Members of RTRS Executive Board
Members to fill in positions in the new RTRS Executive Board were elected during the 12th RTRS General Assembly held in Lille, France, on May 31, 2018.
In the Civil Society constituency, Oswaldo de Carvalho Jr. (Earth Innovation) was elected Executive Board member for the period 2018-2020. In the Industry, Trade and Finance constituency, Lieven Callewaert (ALLIANCE 4 SOY) and Jorn Schouten (ACT Commodities) were elected for the same period.
Members keeping their position for the period 2017-2019, in the Producers constituency: Marina Born de Engels from Caldenes Agropecuaria S.A. (Argentina); Alejandro O’Donnell from AAPRESID (Argentina), Gisela Introvini de FAPCEN (Brazil) and Juliana de Lavor Lopes from Amaggi (Brazil); in the Industry, Trade and Finance constituency: Belinda Howell from Retailers’ Soy Group (United Kingdom), Christophe Callu Mérite from Feed Alliance (France) and Jochem Bouwmeester from Rabobank (Netherlands); and in the Civil Society constituency: Ulises Martínez from Fundación Vida Silvestre (Argentina); Pramel Kumar Gupta.
At the Executive Board Meeting held last June 1, Marina Born de Engels (Caldenes Agropecuaria S.A.) was ratified as RTRS President, and will continue in that position for the period 2018-2019. Also, First Vice President Juliana de Lavor Lopes (Amaggi), Second Vice President Ulises Martínez (Fundación Vida Silvestre), Third Vice President Belinda Howell (Retailers’ Soy Group), and Treasurer Alejandro O’Donnell (Aapresid), continued in their positions in the RTRS Executive Board.
With 13 member, the new set-up of the Executive Board is as follows:
President
Marina Born de Engels (Caldenes Agropecuaria S.A. – Argentina)
Vice Presidents
Juliana de Lavor Lopes (Amaggi)
Ulises Martínez (Fundación Vida Silvestre – Argentina)
Belinda Howell (Retailers’ Soy Group)
Treasurer
Alejandro O`Donnell (Aapresid – Argentina)
Members
Industry, Trade and Finance
Retailers’ Soy Group – Belinda Howell
Feed Alliance – Christophe Callu Mérite (France)
Rabobank – Jochem Bouwmeester (Netherlands)
ALLIANCE 4 SOY – Lieven Callewaert
ACT Commodities – Jorn Schouten (Netherlands)
Producers
Amaggi – Juliana de Lavor Lopes (Brazil)
AAPRESID – Alejandro O’Donnell (Argentina)
Caldenes Agropecuaria – Marina Born de Engels (Argentina)
FAPCEN – Gisela Regina Introvini (Brazil)
Civil Society
Earth Innovation – Oswaldo Carvalho (Brazil)
Fundación Vida Silvestre – Ulises Javier Martínez Ortiz (Argentina)
Vrutti – Pramel Kumar Gupta (India)
Associação Amigos Da Terra – Darci Getulio Ferrarin Junior (Brazil)
About the RTRS Executive Board
The three constituencies are equitably represented: Producers; Industry, Trade and Finance, and Civil Society have a maximum number of 5 representatives each, which makes a total of 15 members, all of them with the same voting rights, and elected by the General Assembly on an annual basis in their role of representatives for a two-year period.
The process of nomination for the RTRS Executive Board begins 120 days prior to the General Assembly; organizations formally submit their nominations to the Executive Secretariat, and the voting process takes place at the General Assembly.
Marina Born de Engels’ second year as President
Marina Born de Engels was appointed RTRS President in June 2017 and was ratified in her position to continue through 2019. Mrs. Engels is succeeding Olaf Brugman, Head of Sustainable Capital Markets in Rabobank, who has been RTRS President for the period 2015 -2017.
Marina graduated in Economics and International Relations in the US. She is the Managing Director of Caldenes Agropecuaria S.A., an Argentine private company present in the agri-livestock industry for more than 65 years and a leader in Hereford breeding and in certified agriculture in Argentina.
“A year ago, my main goal was to turn RTRS into a more inclusive and participative organization. It is indeed remarkable the way in which the Association has become today a place for global and multisectoral dialogue including the participation of all stakeholders across the soy chain”, stated Marina Born de Engels.
“The greatest challenge for the sector today is implementing sustainable actions to effectively increase responsible soy demand and benefit the producers, the market, the environment and the local communities”, stressed Marina, and added: “RTRS is the global platform where multistakeholders choose to explore practical solutions for a more responsible supply chain”.
RTRS Executive Director Marcelo Visconti said: “Marina´s contribution to RTRS team led us to new challenges and opportunities. RTRS will continue striving to consolidate its position as an inclusive association and a role model for sustainability, and renews its commitment to scale up global demand.”
Marina Born de Engels – Bio
Marina studied Economics and International Relations in the US and has spent most of her working career in São Paulo, Brazil. Thus, she is fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish. She has worked in the field of digital IT and Communications in multinational companies, including Reuters and Getty Images. She created her own business, present in different countries, representing Getty Images in the Latin American region. Since 2010, Marina has been increasingly involved in her family-owned agricultural and breeding businesses.
Her passion for such activities result from her interest in food and from her background and life experience in a rural environment. A mother of four daughters, strongly aware of the importance of sustainability, she has always supported the initiative of Caldenes Agropecuaria for obtaining RTRS Certification and recent Recertification. She aims at driving her family businesses towards working in an orderly manner from the economic, environmental and social perspective and providing quality products, in line with market demands.
