Forest Advisory Panel Bios
Brendan May (Panel Facilitator)
Robertsbridge
Chairman
London, UK
Brendan May is the Founder and Chairman of Robertsbridge, a global sustainability advisory firm that has worked with some of the world’s best known companies and brands on long-term sustainability strategies, supply chain risk, sustainable sourcing, reputation and crisis management. He has chaired several stakeholder advisory bodies for a range of companies. Brendan is a former Chief Executive of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and was European Chairman of the Rainforest Alliance from 2009 to 2013. He is a well-respected mediator and facilitator, having been behind some of the best known reconciliations between multinational companies and civil society. He is a specialist in stakeholder engagement, especially in the agricultural commodities sector.
Justin Adams
Tropical Forest Alliance
Executive Director
Oxford, United Kingdom
John Buchanan
Vice President Sustainable Production
Arlington, Virginia, United States
John Buchanan, vice president of sustainable production at Conservation International, leads the sustainable food & agriculture markets team within the organization’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB), which engages leading companies in palm oil, soy and related agribusiness sectors to develop and implement sustainable agriculture strategies. His past advisory experience includes a role as co-organizer of the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative and serving on the Board of Governors for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Marina Piatto
Imaflora
Climate and Agriculture Supply Chain Manager
São Paulo, Brazil
For more than 15 years, Marina Piatto has been working at Imaflora in the field of agriculture, livestock and climate change. She works on stakeholder engagement, building strategies to enhance deforestation-free production, low carbon agriculture practices, and social rights in commodities sector such as soy and livestock. Prior to her role with Imaflora, she was a researcher at Bonn University in Germany and holds a Master degree in Tropical Agriculture.
Marcos Sawaya Jank
INSPER
Senior Professor of Global Agribusiness
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Marcos Sawaya Jank is a senior professor of Global Agribusiness at INSPER and chair professor of the Luiz de Queiroz Chair on Integrated Agri-Food Systems at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Brazil (ESALQ-USP). Prior to that, he worked in Singapore leading an initiative to enhance the profile of the Brazilian agri-food industry in Asian economies. He also served as the CEO of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), where he played a leading role in the implementation of Bonsucro certification, the national agroecological zoning of sugarcane and other multistakeholder initiatives related to biofuels, renewable energy, land use and climate change. Additional experiences include consulting and project coordination positions at the World Bank, IDB, FAO, OECD, UNDP, the Hewlett Foundation and other global organizations. He is currently a board member at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Rumo Logistics and Comerc Energy.
Maria Giraudo
Global Farmer Network
Member and Honorary President of Argentine Association of Producers in Direct Sowing (Aapresid)
Venado, Tuerto, Santa Fe, Argentina
Maria Giraudo is a fifth-generation farmer, member of the Global Farmer Network and honorary president of the Argentine Association of Direct Sowing Producers (Aapresid), where she also serves as a member of the Think Thank and Advisory Council, as well as the Aapresid International Group. Through her work with Aapresid, Maria helps promote sustainable production systems of food, fiber and energy, such as no-till farming, through innovation, science and knowledge management in the network, ensuring that the voice of the farmer is at the forefront of the sustainable ag discussion globally.
Carlos Ortiz
Independent Agribusiness Advisor
Florida, United States
Involved with agribusiness management for 35 years, Carlos Ortiz has contributed to a series of initiatives improving the sustainability of agricultural operations – from sustainability ratings, to prizes to improvements financing. During the past 15 years, he has taken part of a series of Boards such as the Brazilian Agribusiness Association, the Brazilian Rural Society, the Moringa Fund for sustainable agriculture, Agrifirma.
Anne Rosenbarger
Southeast Asia Commodities Manager, Forests Program, World Resources Institute
Indonesia
Anne Rosenbarger, Southeast Asia commodities manager for the World Resources Institute (WRI) Forests Program, focuses her work primarily on the links between sustainable commodities and forest conservation. Anne co-chairs the Board of Governors of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) where she has served as a representative for the Environmental NGO constituency since 2015.
Nigel Sizer, Ph.D.
Chief Program Officer
New York, United States
Nigel Sizer, chief program officer for the Rainforest Alliance, is a globally-recognized authority on forests, ecology, climate change and development policy. Nigel was president of the Rainforest Alliance for two years and, previously, global director of the World Resources Institute’s forests program, where he created and launched Global Forest Watch. He also serves as professor of nonprofit management, policy and politics at City University of New York.