Partnership Forum SDGs - Speaker Bios
Partnership Forum SDGs - Speaker Bios
Partnership Forum SDGs - Speaker Bios
Speaker Bios
(in the order of the programme)
1
He graduated in Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration “La
Sapienza” of Rome, Italy. During his University term, he was actively engaged with AIESEC, the
International Association of Students in Economics and Management, where he was elected in
several positions at both national and international level. In his spare time, he pursued a second
University degree in veterinary medicine and recently completed his PhD in Animal Health and
Livestock Management while also enjoying a limited practice of veterinary medicine.
Jaine Chisholm Caunt, Director General of the Grain and Feed Trade
Association (GAFTA) and Chair of the Private Sector Mechanism and
the International Agri-Food Network
Jaine Chisholm Caunt is the Director General of the Grain and Feed Trade
Association. Gafta is an international trade association representing
businesses who trade in agri-commodities and has over 1510 members in 89
countries. Jaine is also the current Chair of the International Agri-Food
Network (IAFN) which coordinates the work of the Private Sector Mechanism
(PSM) at the UN Committee on World Food Security. The Private Sector
Mechanism facilitates inputs of the private sector into the UN CFS and
organises events to further food security, improved nutrition, and sustainable
agriculture.
2
Steve Godfrey, CIO, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
Steve Godfrey is the Chief Investment Officer of the Global Alliance for
Improved Nutrition (GAIN). Steve joined GAIN as Chief Investment Officer in
2012 following five years as Managing Director of the Commonwealth
Business Council, where he was responsible for investment and policy work
with heads of government in more than 50 countries. He has worked as an
advisor to the UK Department for International Development, Canadian
Foreign Minister and President of the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada, and
has consulted to the United Nations, World Bank, European Union and
various international companies. Steve was appointed Head of the
Commonwealth office in South Africa from 1993 to1999, leading the
Commonwealth technical assistance program during the country’s transition to majority rule. He
later managed the private sector consultations of the Commission for Africa chaired by then UK
Prime Minister Tony Blair. Steve began his career working for development NGOs, including
Oxfam and War on Want in the UK and Inter Pares in Canada. He holds an MA in Philosophy
from the University of Edinburgh and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.
3
Audrae Erickson, Vice President, External & Public Affairs, Mead
Johnson Nutrition
Audrae Erickson serves as Mead Johnson Nutrition’s Vice President,
External & Public Affairs. She oversees global government and industry
relations and engages with external stakeholders through partnership
efforts.
Ms. Erickson was formerly the President of the Corn Refiners
Association in Washington, D.C. representing the processors of corn-
based ingredients. Ms. Erickson also served as the Senior Director of
Congressional Relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation,
representing U.S. farmers and ranchers on international trade issues.
Prior to her private sector positions, Ms. Erickson served as the Director of Agricultural Affairs at
the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office and was an economist at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Economic Research Service. Ms. Erickson earned a Master of Arts degree in
economics as a Rotary International scholar at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
and a Bachelor of Arts in economics/business and a Bachelor of Arts in French at Linfield
College in McMinnville, Oregon.
4
and that large scale action needs to be taken urgently to reverse the damaging trend. He is
believes that agriculture, food, biomaterials and energy are four dimensions of one socio-
economic system for safely and cleanly displacing fossil resources and for eliminating waste,
carbon and pollution.
5
She is a firm believer in the importance of trans-border collaboration to fight zoonotic diseases
and promote improved animal health services in Africa as a key element for increased livestock
productivity and food security.
6
Wayne Dredge, Managing Director, Piscari Industries Pty Ltd
Wayne Dredge is the Managing Director of Piscari Industries, a small
commercial fishing company based in Victoria, Australia that specialises in
high value seafood products. In 2014 he was the recipient of an Australian
Nuffield Scholarship during which he travelled to over thirty countries
studying technological innovation in fisheries and fisheries management
structures. Wayne now spends considerable time throughout Africa on
behalf of Nuffield International running agribusiness tours, developing an
international network for agricultural professionals, establishing a Nuffield
Scholarship program for food producers from African countries and raising
awareness of the importance of fisheries in relation to global food security.
Juan Gonzalez-Valero, Head Public Policy and Sustainability, Syngenta
Juan Gonzalez Valero is Head Public Policy and Sustainability at Syngenta.
He is a senior executive leader integrating sustainability aspects into core
business practice. He has shaped the company’s ‘Good Growth Plan’ and
oversees its implementation and company performance against it. Prior to his
current position, he served as Head of Ecological Risk Assessment, Head of
Sustainable Use and Stewardship, and Head of Corporate Responsibility
within Syngenta. Before joining Syngenta, he worked as Head Ecotoxicology
at Novartis. He served on the board of a number of non-for-profit
organizations, among them the Fair Labor Association and the Society for
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
Mr. Gonzalez Valero earned his PH.D in Biology, from the University of
Hamburg with specialization in Ecology and Environmental Toxicology.
7
held several positions in Norwegian Environmental organizations including as local chairman,
and he has elementary University courses in History and Philosophy.
8
postgraduate degree in Science and Security Studies. She was also a visiting researcher at the
George Washington University's Space Policy Institute.