Fairtrade International logo.
Bonn, Germany-based Fairtrade International this week announced the appointment of longtime corporate sustainability advisor Lisa Prassack as its new chief executive officer.
The nonprofit organization, which owns the Fairtrade sustainability certification mark and collaborates with in-country Fairtrade organizations all over the world, said that the CEO appointment follows the implementation of a new “single leadership model.”
Prassack, who is from the United States, is succeeding Melissa Duncan, who has served as managing director of Fairtrade International since December. In the CEO position, Prassack also succeeds Sandra Uwera, who was appointed CEO in 2022. The group has not outlined the terms of Uwera’s departure.
Prassack joins the group from her own advisory firm and consultancy, Denver-based Prassack Advisors, which provides market intelligence and digital strategies to clients within the agriculture and food production markets. According to Fairtrade International, Prassack has worked with clients including Bayer, Bosch, BP, Danone, Dole, Eurofins, Manulife, Nutrien, The Nature Conservancy and Trader Joe’s.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to join Fairtrade International in Bonn and lead the organization and its members into the next era as we develop and implement our new global strategy,” Prassack said in an announcement from the group.
A Fairtrade certification flag at Coopeatenas in the Central Valley region of Costa Rica. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.
Fairtrade International says its mark exists on more than 30,000 products, coming from some three million farmers, while coffee remains a key product category. As of 2022, there were 624 coffee producer organizations holding Fairtrade certification, producing more than 700,000 metric tons of Fairtrade-certified coffee.
Two years ago, Fairtrade made a historic increase to its baseline coffee prices and premiums tied to Fairtrade certification.
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