Date of Appointment: 9 September 2021
Niall was Chair and CEO of Unilever for 8 years and an executive board director for 18 years. During his 37 years with the company, Niall served as Finance Director, Foods Director and Detergents Director and during his Unilever career he lived and worked in the UK, the Netherlands, Ireland, the US and South Africa. Niall is Chair of The Leverhulme Trust, Chair Hakluyt International Advisory Council and Patron British Irish Chamber of Commerce.
Niall has chaired a broad range of companies and public bodies including Reuters, Brand Learning, British Museum, Nelson Mandela Legacy Trust, International Business Council and the Advertising Association, and has also served on several Boards, including Bank of Ireland, the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, International Policy Council for Agriculture and Trade and was President of South Africa’s International Advisory Council.
Shekhar was appointed CEO of ofi in January 2020 upon its creation following the reorganization of the Olam Group. Shekhar joined Olam in 1992 and has been an Executive Director and a member of the Group Board since 1998. Shekhar held a variety of roles in the Olam Group, he was previously Group Chief Operating Officer, Executive Director – Finance and Business Development, and prior to this he incubated and managed various global businesses including the Nuts, Spices and Packaged Foods businesses, where he led many of the Company’s organic and inorganic growth initiatives.
Rishi was appointed CFO of ofi in January 2020 upon its creation following the reorganization of the Olam Group. Rishi began his career with Olam in 2000 and during this period has served as CFO India, CFO West Africa, and President and Global Head of Corporate Finance. He is a founding member of the first Circle of Practice in Asia of The Prince of Wales Charitable Project, Accounting for Sustainability (A4S). A4S inspires action by finance leaders to drive a fundamental shift towards resilient business models and a sustainable economy.
Patrick Coveney became CEO of SSP Group plc in March 2022. Prior to this he was CEO of Greencore Group Plc, a position he held since 2005 and during which time he led Greencore’s transformation into an international leader in value-added convenience food. Prior to joining Greencore, Patrick worked for nine years at McKinsey & Company in Europe and North America. Patrick is a Non-Executive Director of Glanbia plc and Chair of Core Media.
Nancy started her career in marketing and advertising roles with Conde Nast, before progressing to a range of general management and transformation roles with BSkyB, VideoJug, Telegraph Media Group, Weve, and until 2021 Nancy was the Chief Digital Officer for Carlsberg.Nancy currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of In The Style Group plc, Oodle Finance Ltd, Allegro EU SA and Flutter Entertainment plc. She was previously a Non-Executive Director at Bango plc, Carlsberg Group A/S, On-Mobile Global Ltd and Telecity Group plc.
Nagi is a Non-Executive Director of Olam Group Limited. He brings more than 28 years of experience in strategy, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, growth equity, private equity and public investing in multiple industries across the globe. Nagi is the Joint Head of Temasek’s Investment Group and is concurrently the Head of Portfolio Development. Prior to joining Temasek in 2005, Nagi was a banker with Credit Suisse First Boston’s Energy Group and began his career at Bain and Company.
Penny’s executive career in the consumer goods industry led to an extensive portfolio board career which spans retail, media, leisure, technology and financial services in both public and private company boards. Penny is currently Chair of the boards of The Gym Group plc and Riverstone Living Ltd and has served as Chair of Aston Martin Lagonda and Chair of the Remuneration and Sustainability board committees for several large cap companies including Royal Bank of Scotland, WM Morrison, The Gap Inc and Vodafone.
Brian’s executive career with Bunzl plc spanned 26 years, including 14 years as Chief Financial Officer, during which period the business underwent significant strategic and operational transformation. Brian is a Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee member for Ferguson plc, a Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Remuneration Committee and Audit Committee member for ConvaTec Group plc, and he previously served on the board of United Utilities Group PLC.
Belinda was a senior partner at Deloitte LLP before embarking on her board career which has a particular focus on the consumer products and financial services sectors. Belinda is currently a Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair for both Avast plc and Schroder Japan Growth Fund plc, as well as a Non-Executive Director for Phoenix Group Holdings plc and Monks Investment Trust plc. Belinda has previously served on the boards of WM Morrison, Grainger and Balfour Beatty.
Amanda Sourry spent over 30 years of her executive career working for Unilever plc where she gained extensive global marketing and business experience in consumer packaged goods. Amanda was most recently President of Unilever North America, and previously President Unilever Global Foods. She was a Member of the Unilever Leadership Executive from 2015 to 2020. Amanda is currently a Non-Executive Director of The Kroger Co., Trivium Packaging and PVH Corp where she also Chairs the Compensation Committee.
Sunny is Group CEO of Olam Group Limited and as part of the re-organisation within Olam, he also became CEO of Olam Agri. Sunny founded Olam in 1989 after having been with the Kewalram Chanrai Group (KC Group), prior to which he worked for Unilever in India. From 2018 to 2021 Sunny was Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the global, CEO-led organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to a sustainable world. He previously chaired CitySpring Infrastructure Management Pte Ltd, a listed Business Trust in Singapore and was also a Commissioner of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC).
Carole is currently Senior Advisor to the CEO at Africa50, an investment fund set up by African governments and the African Development Bank to help bridge Africa’s infrastructure funding gap. Carole was previously the Chief Operating Officer since 2017. Her previous executive appointments include EVP & Chief HR Officer at Royal Philips Ltd, and at the Coca-Cola Company where Carole held the roles of Chief of Staff for the Chairman & CEO, as well as HR Director for EuroAsia & Africa. In addition, Carole was Assistant Secretary General for Human Resources at the United Nations. Carole is a Non-Executive Director of Helios Towers Plc.
Read ofi news
Author | Andrew Brooks | Head of Sustainability, Cocoa, ofi
World Chocolate Day, a day to not only indulge, but to remember the people and landscapes that grow the cocoa that goes into our favorite products. Both are vital to help maintain a sustainable future for cocoa production. That’s why as part of our Cocoa Compass sustainability ambition, we collaborate with our customers and partners on multi-stakeholder partnerships to drive collective action and lasting impact.
Climate change is among the biggest challenges in growing cocoa. In Indonesia, for example, intensive rainfall, drought, rising temperatures, and an increase in related pests, threatens farmer yields and erodes their livelihoods, including those of women and indigenous groups that depend on their crops for subsistence. Yet many farmers struggle to access the support they need to adapt and become more resilient.
A climate-smart agroforestry system is key to addressing and mitigating climate change risks, which is why we co-created the Landscape Approach to Sustainable and Climate Change Resilient Cocoa and Coffee (LASCARCOCO), a three-year partnership with USAID, non-profit Rikolto, the Hershey Company, and the Indonesian Government, to help 6,500 farmers increase yields by 25% and conserve 14,000 hectares by late 2025.
Through the partnership, we have developed a new curriculum to train farmers in Good Agricultural Practices and climate adaption, promoted sustainable agroforestry – where forest and shade trees are planted alongside cocoa and coffee to restore forest covers – and provided farmers with seedlings. It’s already making a difference – in year one of the project, approximately 8,600 individuals were reached directly or indirectly via the program. The LASCARCOCO USAID ofi project has successfully bridged a constructed collaborative action with stakeholders involved in the project such as farmers, forest communities, government, and forest authorities to deliver an agroforestry program.
Good landscape governance is also critical to protect the land and the incomes of the farmers who work it. In Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, we’re working with the Rainforest Alliance and USAID on the Resilient Ecosystems and Sustainable Transformation of Rural Economies (RESTORE) project. This not only promotes regenerative and sustainable cocoa production; it also aims to strengthen Landscape Management Boards (LMBs).
These boards are important because they bring key stakeholders together – community members, local farmers, the Ghanaian Forestry Commission, and COCOBOD – and give the local community a say in how the land is managed. We provide ongoing support and training to LMB members on everything from management and financial literacy to climate-smart farming and forest-friendly enterprises such as beekeeping and piggery.
Whilst we’re proud of the impact we have made so far, there is still much more to do. We remain focused on working with customers, civil society, national governments, and other stakeholders to support farmers and to protect landscapes across origins – so when consumers pick up their chocolate bar or cocoa-flavored treat, they can be confident that it’s been produced in a way that supports people and helps protect the planet.
Author | Billie Elmqvist Thurén | Human Rights ofi Sustainability & Cocoa Lead
Accessible education is an effective way to reduce the risk of the incidence of child labor as well as providing a foundation for protecting children’s rights. Through our Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS), we monitor and identify the specific needs of communities across our nine global sustainable sourcing regions.
From providing access to schools closer to home to initiatives that empower cocoa households to be more economically resilient, here are a few ways we are removing barriers for children in our cocoa supply chain to attend school and develop their future potential.
- New 2030 social and environmental targets set for ofi’s global operations which span ~50 countries, building on the existing product-specific strategies for cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices.
- Strong focus on supply chain excellence to enhance supplier engagement, mitigate supply chain risks, and give customers more rigorous, verifiable data for sustainability decision-making and reporting.
- Impact will be achieved in partnership with farmers, governments, civil society and ofi’s customers, backed by clear action plans and methodologies outlined by ofi.
ofi, a leading supplier of naturally good food and beverage ingredients, today unveiled a new sustainability strategy – ‘Choices for Change’ and ambitious 2030 targets.
Global food brands and retailers are facing growing consumer demand for sustainable products, with increasing weather related and other challenges in the food supply chain and significant new sustainability linked legislation coming up. With ‘Choices for Change’, ofi will provide these companies and their consumers with specific choices to deliver long-term impact across four critical pillars: Prosperous Farmers, Thriving Communities, Climate Action, and Regenerating the Living World.
Every 2030 target in the Choices for Change strategy delivers on key customer needs, including:
- Delivering enhanced livelihood support to one million farmers, helping them to be more productive and deliver better quality ingredients.
- Cutting scope 3 emissions by 30% to offer customers verifiable, low-carbon products and ingredients and contribute to net-zero commitments.
- Bringing 2 million hectares of land under regenerative farming practices to create long-term farm resilience and products with verified positive natural impact.
To give customers more rigorous, verifiable data for sustainability decision-making and reporting, the strategy incorporates a focus on supply chain excellence. This brings traceability, data insights, risk mitigation, verification, and in-depth supplier engagement together to enable the right choices and includes ofi’s suite of award-winning tech tools like AtSource - the sustainability management system and its built in Carbon Scenario Planner for planning and costing climate action.
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