Global Forum on Responsible Leather
 
Zachary Angelini
Timberland
Zack Angelini is the manager of environmental stewardship at Timberland. In this role, Zack analyzes the company’s environmental impacts using life cycle assessment methodology. Zack’s findings inform the product and operations teams and help improve environmental sustainability across the company. Prior to joining Timberland, Zack worked for international government and non-profit organizations. With the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Perth, Australia, Zack performed environmental baseline studies of the Great Australian Bight and worked to analyze and improve global marine debris estimates. Zack also co-founded University of New Hampshire Solar Power for Schools, a non-profit group of UNH alumni and graduate students that works to address the energy crisis in Ghana by providing sustainable energy options and building local capacity. Zack holds a bachelors of science in environmental engineering and a masters of science in civil engineering from the University of New Hampshire, where he concentrated his studies on life cycle assessment.
 
Stefano Baggio
JBS Couros
Stefano Baggio is JBS Couros technical commercial manager for Europe, with more than 30 years of experience in the leather industry working to leading companies in the sector. His knowledge covers different areas, from procurement of raw materials, all the way to relationship with international customers, giving him a critical view of the entire supply chain and understanding of the challenges and opportunities ahead of the leather sector.
 
0Cameron Bruett
JBS USA
 
Lieven Callewaert
Textile Exchange
- Executive Board member Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) - Initiator of the Soy4brands Strategy on the RTRS Credit Trade system - Interim workgroup Leader RSPO for the Palm Trace Credit Trade system
 
Jennifer Cooper
NativeEnergy
Jennifer leads NativeEnergy’s strategy team, collaborating with brands to build solutions that deliver on their sustainability agenda with impact and results. Since 1998, Jennifer has been busy in corporate sustainability – from Volvo Car Corporation in Göteborg to Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey. Jennifer holds an M.S. from Lund University in Sweden and a B.S. from the University of Guelph in Canada. She has lived in both of those countries, as well as in Germany and Scotland. But she is currently trying out life in the USA with her husband and two young children in Pittsburgh, where the mountains are just rocky enough for racing mountain bikes, and just high enough for teaching children to ski.
 
Michael Costello
Stahl
Michael Costello has been Stahl’s Director of Sustainability since October 2015. In this position, Michael plays a vital role in integrating sustainability into Stahl’s corporate strategy, working within Stahl to ensure sustainable innovations and other related initiatives are on the daily agenda of his colleagues. He participates in conferences around the world focussed on reducing the environmental footprint of the industry and on other corporate social responsibility topics. Michael presents the company’s case to customers, brands, industry associations, NGO’s and universities. He is Stahl's representative member of the Executive Committee of the Leather Working Group. Michael has a broad experience in the chemical industry in a variety of positions. In 1988, he joined Stahl USA as a process chemist and later occupied a variety of commercial positions in the specialty chemicals industry in GE Silicones (now Momentive) as well as Stahl. Michael holds a BSc in Chemistry (1987) from The University College, Dublin, Ireland, and an MBA (1995) from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. See: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-costello-53782216
 
Egbert Dikkers
Smit & zoon
Egbert Dikkers – Global Director CSR at Smit & zoon. Egbert has been working in the leather industry at Smit & zoon for 25+ years. He started in Smit & zoon in Sales of wet-end specialty chemicals and has had various management positions since then. In his current role Egbert is making use of his wide industry experience and is leading Smit & zoon in making the leather value chain more sustainable. Egbert was one of the founders of the ‘Tannery of the future’ and is currently a board member. At Leather Naturally he is involved as a member of the Steering Committee acting as Chair. At the Responsible Leather Round Table, he is involved in the International Working Group for the Responsible Leather assessment Tool development.
 
0Craig Drew
Clarks
Craig Drew, Global Head of Materials at C&J Clark International, is responsible for the company's materials programme and works closely with a global tannery base to source and develop leathers for Clarks products. With 19 years experience in the footwear sector - the last 12 dedicated to materials with a focus on leather - Craig has extensive knowledge of leather, leather supply chains and tannery practices. In his capacity as Head of Materials, Craig participates in industry groups and is on the Executive Committee of the Leather Working Group.
 
0Robert Egerton-Warburton
 
Simon Hall
National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
Simon Hall manages the Tropical Forest and Agriculture Program at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). He leads NWF’s portfolio of work on cattle and soy in Latin America, working directly with companies, NGOs, researchers, financial institutions, and multi-stakeholder partnerships to help advance solutions that protect tropical forests and wildlife habitat, and ensure the long term viability of agricultural production. From 2015 to 2016, Simon represented NWF on the Board of Directors for the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB). Prior to joining NWF in 2013, Simon worked as a field-based researcher in Brazil. He earned a Master of Science in Natural Resources from North Carolina State University as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Salisbury University.
 
0Nicole Johnson-Hoffman
OSI Group, LLC
 
0Dennis Laycraft
Canadian Cattlemen's Association
 
Ian McConnel
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Ian is WWF’s Global Expert on Livestock and a globally recognised expert on Animal Production Systems. A 5th generation beef producer, Ian gained a Bachelor of Science in Animal Studies at the University of Queensland and then spent a year at Colorado State University supporting meat science and genetics research. He joined the Queensland government extension service in 2003 as a sheep and cattle extension officer in remote western Queensland and then continued in south east Queensland. Ian pioneered innovative extension and outreach tools in remote Australia and led the trialling and development of remote animal management systems. After joining WWF-Australia in 2012 to lead their Australian Beef industry engagement and rising to take on the global lead for beef in 2014. In this role, Ian is an executive board member of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and actively involved in efforts to improve the economic, social and environmental impacts of livestock production in 15 countries. His work includes include developing markets for sustainably produced beef, research and extension projects, policy development and consumer facing education.
 
Sarah McCracken
Ceres
Sarah McCracken is a Manager of Investor Engagement at Ceres. Sarah engages members of the Investor Network on Climate Risk and Sustainability, and also coordinates investor engagement on eliminating deforestation and associated GHG emissions from agricultural supply chains. Sarah has previously worked for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) as an Associate Program Director. In that role she provided research and program coordination for investor engagement on nutrition and global and domestic health issues. Sarah earned her MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and her BA in International Relations from Boston University.
 
Caroline McGarvey
IKEA
Caroline has spent the last 20 years leading Supply Chain Development in several locations around the world and now calls a Swedish Village in the middle of the forest HOME! Of course, this is no ordinary village, and not like any other Swedish one you will find, since this is Älmhult, home to more than 50 nationalities, 12 hairdressers, 6 pizza restaurants and of course, IKEA! In her current role, Caroline is sitting in IKEA of Sweden, head office where the Global home furnishings leader design, develop and plan their Global agenda. After working with living room and bedroom products her whole career from a purchasing perspective, Caroline is now passionately leading in the Sustainability agenda with a goal to make a difference in products, people and the planet. Today, the focus for leather in IKEA is connected to the ability to trace back and fully secure the supply chain whilst settling clear requirements for Animal Welfare, and ensuring the connected processes are not supporting negative environmental impacts, such as deforestation. For more information, check out 'People and Planet Positive' at IKEA.com
 
Dr. Lesley Mitchell
Forum for the Future
Lesley Mitchell is Forum for the Future’s Associate Director for Sustainable Nutrition. She leads Forum’s global work on food, with an expert team covering innovative topics including the future of protein, sustainable animal feed and regenerative agriculture. Forum works in partnership with business, governments and civil society to accelerate the shift toward a sustainable future, addressing critical global challenges by catalysing change in key systems, from food to apparel, energy to shipping. We convene transformational collaborations to drive change, partner with businesses and build a global community of pioneers and change makers. Previously Lesley directed an independent consultancy, Good Food Futures Ltd. Lesley worked across a range of international environments to promote large scale change toward sustainable food and farming, from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation to international animal welfare NGOs and with meat and dairy farmers in Latin America, China and Europe. She helped shape UN policy recommendations on livestock, animal welfare and food security, and worked with major multi-stakeholder processes including the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock. Lesley began her career as an animal welfare scientist at Oxford University, working with industrial poultry producers to adapt animal environments to improve welfare outcomes. As Director of Research and Food Policy at Compassion in World Farming she created their food business engagement team and spearheaded new sustainability research. As Head of International Policy at World Animal Protection, Lesley developed extensive corporate and policy networks on sustainable agriculture.
 
0Ruaraidh Petre
Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB)
 
0Maria Teresa Pisani
United Nations Economic Cooperation and Trade Division
 
Gert van der Bijl
Solidaridad Network
Gert van der Bijl is Global Programme Manager Livestock & Leather for Solidaridad, an international network organization focused on market-based solutions, working through nine regional expertise centres with people working in 30 countries and across 13 global sectors. Gert coordinates the Solidaridad livestock programme, working with colleagues in 10 countries on improvements and sustainability in the beef and leather sector across Asia, Africa and South America, including projects to improve leather sustainability in India and Ethiopia. He is a member of Board of Directors of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB). Gert holds a Master’s Degree in Development Economics from Wageningen University.
 
Rebecka Zetterström
Volvo Cars
Rebecka Zetterström, Sustainability Manager at Volvo Cars. Dedicated to sustainable supply chains as part of Volvo Cars Procurement division. Holds a Master of Laws. Previous experience as Sustainability Manager within the textile industry.