Steven Diaz and Angela Pelaez to Lead RGC Coffee Subsidiary in Bogota

RGC Coffee logo.

The Quebec, Canada-based green coffee importer RGC Coffee Inc. (RGC), has created a new subsidiary, RGC Americas, based in Bogotá, Colombia. Longtime Colombian coffee professionals Steven Diaz and Angela Pelaez have been hired as general manager and sustainability manager, respectively, of the new unit, which will run programs related to quality development and control, market intelligence, and sustainability.

“Having Mr. Diaz and Mrs. Pelaez shows the serious approach RGC is taking towards quality and relationship projects,” RGC Coffee President Ron Gabbay said in an announcement today. “Both individuals will be based in Bogotá and they’ll travel throughout Latin America to oversee operations and relationships with suppliers.”

RGC shared few specifics about the role of RGC Americas, but said the subsidiary “will allow RGC to meet future demands of coffee roasters who have mandated greater accountability and focus on quality.”

Combined, Diaz and Palaez have decades of high-level experience on both fronts. Primarily an agricultural specialist, Diaz’s 28 years in the Colombian coffee industry includes stints as the FNC quality control chief and as the commercial and quality director of Expocafé. A licensed Q grader and Q lab certifier, he also served on the SCAA Technical Standards Committee from 2004 to 2014.

Pelaez, meanwhile, is a third-generation coffee producer and former general manager of Colombia’s Almacafé in Pereira. She joined Expocafé in 2011 as sustainability director and currently serves as a member of the SCA Sustainability Council and the UTZ Product Advisory Council.