CHAIRS
CEO, Alternergy Partners
Chairman, Merritt Partners
Vincent S. Pérez is CEO of Alternergy Partners, a renewable power company in emerging Asian countries, and is chairman of Merritt Partners, an energy advisory firm to energy companies doing business in Asia.
Mr Pérez was the youngest Philippine Energy Minister from June 2001 to March 2005. He boosted energy self-sufficiency, promoted clean indigenous energy, pursued energy diplomacy, and crafted an ambitious renewable energy policy framework.
He served briefly in early 2001 as Undersecretary for Industry at the Department of Trade and Industry and as Managing Head of the Board of Investments, and led investment missions to Europe and USA.
Prior to 2001, Mr Pérez had 17 years experience first in Latin American credit and debt restructuring at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, and later in debt trading, capital markets, and private equity in emerging countries at Lazard in London, New York and Singapore. At 35, he became the first Asian General Partner at the New York investment bank Lazard Frères as head of its Emerging Markets Group. He was Managing Director of Lazard Asia in Singapore from 1995 until 1997.
Mr Pérez founded Next Century Partners in 1997, a private equity firm based in Singapore that invested in companies such as Smart Communications, Del Monte Pacific and Fastech. In 2000 he founded Asian Conservation Company which acquired El Nido Resorts, an award-winning eco-tourism destination in Palawan.
He is currently an independent director of Energy Development Corporation (PSE) (largest geothermal company in Asia), Nido Petroleum (ASX), SM Investments (PSE), and ST Telemedia (a Temasek company). Among his private investments, Mr Pérez is co-chairman of El Nido Resorts. He also invested in Northwind Power, the first commercial wind farm in Southeast Asia.
He is chairman of WWF-Philippines and was a member of the National Council of WWF-US. Mr Perez is a member of the advisory boards of Coca Cola Philippines and the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale University. Mr Perez has consulted for ADB and IFC on renewable energy policy, and was recently appointed as Vice Chairman of the National Renewable Energy Board.
Mr Pérez obtained an MBA from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines in 1979. He was a 2005 World Fellow at Yale University, where he lectured an MBA class on renewable power in emerging countries.
Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan (Lory)
CEO and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees, WWF-Philippines
Chairman and President, Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation
Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan is CEO and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of WWF, in the Philippines. Concurrently, he sits as the Chairman and President of the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation.
As a partner of the government, particularly in the drive towards climate adaptation, he serves as a Trustee of the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation, and on the Technical Adviser’s Group of the Secretary of Agriculture.
He is also an NGO member of the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Tri-National Committee, the PA Management Board of Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, and the Joint Management Committee of the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area that covers Malaysia and Philippines.
Within the Senior Executive Team of WWF’s Coral Triangle Network Initiative (CTI) covering the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Mr Tan’s work focuses in the areas of Business & Industry engagement, Multi-lateral Development Banks, Government & Aid Agency relationships as well as in the emerging field of Public-Private partnerships. He also sits as a member of the National CTI Coordination Committee, in the Philippines. As host of WWF’s ADB Liaison office, Mr Tan is actively involved helping steer the partnership between WWF and the Asian Development Bank.
Prior to WWF, Mr Tan worked with Bookmark as general manager, overseeing a book, video and audio publishing effort for seventeen years. At that time, he also served as President of the Association of Phil Booksellers, and President of the Philippine Bookfair. In addition to these activities, he is an award-winning published author.
Mr Tan has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the Ateneo, and an MBM from the Asian Institute of Management.
SPEAKERS
Dr Lida Pet-Soede
Leader, WWF Coral Triangle Programme
Lida Pet-Soede is the leader of the WWF Coral Triangle Programme, an initiative to help safeguard the health of the region’s natural treasures and to secure the millions of livelihoods that depend upon them by building a sustainable live reef fish trade, promoting sustainable tuna fisheries, financing marine protected areas, protecting marine turtles and reducing their bycatch, and reducing the impacts of climate change
WWF has been pioneering conservation in the Coral Triangle for more than two decades, collaborating with partners in the private sector, governmental agencies and civil society. By providing technical expertise and funding, and promoting innovative public-private partnerships, WWF is committed to ensure that the Coral Triangle Initiative catalyzes measurable changes.
Dr Pet-Soede began her WWF career as advisor to the WWF-Indonesia team where she designed a nation-wide MPA strategy and added strategies for Indonesian fisheries management to the WWF-Indonesia marine conservation programme. From 2003 to 2007 Lida was the Director for WWF Indonesia’s Marine Programme. Here she led the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategic conservation programme that helped the influence and impact of the WWF programme expand, gain a voice on the national policy platforms, build capacity in terms of funding and staff, and helped expand its strategic network of donors and partners.
Dr Pet-Soede also has extensive volunteer work in the field of marine science, especially in working with graduate students and speaks Dutch, English, Indonesian, and German fluently, while she also has passive knowledge of French. She has supervised more than 100 students over the years, many of which have jobs in conservation and fisheries management, and she has co-authored more than 40 papers and publications.
She has graduate degrees in fisheries biology and management, aquaculture and socio-economics of developing countries from the Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands and a PhD. in Fisheries Biology and Management from the same school. Born in the Netherlands, Dr Pet-Soede enjoys living in Indonesia with her family and takes frequent trips showing her two daughters the beauty of the Coral Triangle.
Andrew Thomas
Managing Director, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Singapore
A 20-year veteran of the international and regional publishing industry and counsellor to many of Asia’s top businessmen, Mr Thomas has vast working experience in Asia and a valuable global network. He is a prolific public speaker and frequent guest speaker at international conferences, and is actively involved in Singapore’s business and social circuit.
As Managing Director of Ogilvy PR since 2005, Mr Thomas provides strategic advice to clients in government, financial services, FMCG, health, pharmaceutical and technology defining their brand positioning and devising communications campaigns. He has extensive experience counselling clients on communications programmes that range from crisis and issues management to government relations, brand positioning, corporate re-branding, internal communications and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
One of his key roles at Ogilvy PR is conducting media training which has enabled numerous clients to face the media with ease and deliver their key messages effectively. These include individual media programmes for senior executives such as CEOs as well as group sessions for both marketers and sales people.
Prior to joining Ogilvy PR, Mr Thomas headed Communication Management, Singapore, publisher of society magazine Tatler.
At the International Herald Tribune (IHT), Mr Thomas held numerous senior management roles. He was transferred by the IHT to Singapore from London in 1987 to develop the newspaper’s South Asia operations, being promoted to Deputy Managing Director, Asia-Pacific in 1995.
In 1999, Mr Thomas became Global Client Director of the IHT. Based in Paris, he developed a series of Internet and in-flight television media partnerships – a first for the publication.
Mr Thomas holds a Master’s degree from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Australia.
Jaime “Jim” Ayala
Senior Managing Director, Ayala Corporation
Jim Ayala, 47, is Senior Managing Director of Ayala Corporation and a member of the Ayala Group Management Committee and Finance Committee. He is involved in Ayala Corporation’s strategy and new business development. In addition, he leads the group’s activities in sustainable development.
Until April of this year, Jim was President of Ayala Land (ALI), which he joined in 2004. Under Jim’s leadership, ALI achieved 130% revenue growth and 80% earnings growth over five years. It increased residential revenues 2.5 times on the back of a revamped portfolio of market-leading products and brands; doubled mall and office gross leasable area with exciting new malls and office campuses; successfully launched two new sustainability oriented cities, Bonifacio Global City and Nuvali; and made significant forays into new business lines, such as leisure and tourism, and new geographies, such as Thailand and China.
His other significant positions included: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cebu Holdings, Inc., and Makati Development Corp., and President of Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. In 2005, Jim was a finalist for the CNBC Asia Business Leader Awards
Prior to joining ALI, Jim spent 19 years with McKinsey & Company in the US, Mexico, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore offices. At McKinsey, he was a Director (Global Senior Partner) and member of the firm’s Asia-Pacific Director Group, which oversaw the firm’s 17 offices and 1,200 personnel in Asia. He chaired the Geographic Development Committee for Southeast Asia, which was responsible for the reputation building, networking, and local development of the five Southeast Asian offices, comprising 200 staff. He also chaired the Asian Professional Development Committee, which oversaw the firm’s staffing, evaluation, compensation, and training processes and policies in the region for associates. On the knowledge side, Jim was a leader of the firm’s Global Business Process Offshoring and Outsourcing practice and part of the Global Leadership Organization Practice practitioner’s network. He also founded and headed the Asia-Pacific Energy Practice for several years. Finally, he was President of the Firm’s Philippine office.
In Asia, he counseled multinational and local clients in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. His clients spanned a broad spectrum of industries, including retail, tourism, real estate, energy, banking, telecommunications, consumer goods, basic industries, and transportation. While at McKinsey he worked in 29 different countries.
Before joining McKinsey, Jim worked at the Hong Kong Resort Company and the Philippine Commercial International Bank.
Throughout his career, Jim has played leadership roles in civic organizations. He is Past President of the Bonifacio Arts Foundation Inc, which is building a world-class science museum in the Philippines. He is also Past Chairman of the Hero’s Foundation, an organization that provides for the education of the children of Philippine soldiers killed in the line of duty. He is a trustee of the Ayala Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund of the Philippines, where he was Chairman of the Programs Committee which oversees the performance and prioritization of WWF’s programs. He is also a member of the Young President’s Organization, and is a past Chapter Chair of the Philippine Chapter.
He is the Chairman of the Princeton University Alumni Schools Committee in the Philippines, and is a past Chairman of the Harvard Business School Association of the Philippines, and a former VP of the HBS Hong Kong chapter. He is also a founding member of the Asian Public Real Estate Association.
He earned his M.B.A. from Harvard School, graduating with honors in 1988. He completed his undergraduate work in 1984 at Princeton University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in Economics.
Jim pursues a number of continuing personal interests. His favorite sports include scuba-diving, golf, volleyball, and alpine skiing. Past-times include multi-media imaging, personal communication and productivity technology and adventure travel. He is married and has three children.
Garry Kingshott
Chief Executive Adviser, Cebu Pacific Air
Educated in Adelaide, South Australia and the Wharton Business School, Mr Garry Kingshott is an experienced Senior Executive and Company Director. He has achieved strategic and financial objectives by providing strong leadership and developing sound customer based strategic plans in a variety of businesses in different parts of the world. A successful change agent, he has managed a number of business turnarounds and organizational wide change programs to achieve sustainable business improvements.
Mr Kingshott was involved in sales and marketing from 1974 to 1990, having worked with Johnson and Johnson Pty Ltd, Safcol Holdings Limited, Young and Rubican and South Australian Brewing Company Ltd., he moved to Ansett Australia Ltd. where he worked his way up from Director-Marketing to Chief Executive Officer from 1990 to 2001. He was asked to join Jet Airways as Chief Commercial Officer in 2006 and was later named Chief Executive Officer of Jet Lite (India) Ltd. in 2007. Mr Kingshott joined Cebu Pacific Air as Chief Executive Adviser in May of 2008.
Hon. Arthur Cua Yap
Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of the Philippines
Appointed in August of 2004 as Secretary of Agriculture, Arthur Cua Yap has held the post of Secretary of Agriculture twice in the Arroyo Administration (August 2004-July 2005, October 2006-present), and is its longest-serving Agriculture Secretary.
Previous to serving as Agriculture chief, Secretary Yap was Director-General of the Presidential Management Staff (April-October, 2006), Presidential Adviser for Jobs Creation (December 2005-April 2006), Administrator of the National Food Authority (September 2002-August 2004) and President/CEO of the Philippine International Trading Corporation (July 2001-September 2002).
During the 2008 crisis in global food prices, Secretary Yap moved swiftly to secure the Philippines rice supply from domestic and international suppliers, and deftly managed the distribution of rice stocks. By July 1, 2008, prices stabilized and the firstsemester's rice production volume established a new production volume record in the history of Philippine rice production.
Secretary Yap has so far led Philippine Agriculture for 14 quarters. In that period, the sector has enjoyed positive and continuous growth contributing significantly not only to the national economy but significantly raising farmers' and fisherfolk incomes nationwide.
Secretary Yap is a member of the Philippine Bar graduating with a Juris Doctor from the Ateneo School of Law in 1991. He also has an AB Degree in Management Economics Honors from the Ateneo De Manila University (Class of 1987). Secretary Yap received a Doctorate in Agriculture (Honoris Causa) from the Central Luzon State University in 2007 and a Doctorate in Public Administration (Honoris Causa) from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in May 2009. In June 2009, Yap was invited by the prestigious World Economic Forum to be a member of the International Council on Food Security.
David S. McCauley
Principal Climate Change Specialist, Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
David McCauley is Principal Climate Change Specialist in ADB's Climate Change Program Coordination Unit under its Regional and Sustainable Development Department. In this capacity he serves as the lead technical specialist on climate change within ADB and is involved with all aspects of ADB's climate change programme development, oversight and outreach. He serves as ADB's focal point for reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) and has led resource mobilization efforts for the Coral Triangle and Heart of Borneo Initiatives
Dr. McCauley is an international environmental specialist who has worked in the Asia and Pacific region for more than 20 years, having lived in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and now the Philippines. His professional work has dealt with strengthening environmental policies and natural resource agencies, international river basin management, programmes to address climate change, rainforest conservation, air and water pollution control, arresting natural resources degradation and other pressing environmental issues.
Prior to his current position he served as ADB's Senior Environmental Economist and its Principal Environment Specialist and as focal point for its partnership with the Global Environment Facility. He joined ADB in 2004, and previously worked for the Ford Foundation, Harvard University, the East-West Center in Hawaii, the US Agency for International Development and served as an advisor to the UN Development Program, UN Environment Program, the World Bank, and ADB.
President, International Seafood Sustainability Foundation
Susan Jackson is the founding president of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), a nonprofit, non-governmental organization established in 2008 to help the seafood industry undertake science-based initiatives to maintain tuna populations and their ecosystems at sustainable levels of abundance.
Prior to joining ISSF, Ms Jackson was the vice president for government and industry relations and seafood sourcing for Del Monte Foods. Her responsibilities in this role included the conduct of government relations at the federal, state and local levels, as well as representing Del Monte to trade and industry associations. Ms Jackson was also responsible for the purchase of all raw tuna and contracting of tuna co-pack manufacturing for Del Monte’s StarKist brand.
Ms Jackson brings mission-related experience and insight to her leadership role at ISSF based on her work helping StarKist to develop its sustainability policy for tuna sourcing and her membership on Del Monte’s task force for companywide sustainability initiatives.
Ms Jackson joined the H.J. Heinz Company in 1997 as an attorney in the company law department, managing litigation worldwide, North American employment law and general contractual issues for the StarKist business. In 2001, she became director, tuna procurement for StarKist. Del Monte Foods acquired StarKist in 2002, and Ms Jackson gained additional responsibility for seafood sourcing and other procurement activities. Prior to her work with Heinz and Del Monte Foods, Ms Jackson practiced law as a private litigator for seven years.
Ms Jackson graduated from The University of Notre Dame in 1986 with a B.S. in Economics and obtained her law degree from Duke University in 1990.
Mr. Blane Olson
Mr. Blane Olson is the managing director of Clearsmoke Technologies of the ANOVA Alliance of Companies.
With sustainability efforts on three continents, the ANOVA Food Group alliance of companies, a global producer/importer of seafood, demonstrates its corporate core value commitment to socially and environmentally responsible efforts to ensure a healthy supply of fish for future generations. ANOVA has partnered with reputable organizations such as the WWF and Naturland to work together in implementing sustainable harvesting practices with their suppliers.
In partnership with Naturland and GTZ, ANOVA became the first company to accomplish sustainable certification and eco-labeling of Lake Victoria Perch in Africa in May of 2009. The effort in Tanzania, Africa, encompassed not only the parameters of achieving a sustainable fishery but, also focused on the socioeconomic welfare of the fishermen by instituting projects such as health care and kindergarten programs in the fishing villages.
Claresse®, a freshwater fish (member of the European Catfish) called, ‘possibly the greenest fish on earth’ is farmed using an environmentally conscious method of aquaculture being conducted in Central Holland. The farms are locally owned, family operated companies.
Currently, the ANOVA Food Group within the framework of the Fishing and Living Partnership™ with WWF Indonesia is undergoing the challenge of MSC pre-assessment for hand line Yellowfin Tuna in the extremely important Coral Triangle region, where sustainability is essential to the ecosystem of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Western Central Tropical Pacific.
ANOVA’s sustainable and socioeconomic efforts are setting benchmarks for the industry and promoting the need for not only sustainable fisheries but also the socioeconomic welfare of the fishers, their families and the fishing community.
Rodolfo B. Santos Jr.
Member, Board of Trustees, VSO Bahaginan
Mr Rodolfo Santos is currently a Monitoring and Evaluation consultant with the World Bank-funded National CFC Phase-out Plan (NCPP) of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) at the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), a Certified Assessor with Development Dimensions International (DDI), while he is also engaged in freelance consulting and serves on several boards, including as a member of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Bahaginan Board of Trustees.
Mr Santos has more than 27 years of experience in programme development and management, strategic planning, participatory and results-based monitoring and evaluation, applied research, capacity building for local governments and for certification, setting up village level socio-economic projects, organising regional workshops and training courses, conflict analysis and management in the field of natural resources management and rural livelihoods. He is dedicated to achieving sustainable outcomes that eventually would lead to improved lives for poor people, a healthier environment and the sharing of learning amongst development practitioners.
From May 2005 to April 2008, Mr Santos was Senior Programme Specialist (Monitoring and Evaluation) and Supply Development Manager and Country Director with the Marine Aquarium Council Philippines. From April 2000 to December 2004, he was a Regional Programme Coordinator for VSO International. Previously, he was Acting Country Director, VSO Philippines (April to September 1999). As Programme Officer for natural resource management for Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Philippines from January 1997 to March 2000, he managed the implementation of a three-year USD 500,000 national project on community-based natural resources management funded by the European Union. In addition Mr Santos has accumulated a wide experience consulting for a range of organizations on issues ranging from aquaculture to agroforestry.
Mr Santos is a PhD student in Development Studies and has a Master in Environment and Natural Resource Management. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Empowerment and Resource Development (CERD), VSO Bahaginan (VSOB), and a Certified Assessor for Governance and Program Management, Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC).
MODERATORS
Veronica Pedrosa
Senior news presenter & correspondent, Al Jazeera English
Named 'Best News Anchor" at the ninth Asian Television Awards 2004, Veronica Pedrosa is a veteran of 20 years' international news experience. She has lived and worked in three continents, and her career encompasses the most prestigious and influential news broadcasters. Ms Pedrosa is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she is the senior news presenter and correspondent for Al Jazeera English.
Ms Pedrosa joined Al Jazeera from CNN in Hong Kong where she anchored the rolling breakfast news programme and prime time slot for five years. Prior to that she worked with BBC World Television and BBC World Service Radio in London presenting news bulletins and feature programmes. Previously Ms Pedrosa was a news anchor for CNN International at their headquarters in Atlanta.
During her career Ms Pedrosa has brought viewers news on all the major global and regional news events and has interviewed a wide range of world figures including Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
Ms Pedrosa began her career in journalism in Manila as a television reporter, presenter and producer for the national network ABS-CBN. She also reported freelance for print and radio outlets.
Ms Pedrosa grew up in exile in London after her mother, herself a journalist, wrote a biography of the then First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. She was educated at St Paul's Girls School in London and Newham College, Cambridge.
Bill Holden
Pacific Fisheries Manager, MSC Asia Pacific Pty Ltd
Mr Holden is currently the Pacific Fisheries Manager for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) operating from the Sydney Australia office.
He began working with the MSC in February 2009 and his work involves fisheries outreach in the Pacific and Indian Oceans with a focus on tuna fisheries. He also is involved with small scale fisheries is South East Asia.
Prior to joining MSC, Mr Holden lived in the Kingdom of Tonga and managed ‘Alatini Fisheries Co which he started in 1989. This company operates tuna longliners and snapper dropliners fishing for the fresh chilled markets of Japan and the United States. Up until he joined MSC, he was also the President of the Fishing Industry Association of Tonga (FIAT) and was also a director of the Pacific Islands Tuna Industry Association (PITIA).
Mr Holden grew up in San Diego, California where he began commercial fishing. He has a BA in Political Science and Communications from University of California, Santa Barbara.
Geoffrey Muldoon
Leader, Live Reef Food Fish Trade (LRFT) Strategy, WWF Coral Triangle Programme
Mr Muldoon coordinates a suite of LRFT activities across the Coral Triangle working on diverse issues (industry roundtables, full-cycle mariculture, consumers, partnership development between government and private sector and understanding and redressing ecosystem impacts) and working closely with all CT countries as well as those such as Hong Kong and Singapore whose footprint extends into the region.
His background is varied having worked with the NGO sector on market-based initiatives that promote sustainability in fisheries and with government agencies undertaking market, trade and economic analyses on coral reef fisheries.
More recently his focus has shifted beyond live reef food fish to encompass coastal small-scale fisheries generally and the application of market-based approaches outside the traditional certification frameworks that can incentivize fishers to incrementally improve their fishing practices, particularly given the role of developing countries in the global seafood trade.
While recognizing the importance of seafood trade to millions of people in the region, for Mr Muldoon the biggest challenge is assisting stakeholders to recognize the problem and facilitating gradual improvement multi-stakeholder, multi-lateral solutions.
Geoffrey Muldoon comes to the Coral Triangle Programme with an academic background in economics. He has worked in the fisheries sector within South-east Asia since 2002, while completing his PhD in Fisheries Economics.
RILI DJOHANI, MSc.
Director, Government & Partner Relations, Coral Triangle Program, The Nature Conservancy
For nearly 20 years, Rili has worked to improve the management and finance of marine protected areas and reduce the use of destructive fishing practices in Southeast Asia. She joined The Nature Conservancy in 1995 to help establish the Conservancy’s coastal and marine program in Indonesia. Under Rili’s direction, TNC's Coral Triangle Center in Bali was opened in 2000. The Center’s goals are to strengthen the network of marine protected areas in Indonesia and the Coral Triangle through public and private partnerships and an integrated approach based on technical assistance and practical training. Rili was TNC’s Country Director for Indonesia from 2004-2008 which is TNCs largest international program. The Indonesia program is focused on two of TNC’s global priorities: the forests of the Southeast Asia Archipelago and the Coral Triangle. In 2009, she took up a new regional role asTNC’s Director for Government and Partner relations for the Coral Triangle Program. Rili also leads an innovative financing and collaborative management initiative in Komodo National Park with support from the Global Environmental Facility and the International Finance Corporation. The goal is to help make the Park financially self-sufficient based on tourism revenues. She holds a Master of Science degree in tropical marine ecology from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands and a Master of Science in tropical coastal zone management from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. She is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program (environmental policy and law) with the University of Leiden that builds upon her marine conservation work in Indonesia.
PANELISTS
Martin Brugman
President, Culimer B.V.
Martin Brugman is President of Culimer B.V., a worldwide seafood supplier with offices in The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam. As one of the leading tuna suppliers, Culimer B.V. emphasizes the need for sustainable fisheries in the Pacific Ocean. The company works together with WWF towards more responsible and sustainable fisheries.
Mr Brugman has been working in the seafood industry for more than 25 years. Before achieving his professional experience he studied business administration at Nyenrode University in Breukelen (The Netherlands). Besides being President at Culimer B.V. Mr Brugman is board member of the Dutch Seafood Importers Association and board member of Public-Private-Partnership Vietnam-The Netherlands for seafood.
As seafood expert Mr Brugman has experienced the rising demand in the market with the followed pressure on seafood stocks. He is one of the initiators in developing sustainable tuna fisheries and is therefore asked to give his view on how to make sustainability affordable, and increase value for all in the distribution chain, from fishermen to retailers.
Gerald Knecht
President and Founder of North Atlantic, Inc. & Co founder of P.T Bali Seafood International
As President and founder of North Atlantic, Inc. and Co founder of P.T Bali Seafood International, Mr Gerald Knecht’s responsibilities include developing and implementing strategic vision and growth for both companies where he is active in daily management and business development. He is the majority stock holder and an industry veteran with 30 years of operating experience in many segments of the seafood industry.
Mr Knecht began his career in the seafood business in 1981 as a fleet operator of five large New England ground fish trawlers. In order to add value to the company he integrated forward in 1984 and began to develop innovative ways of extending shelf life and selling whole fresh fish directly to supermarkets. As industry regulations began to mount and consumer trends changed the company once again integrated forward and began processing captive raw material from its own fleet. Innovation around increasing shelf life of both raw material and finished goods continued and the company was recognized nationally for these innovations.
Fishing regulations restricting supply of regionally caught fresh product forced the company to re-examine its supply chain in 1995. It sold the fleet in 1996-1998 and began to concentrate on foreign supply. Buying from Canada, South America, and S.E. Asia the company evaluated the fresh vs. frozen components of its product lines. As the supply moved further offshore the concentration of the products has shifted from predominantly fresh products to predominantly frozen products. The relative stability of frozen product shelf life and pricing has allowed to company to plan, profit and grow.
North Atlantic, Inc has been operating in SE Asia for 8 years and P.T. Bali Seafood International was founded in 2009. All of the supply chain development has been handled by Mr Knecht. While working in Asia it has become apparent over the last eight years that the most abundant supply of warm water species is in Indonesian waters. The present operations in Bali takes advantage of that supply while allowing the company to control supply, packaging, quality, and specification compliance. While some supply will continue to be provided by independent suppliers in Asia and South America the strategy is to consolidate as much production in Indonesia.
Recently Mr Knecht has made a large commitment to Indonesia where he has established a foreign joint venture with P.T. Kelola Mina Laut. Together they are developing a programme in the eastern part of the Indonesian Archipelago to help develop and certify six sustainable fisheries. The fundamental goal of the joint venture is to help develop a sustainable supply in Indonesia to service both international and domestic customers.
Mr Knecht has a B.A in Political Science and is a member of the US National Fisheries Institute, a Director at the US National Fisheries Institute, while he also serves as an Advisor at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and at the GMRI Sustainability Initiative among other positions.
Mr. Francis P. Tiu Laurel
President of Frabelle Fishing Corporation. An expert in the area of fisheries, Mr. Tiu Laurel has held leadership positions in the Confederation of Philippine Tuna Industry, Inc., Bangus Council of the Philippines, Organization for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries, Inter-Island Deep Sea Fishing Association, and the World Tuna Purse Seine Organization, among others. He is also affiliated with the Consulate of the Federated States of Micronesia in the Philippines as an honorary Consul. Mr. Tiu Laurel graduated with a degree of Computer Science in the University of Santo Tomas.
Lloyd Moskalik
Managing Director & founder, OceanEthix Limited
Lloyd Moskalik is the Managing Director, and one of the founders of OceanEthix Limited, a company that is pioneering the development of vertically integrated and sustainable supply chains for live reef fish and other live seafood with the objective of achieving triple bottom line outcomes; accounting for the social, environmental and economic aspects of production of live seafood.
Lloyd has a 20-year career working as a strategic management consultant for Price Waterhouse, KPMG and Watson Wyatt, focusing on strategy and restructuring of various industries. Lloyd has worked with OceanEthix for three years implementing a restructured live seafood supply chain as part of the company’s commercially-based solution to provide high quality live reef fish produced utilizing superior practices, and that aim to lessen the impacts of current fisheries practices in the regions where they operate. This has required working closely with retailers and end customers together with fishing communities in Indonesia and the Philippines, in establishing hatcheries, farms and grow-out facilities to help improve this traditionally unsustainable fishing industry.
Oceanethix has recently signed a co-operation agreement with CP Lotus, one of the largest hypermarket chains in China with 75 stores across the country. This agreement will see Oceanethix and CP Lotus establish its first pilot outlet in Shanghai marketing high value, high quality fish coming from sustainable sources directly to Chinese consumers.
Mr. Bien Subiantoro
Mr. Bien Subiantoro is the managing director for Treasury and International of PT. Bank Negara Indonesia. Prior to this, Mr. Subiantoro was the managing director for SMI & Sharia and Managing Director for Risk Management for the same company. He was also extensively involved in PT.Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk in several departments and leadership positions. He has been actively involved in quite a number of seminars and conferences on topics of risk management, banking and finance, and global leadership among others. Mr. Subiantoro earned his MBA on Corporate and International Finance in the University of Oregon, USA.
Benjamin Kahn
Director, APEX Environmental
Mr. Benjamin Kahn is the director of APEX Environmental, which works for the improved management of critical habitats for endangered marine mammals. He has been conducting visual and acoustic surveys and ecological research on oceanic whales and dolphins in Indonesia as well as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands since 1997. Mr Kahn is also appointed as a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission – Cetacean Specialist Group. He is the Principal Investigator of the Coral Triangle Oceanic Cetacean Program which works in close partnership with government agencies, NGOs, local communities and industry sectors (especially oil and gas, shipping). APEX has been extensively involved in the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Review and was the lead consultant for BP Tangguh’s marine mammal and reptile program, as well as various other industry-based projects.
Patricia Gallardo
Patricia Gallardo is Shangri-La’s youngest Corporate Executive with the challenging job of leveraging the Asian hospitality and sustainability. She works directly with the COO and chairs the Corporate CSR Committee as well as overseeing the implementation of CSR in over 65 hotels and resorts worldwide. Pat works through the General & Resident Managers in implementing projects under the five key areas of CSR namely; Stakeholder Relations, Health & Safety, Environment, Supply Chain and Employees.
A CSR mission statement has just been put in place and with this, new initiatives have been rolled up including eco-friendly room and F&B amenities, occupational health and safety certification, an overall greener supply chain and a consolidated habitat conservation programme for the resorts. In 2010, Patricia Gallardo will continue to strengthen the education and health programmes with the hotels’ local communities as well as roll out a CSR Module for all levels of the staff in all properties. She already has started working on the green designs standards for future construction and has commenced laying the groundwork on sustainability reporting.
Pat has worked with many NGOs including the Asia Foundation and WWF. She was instrumental in introducing sustainability at Ayala land, Inc. where she worked for almost four years. She holds a double MA in globalization & governance from the University of Birmingham and the London School of Economics, A vegetarian, she loves travelling and learning languagesm and regularly practices yoga.