Board of Trustees

Simon Heck (Germany) is Senior Director, CGIAR, and was appointed Director General of the International Potato Institute (CIP) in February 2023.

Prior to this appointment, he led CIP’s research and development projects portfolio designed to intensify, diversify and strengthen the resilience of agri-food systems with sweetpotato-related technologies. He is responsible for setting priorities that respond to changing country, regional and global demands and that contribute to CI) and CGIAR long-term strategic objectives and goals.

He joined CIP in 2012 as Deputy Program Manager for Sweetpotato in Africa where he led the regional Scaling-Up Sweetpotato through Agriculture and Nutrition (SUSTAIN) project in 2013 and the Sweetpotato Program in 2014. He previously worked with the WorldFish Center, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

An anthropologist by training, Simon has extensive experience leading research and development projects in agriculture, aquatic resources and environmental management. He has been chair of the Agro-Enterprise Learning Alliance for Eastern and Southern Africa and has contributed to policy and strategy development in several regional and national institutions in Africa. His disciplinary expertise is in social science and he has contributed to CGIAR research on resilience of social and ecological systems, food security, social development indicators, land tenure, and innovation systems. He has a PhD in Social Anthropology from Boston University.

Mr. Sanjay Agarwal (India, non-voting) is the Assistant Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) whose responsibility includes leading country relations and business affairs at the organization.

Prior to joining ICRISAT, Mr Agarwal was the Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare for the Government of India. His career charts more than 37 years of respected civil service to people of India, across an impressive and well-rounded spectrum of sectors, including energy, textiles, transportation, and agriculture.

Mr. Agarwal began his career in Uttar Pradesh, working initially as joint secretary to the Chief Minister in the early 1990s. From there he served as Magistrate and Collector in several districts, including Basti, Mirzapur and Lucknow, and was promoted to Managing Director of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transportation in 2002.

In 2005, Mr. Agarwal was appointed Development Commission for the Ministry of Textiles in New Delhi. Following this five-year appointment, he returned to Uttar Pradesh as Principal Secretary where he fulfilled numerous responsibilities in education, agriculture, research, land development, and health and welfare, among others. In 2013, he moved to the Department of Energy, where he served as Principal Secretary, and later as Additional Chief Secretary, for four years.

After a brief stint in the Department of Secondary and Higher Education in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Agarwal returned to New Delhi for a post in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and, subsequently, his current role at ICRISAT.

Dr. Julio Alegre (Peru) is a Principal Research Professor at the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (UNALM) in the soil science department where he teaches a range of technical and undergraduate courses, and advises graduate students undertaking research. Over the last 40 years, Dr. Alegre has conducted research and training around the world on soil and agroforestry systems, including for the International Potato Center and the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF).

Having started out at the university as a program manager for joint research and capacity building venture between the university and the government of Belgium, Dr. Alegre continues to coordinate research with the Flemish Belgian Universities on soil and agroforestry projects in Peru. He has also served on the boards of directors of a number of public institutions and high-level committees and lectured at the Universidad Autonoma de Chapingo in Mexico and the University of Florida. He also served as the president of soil science societies in Peru and Latin America for many years.

Dr. Alegre began his career at North Carolina State University where he worked as a senior scientist in a tropical soils project in Yurimaguas, Peru. In 1993, he joined the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) as the coordinator of its Ecosystem Process and Management System. Over the next 10 years, Alegre managed numerous ICRAF research and development initiatives in Latin America before returning to UNALM – his alma mater – as a research professor.

Dr. Alegre holds a PhD in Soil Science from North Carolina State University, and a masters in Soil and Water Conservation and bachelors in Agronomy from UNALM. He has published over 180 academic articles in peer reviewed publications.

Dr. Patrick Caron (France; Ex Officio, CGIAR System Board) has a deep understanding of the interface between science and policy, and leadership experience in steering, negotiating and forging alliances across groups with diverging views and perspectives. He is currently Vice President for International Affairs at the University of Montpellier, where he guides scientific and technical personnel across departments and faculties to consolidate the international ambitions of a university with 50,000 students and 5,000 staff. He is also International Director of the Montpellier University of Excellence, an alliance of 16 regional research and higher education organizations, Director of MAK’IT, the Montpellier Institute for Advanced Knowledge, and President of Agropolis International, a community with 42 member institutions. He was recently appointed as a member of the Scientific Group for the 2021 UN Food System Summit.

He spent much of his earlier career with CIRAD, a French public institution active in agricultural research in over 100 countries, including six years as Director General for Research and Strategy. He served two terms as Chair of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, the science-policy interface of the UN Committee on World Food Security. He holds a PhD in Geography, a master’s in Food and Nutrition, a master’s in Public Health and a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. He is also a certified mediator.

Dr. Shenggen Fan (China; Ex Officio, CGIAR System Board) has extensive experience in developing strong connections at the highest levels with a wide range of influential stakeholders, and has engaged widely on issues related to agriculture, food, health, climate change, natural resource management and information technologies. He is currently Chair Professor at the College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University in Beijing. He is a member of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition; the Advisory Council of the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford; the Board of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture; and the Council of Advisers of the World Food Prize. He also serves as a member of the Lead Group for the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement appointed by the UN Secretary General.

He previously spent over 20 years with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), including as Director General for the ten-year period until his departure in December 2019. His previous roles within IFPRI included several years as Division Director of Development Strategy and Governance, and prior to that, as a Research Fellow. His earlier professional experience also includes time as a Research Economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Arkansas and as a Post-doctoral Fellow and Associate Research Officer at the International Service for National Agricultural Research in the Netherlands. He holds a PhD in Applied Economics and an MSc in Agricultural Economics.

Jorge Juan Ganoza Roncal (Peru) is the Head of the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation (INIA), an entity of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation dedicated to research and technology transfer, conservation of genetic diversity, and appreciation of the nation’s agrobiodiversity. An agronomist, he has expertise in rural development and water resources and management experience in the public and private sectors.

Before being appointed Head of INIA in March 2022, Mr. Ganoza was the Institute’s General Manager. From July 2018 to January 2020, he was General Manager of the National Water Authority, where he previously served as a director or administrator of various units or projects between 2009 and 2018. Prior to joining the National Water Authority, he served as the Regional Manager of Social Development in the Regional Government of Pasco, Peru. He has participated in the design and management of projects focused on water management, agriculture or forestry, in close relationship with resource user organizations. He has also participated in the development and execution of feasibility studies or strategic plans for investment in public or private projects.

Mr. Ganoza has experience in the development and management of courses and workshops and has been a professor at the National University of Trujillo and the Daniel Alcides Carrion National University in Cerro de Pasco. In addition to his degree in agronomy studies from the National University of Cajamarca, Peru, Mr. Ganoza has a Master’s in Public Management from the César Vallejo-Trujillo University, Peru, and a Master’s in Cooperation for the Development in Rural Areas from the University of Padua, Italy.

Dr. Neal Gutterson’s (USA; Ex Officio, CGIAR System Board) life’s work is to create value for farmers. He does this through a combination of scientific and technological expertise, broad-based management and board experience and the ability to convert innovative ideas and thinking into results.

Dr. Gutterson joined DuPont Pioneer in 2014. After DuPont merged with Dow, he was named Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the combined entity’s agriculture division, which was subsequently spun off and renamed Corteva Agriscience. There, he led the integration of three research and development organizations into one, developed the new company’s first integrated R&D strategy and oversaw the growth and expansion of its award-winning pipeline. While at Corteva, he championed and brought strategic clarity to the company’s efforts to use its expertise, intellectual property and technologies to address challenges facing small holder farmers globally.

Prior to joining Corteva, he held a number of senior roles with Mendel Biotechnology, rising from Vice President, R&D, to President, Chief Executive Officer and Board member. Earlier, he held a number of research roles with DNA Plant Technology Corporation. Throughout his career, he has used his knowledge of organizational design principles to forge collaborations with organizations of all sizes and stages of maturity. He also spent six years on the Board of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), along with a number of other associations. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry.

Ms. Alyssa Jade McDonald-Baertl (Germany; Ex Officio, CGIAR System Board) has a dynamic and energetic entrepreneurial perspective and approach to international development, a passion for the role of research and evidence-based change, and strong knowledge of sustainable business in the midcap/SME sector. She currently advises policy and programs in the European Commission regarding sustainable finance, eco-innovation and deployment for commercial or public-private partnerships to adapt to new market conditions brought on by the green and social economy. She is also a board member of UnternehmensGruen (German Federation of Green Economy), a politically oriented entrepreneurs’ association that campaigns for the environment and a sustainable economy.

A decade ago, she founded a social enterprise to grow and harvest cacao in Ecuador, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea for processing and sale in Europe, producing high-grade chocolate while increasing farmer livelihoods and agroforestry. Responding to the need for better farmer resilience, the enterprise pivoted to focus on cacao farmer education. This transdisciplinary education, drawn from planetary health and living income methodologies, contributed to improved farmer health, wealth and crop yields from Latin America to the Pacific. In the deep past, she spent a decade in corporate business as Head of International Communications at Deutsche Telekom, developing communication strategy for more than 50 countries, and as International Brand Manager for T-Systems (DEU), focused on M&A and market development. She is a former board member of the European Sustainable Business Federation and is currently conducting post-graduate research in Environmental Science regarding farmer training.

Ms. Alice Ruhweza (Uganda; Ex Officio, CGIAR System Board) has extensive experience working at the intersection of conservation and development in Africa and globally, fostering successful partnerships with a wide range of international institutions. She is currently the Africa Region Director for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), where she leads and oversees a regional program comprising 10 countries and 400 staff. There she is leading design of a new conservation framework that brings together work at national, transboundary and global levels, as well as development of a new system of program quality assurance. She sits on the Board of The Global Ever-Greening Alliance and on the steering committee of the Future Earth Water-Food-Energy Nexus working group.

Before joining WWF, she was Vice President of Programs and Partnerships with Conservation International, where she oversaw the Vital Signs Program, which provides data and diagnostic tools to help inform agricultural decisions and monitor outcomes around the world. She was also the Team Leader and Technical Adviser for the United Nations Development Programme Global Environmental Finance Unit in Africa. In this role, she led a team supporting 44 sub-Saharan African countries to attract and drive public and private finance towards their sustainable development priorities. The program successfully mobilized over USD 600 million over six and a half years, which with co-financing made it the largest environment program in the UN. She is a former Sustainable Agriculture Intensification Commissioner. She holds an MSc in Agricultural and Applied Economics.

Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda (Zimbabwe)

Chair, CGIAR System Board

Lindiwe Majele Sibanda is an animal scientist and a practicing farmer with extensive experience, serving as a policy advisor to numerous African governments and global institutions. She is Professor, Director and Chair of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. She is a Member of the Board of Nestlé S.A. and serves on the Board of the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg). She is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and member of Champions 12.3, accelerating progress on UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3, halving global per capita food waste.

She previously served as Board Chair for the International Livestock Research Institution (ILRI); Board Member of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT); and program advisor to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). She also served on the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems and as a member of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) Policy Advisory Council. She has served in senior leadership positions in various organizations, including co-Chair of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA), Vice-President, Country Support, Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and CEO and Head of Mission of the pan-African Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN). She holds a PhD and MSc in Agriculture from the University of Reading, and BSc in Animal Production from the University of Alexandria, Egypt.

She was appointed to the CGIAR System Board in April 2021 , and served as the Chair since 1 January 2023.

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Hilary Wild has extensive international experience in the fields of finance, organizational management, governance, and risk management. She has been involved with the CGIAR for several years, initially as a member of the Board of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and later the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in both cases chairing their Finance and Audit Committees. She is now a member of the CGIAR System Board as well as all the constituent Centers of One CGIAR, as well as a member of the CGIAR Audit, Finance and Risk Committee and is a member of the HarvestPlus ​Programme Advisory Committee and Audit Committee. She is Trustee and Audit Committee Chair of WaterAid UK, Chair of the Church Commissioners Audit and Risk Committee, a member of the Oversight Advisory Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, a member of the Advanced Agriculture and Food Advisory Panel of CSIR, South Africa, and Treasurer, Medical Aid for Palestinians.

She was previously Chief Financial Officer of the World Health Organization (WHO), with overall responsibility for financial management of a USD 2 billion organization operating in 140 countries, and Director Business Change. Before joining the WHO, she held various positions in the international financial sector, including as a director ​in investment banking a​s well as asset management in the Kleinwort Benson Group. She also worked for UNICEF in New York as Chief of Finance, and for a major USA commercial bank ​in London and as its representative in Greece. She has chaired oversight committees for the United Nations Development Programme, International Labour Organization, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

She was appointed to the CGIAR System Board in September 2019.