Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) has announced the appointment of Senthil Nathan as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 24 April 2023.
While Senthil has been working in Indonesia leading the Asia Operations of New York-based non-profit Enveritas for the last six years, his connection to Fairtrade dates back many years.
“I started my career in the corporate sector, spending over ten years working with companies such as PepsiCo and General Mills. Ultimately though, I was drawn back to agriculture. I wanted to find solutions to the problems faced by farmers while helping businesses and consumers to embrace sustainability in their sourcing and purchasing,” Senthil says.
This conviction led him to a role leading market access and producer sustainability in the Fairtrade Asia Pacific Regional office.
“Fairtrade engineers solutions to make trade fair so I feel like returning at this time with more experience and understanding that will allow me to unleash the full potential of partnerships between farmers, business and consumers to build a fair and just world,” says Senthil.
Senthil was born to a family of small-hold paddy farmers in a Southern Indian village. He grew up watching the environmental and economic challenges faced by his community, which led him to embark on a career developing and implementing sustainability programs in the food and agricultural sector. Senthil comes with experience in both business and development sectors.
Over the last two decades Senthil has helped the world’s leading food and beverage companies with their supply chain transparency, responsible sourcing, regenerative agriculture, and carbon management initiatives. He has worked extensively with rural communities, producer cooperatives, governments, and businesses in over forty countries with a recent focus on the coffee industry.
“My connections and understanding of what works in development, plus my knowledge of the political landscape in our region combined with Senthil’s expertise in sustainability and business, will support Fairtrade to grow and flourish,” says ANZ Board Chair Josie Pagani.
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