raised in Lausanne, Switzerland. He then moved to Mexico where he is still living with his family. He has been with ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. for many years, close to all his work life.
ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. is a 171 year old leading global commodity merchant and sustainable supply chain management company with its roots in Barcelona, Spain. ECOM focuses primarily on coffee, cotton, and cocoa, as well as participating in selected other agricultural product markets.
Teddy Esteve has been involved in most aspects of the business globally. He is also a proud coffee farmer and a Board Member of various companies in the food and ag business. Moreover, he co-founded a non-dairy dairy company and a Farm-to-Face cosmetic company.
Juan Antonio Rivas
Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), Vice-Chair of the GCP Board
Juan Antonio Rivas
Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), Vice-Chair of the GCP Board
Juan Antonio has managed coffee sourcing operations with Kraft Foods in Latin America, Asia and then worked in the supply chain organization in Europe for 4 years.
For the past 9 years he has worked for Olam International leading the Central America & Andean Region, including coffee operations in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia and Peru. He is also a member of both the Management Committee and the Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Executive Committee of Olam International.
As a Board member of the Global Coffee Platform, Mr. Rivas will support the development of a more resilient coffee supply chain for the industry, developing specific activities to tackle climate change and promote research and innovation connecting coffee farmers via improved technology systems and promoting investments in new disease resistant varieties.
Industry
Matt Smith
Westrock Coffee
Matt Smith
Westrock Coffee
Matt Smith serves as an Executive Vice President, Commodities and Sustainability at Westrock Coffee, with focus in the areas of Sustainability and commodity procurement and quality assurance. In this role he has responsibility for delivering on our goal of 100% Responsibly Sourced coffee and tea by 2025, while continuing to feed our facilities based in the U.S. and Malaysia with ~150m pounds of green coffee and ~25m pounds of tea annually.
Prior to returning to work in our U.S. roasting operations he was the President and CEO of Westrock East Africa since 2018, Chief Operating Officer of Falcon Coffees Limited from 2014 through 2017, and General Manager of Rwanda Trading Company from 2009 – 2014 where he oversaw its growth from a start-up coffee exporter to a respected national player that is responsible for an incremental $100 million earned by the farmers of Rwanda.
Marcelo Burity
Nestlé SA
Marcelo Burity is Head of Green Coffee Development for Nestlé, covering sustainability, quality and research topics.
Marcelo is a Brazilian/British national who started working in Nestlé since 1992, always in functions related to coffee and cocoa procurement, ultimately in the role of Nestlé’s global coffee procurement lead until mid-2015, when he took on his current position leading the NESCAFÉ Plan on a Global level, as well as coordinating the activities related to green coffee quality and research & development.
Throughout his career Marcelo has worked in Brazil, Switzerland, Mexico and UK, where is currently based. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.
Nadia Hoarau-Mwaura
JDE Peet’s
Nadia Hoarau-Mwaura
JDE Peet’s
Nadia Hoarau-Mwaura is the Sustainability Director at Jacobs Douwe Egberts, tasked with the strategy and execution of the responsible sourcing program – JDE Common Grounds. In this role she works closely across the different functions from Procurement, Marketing, Sales and R&D as well as managing strategic partnerships and relations in the public and private sector.
Nadia has more than 15 years of experience in sustainable development, working across different commodities including cocoa, tea, coffee. She joined JDE in 2015, having worked with Mondelez International in the coffee division before that. Prior to this she worked with Fairtrade International for 10 years focusing her expertise on building producer support programs in Africa Middle East and Asia Pacific.
Christien Parrott
Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee
Christien Parrott
Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee
A self-described coffee aficionado, Christien Parrott is a Senior Manager of Sustainable Sourcing who is committed to coffee and tea sustainability at Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee.
Over the last year Christien built an ethical sourcing coffee and tea program for Mother Parkers that focuses on sustainable options, enhancing the sustainability of each supply chain, and strengthening the resilience of communities and the wellbeing of producers at origin. These initiatives will drive significant and lasting impacts to environmental, social and governance aspects of sustainability for Mother Parkers.
Christien’s diverse experiences as an Enterprise Sales Director, Project Manager, and Coffee Commodities Manager has allowed her to develop a unique perspective when it comes to capturing the business and human story behind each cup of coffee. Christien holds an Honors B.A. as well as Project Management Certificate from the University of Toronto. She is a certified Q-Arabica Grader and is currently pursuing a Certified Tea Sommelier designation.
Outside of the office, Christien is an alpine ski enthusiast, former ski racing coach that now enjoys fair-weather skiing with a mountain-side beverage of choice!
Civil Society
Michelle Deugd
Rainforest Alliance
Michelle Deugd
Rainforest Alliance
Sector Lead Coffee
Michelle Deugd, graduated at Wageningen University, with more than 24 years of experience, of which 12 years in Rainforest Alliance, in Sustainable Agriculture in Latin America, Africa and Asia. As Sector Lead Coffee she provides strategic direction to Rainforest Alliance’s coffee work globally, with the objective to positively contribute to the transformation of the sector, the livelihoods of coffee producers and workers and the environment that surrounds them.
During the last twelve years she has worked with the Rainforest Alliance where she has led RA´s agriculture portfolio globally, the development of regional and sector strategies and their implementation. She has managed a range of coffee projects in Latin America, Asia and Africa, focused at the development of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee supply at origin, strengthening the sustainability of certified farm and led the roll out of RA´s 2017 certification program to producers globally.
Bambi Semroc
Conservation International
Bambi Semroc
Conservation International
Bambi Semroc is Interim SVP of the Center for Sustainable Lands and Waters at Conservation International. The Center brings together key elements of sustainable production, water, incentives, and sustainability in priority landscapes and seascapes. She leads the Sustainable Coffee Challenge, a sector-wide effort to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural products.
Ms. Semroc has been at Conservation International for more than 15 years, always focusing on sustainable agriculture. She engages leading retailers and consumer goods companies on sustainable agriculture programs designed to maintain critical natural capital, mitigate climate change, and increase the resiliency of farmers to shocks while maintaining productivity. Ms. Semroc works to ensure that these companies have the information and tools necessary to integrate natural capital and ecosystem service considerations into decision-making processes. Throughout this time, she has worked in collaboration with companies such as Starbucks Coffee Company, Walmart, McDonald’s, Nestlé, and The Coca-Cola Company.
Prior to Conservation International, Ms. Semroc worked as Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Togo. She holds a master’s degree in International Development from American University and a bachelor’s degree in English and French from Indiana University.
Andrea Olivar
Solidaridad
Andrea Olivar
Solidaridad
Director of Strategy & Quality, Solidaridad
Andrea Olivar is an expert in sustainability with a special focus on coffee and has been working in the coffee sector for over a decade. She became Solidaridad’s Global Manager for coffee in 2017. Previous to that, she served as Solidaridad’s Country Manager for Colombia and as Head of the Sustainable Trade Platform (STP), a national sustainability platform (including coffee) that was created and facilitated by Solidaridad in 2012. Andrea Olivar was the Head of the Coffee Programme at Twin Trading during a period of six years. Twin Trading is an ethical trader based in London that works with smallholder coffee producers around the world to access international markets.
Additional
Ric Rhinehart
IDH the sustainable trade initiative
Ric Rhinehart
IDH the sustainable trade initiative
Ric Rhinehart has been involved in the coffee and tea sectors for more than three decades.
He has held various senior leadership roles with private enterprises as well as trade groups. Ric served as CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association until the end of 2019. Furthermore, he served for over a decade as Executive Director of SCAA, as a founding director of World Coffee Research, as a Director at the Coffee Quality Institute, as a delegate to the ICO Private Sector Consultative Board, and as a Director at the COSA. In 2021 Ric joined IDH the sustainable trade initiative as Strategy Director Agri-commodities. with the Agri-commodities Business Unit, focusing on the global convening activities in the coffee sector.
Karel W. Valken
Rabobank, GCP Co-Treasurer
Karel W. Valken
Rabobank, GCP Co-Treasurer
In this capacity as EVP, Global Head Agri Commodities at Rabobank Karel Valken is responsible for their TCF Agri Units in 13 countries. Prior to joining Rabobank International in 2006, he was a Board Member of Nidera Handelscompagnie B.V., a Dutch-Argentinean international processing and trading company in grains and oilseeds from 1996-2006.
He started his career in 1983 at Mees & Hope/MeesPierson (now ABNAMRO) and spend 8 years as the MD of their New York office. From 1989-1996 he was active in financing a wide range of soft and hard commodities and has extensive experience in hemispheres ranging from Europe, the CIS, Asia and the Americas.
He has a degree at the Hogere Economische School of Amsterdam and served as an officer in the Dutch Army after his studies. In addition to his present responsibilities he is also a Board Member of Progreso Foundation active in coffee.
Carlos Brando
Chair of the GCP Board
Carlos Brando
Chair of the GCP Board
Carlos Brando is an engineer who attended the SPURS and PhD programs at MIT. His company P&A’s as well as his own long and diversified experience in the coffee sector have led them to work as consultants for the International Coffee Organization, the World Bank, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, the Global Coffee Platform, the World Cocoa Foundation and many other companies and institutions. They have coordinated coffee projects in more than 50 producing countries across five continents, including all the main coffee growing areas of Brazil. A frequent speaker at leading international coffee events, Carlos has contributed chapters to several coffee books, including Nespresso’s recent “The Craft and Science of Coffee”.
He has sat on the boards of UTZ and Ipanema Coffees, is a member of the Coffee Quality Institute’s Board of Trustees and chairman of the board of the Global Coffee Platform. In 2017 Carlos received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the African Fine Coffees Association.
Senior Management Team
GCP’s Senior Management Team directs the organization’s day-to-day activities around the world.
Annette Pensel
Executive Director
Thomas Müller-Bardey
Finance & Operations Director
Gelkha Buitrago
Director Programs and Corporate Partnerships
Competition law, policies and code
GCP has committed to the concept of pre-competitive collaboration. GCP Members are asked to strictly adhere to its competition law policy at all times. No discussions of agreements or concerted actions that may restrain competition are allowed. This prohibition includes discussions of current or future prices, margins, discounts, the timing of price changes, costs, capacities, customers, suppliers, product and marketing plans, sales projections, credit terms, or other competitively sensitive information relating to your business.
