PLANTWISEPLUS - Key Persons


Abdul Rehman

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Deputy Director, Project Implementation and Research

Akanksha Nagpal

Job Titles:
  • Project Coordinator South Asia

Andela Kangwa

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Scientist SPS - Food Safety

Andy Robinson

Job Titles:
  • Managing Director, Publishing
Andy leads CABI's commercial publishing business and its contribution to international development projects.

Ann Tutwiler

Job Titles:
  • Senior Fellow With Meridian Institute
Ann Tutwiler is a Senior Fellow with Meridian Institute and a Senior Advisor to Just Rural Transition. She is the Chair of the Expert Review Committee of the Food and Agriculture Benchmark for the World Benchmarking Alliance that will evaluate 350 global agribusiness companies on their commitments and actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Ann is also an advisor to ClimateAi, providing strategic advice and insight to start-up companies using artificial intelligence and information on future weather and climate change to help farmers and agribusinesses make better decisions and investments. Ann was previously a board member for the International Water Management Institute, a member of Foodshot Global's advisory board, a Senior Advisor to SYSTEMIQ, and Chair of the Independent Steering Committee of the Water Land and Ecosystems Research Programme. She also served a six-year tenure as Director General of Bioversity International (2013-2019), where she developed transformational innovations to deliver scientific results at scale. Ann has also had senior roles at the United Nations and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She holds a Master's in Public Policy at Harvard University (1985), and later attended Harvard Business School on the Agribusiness Executive Education Program (1997), and has authored and co-authored over 50 selected publications. Ann was also a James Knox Batten Visiting Professor in Public Policy at Davidson College (2022).

Anna Wood

Job Titles:
  • ICM Advisor

Anthony Kermode

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Curator and Laboratory Manager

Arnaud Costa

Job Titles:
  • Crop Health Advisor

Babar Bajwa

Job Titles:
  • Senior Regional Director, Asia

Benson Mutuku

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Gender Coordinator, Africa

Birgitta Oppong-Mensah

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Scientist - Agricultural Advisory Services

Bo Yuan

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Finance Officer

Caroline McNamara - Chief Commercial Officer

Job Titles:
  • Chief Commercial Officer
Carol drives the organization's strategic commercial direction to help develop new business opportunities.

Chapwa Kasoma

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Post Doctoral Fellow, Invasive Species Management

Chileshe Kapwepwe - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Secretary
Chileshe Kapwepwe has served as Secretary General for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa since 2018. Her experience in leadership, business and operations management in the public and private sectors spans more than 30 years. Chileshe brings to CABI a strong track record in leadership, business and operations management, and policy formulation and implementation. She has extensive knowledge in government, aviation, international trade, quality assurance, finance and economics. Previous experience includes Executive Director roles at the International Monetary Fund and Deputy Minister and Nominated Member of Parliament at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Zambia. Other roles have included Managing Director of the National Airports Corporation Limited, Zambia and Contract Manager for Societe General de Surveillance. Chileshe holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Bath and is a fellow at the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK. Chileshe has held several previous board posts, including Global Water Partnership SA, Zambia Revenue Authority and the Central Bank of Zambia.

Christoph Chesher

Christoph Chesher has over 38 years' experience in academic publishing and will retire in 2022 from his role as Chief Commercial Officer of the Taylor & Francis Group. He brings widespread skills to CABI's Board, including strategic management, contract negotiation, executive team leadership and publishing expertise in journals, open research, books and e-books. His publishing career began in 1984 with Blackwell Science where he progressed to the position of International Sales Manager. He then joined Oxford University Press as Sales and Marketing Director for the Science, Medicals and Journals Division before moving to Routledge as Sales and Marketing Director. In 2008, Christoph became Group Sales Director for Taylor & Francis. Christoph holds an MBA from the University of Birmingham as well as a Master of Letters: Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling. He has a long association with the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication where he has been a guest speaker, external examiner, and more recently, Chair of the Industry Advisory Board.

Chubashini Suntharalingam

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Strategic Partnerships Manager, South East Asia

Daisuke Kurose

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Scientist, Plant Pathologist

Dennis Rangi

Job Titles:
  • Director General Development
Dennis leads CABI's international development activities with a focus on developing strategic partnerships.

Deogratius Magero

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Youth Engagement Manager, Africa

Dick Shaw

Job Titles:
  • CABI 's Senior Regional Director, Europe

Dickson Mwenda Munyasia

Job Titles:
  • Lab Technician

Dora Shimbwambwa

Job Titles:
  • Researcher
  • Research Officer - Plant Pathologist

Dr Daniel Elger - CEO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
Daniel oversees the organization's overall direction, developing and leading strategies across the business. The Chief Executive Officer, Dr Daniel Elger, is responsible for managing CABI's affairs and is directly accountable to the Chair of the Board.

Duncan Chacha

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Scientist

Eduardo Hidalgo

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Scientist

Feng Zhang

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Regional Director, East & South - East Asia

Fook-Wing Chan

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • IT Specialist

Gary Ernest

Gary Ernest recently retired after over 30 years' experience in senior finance and audit roles in the Unilever Group and Rentokil Initial Group. He joined Unilever as a trainee in 1987 and over the next 23 years served in a wide range of roles in operating companies and at corporate level, including Head of Internal Audit Europe, Chief Financial Officer of the Global Foodservice business, Head of Group Financial Planning and Analysis, and for four years, Financial Controller of China. Gary then worked for Rentokil Initial for almost 10 years as Director of Risk Management and Internal Audit. With this extensive experience, Gary has been appointed as the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee on the CABI Board. Gary holds a Master's in Computer Science from Cambridge University and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He served as a Governor and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at Kingston University from 2012-2019 and since January 2020 is an external member of the Cambridge University Audit Committee.

Geoffrey Rugaita

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Social Behaviour Change Communications Lead, Africa

Habat Ullah Asad

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Manager, BCI

Hafiz Mahmood Rehman

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Master
  • Trainer

Harrison Rware

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer, Africa

Hettie Arwoh Boafo

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Research Officer, Invasive Species Management

Hongmei Li

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Senior Scientist

Jayanthi Alaganthiran

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Agricultural Economist

Jayne Crozier

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Team Leader / Plant Pathologist

Jinping Zhang

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Scientist

Kate Pollard

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Scientist

Kausallia Balasuppiah

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant

Khalid Rashid

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Biocontrol Research Assistant

Lakpo Koku

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member

Lena Durocher-Granger

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Scientist, Entomologist

Leonard Kimutai - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Member of the Board
Leonard leads the management of the corporate financial planning, budgeting and forecasting. Leonard Kimutai as CABI's Chief Financial Officer is also a member of the Board.

Lina Yip

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Head of Sales, APAC

Linda Copsey - CIO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Information Officer
Linda leads the IT function, developing and implementing IT strategies aligned with the organization's goals.

Lisa Offord

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Diagnostic and Advisory Service Coordinator and Microbiologist

Liza Haslan Tan

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Officer

Ma Choon Kwong

Job Titles:
  • Project Coordinator

Malvika Chaudhary

Job Titles:
  • Global Team Leader - Digital Tool Promotion

Mary Bundi

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Regional M & E Coordinator

MaryLucy Oronje

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Senior Scientist, SPS

Matthew Cock

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Chief Scientist

Min Wan

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Senior Project Coordinator

Morris Akiri

Job Titles:
  • Senior Regional Director, Africa

Muhammad Asif

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Manager

Muhammad Faheem

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Integrated Crop Management Advisor

Muyambango Liywalii

Job Titles:
  • Communications and Project Support Officer

Muzammil Farooq

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Support Manager

Naitram Ramnanan

Job Titles:
  • Representative

Naomi Kanyumbu

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Field Technician

Naphis Bitange

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Fellow - Systems Agronomist

Natasha Lawson-Hale

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Junior Scientist

Natasha Mwila

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Regional Director, Southern Africa

Natália Corniani

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Integrated Crop Management Advisor

Neil MacIntosh - CHRO

Job Titles:
  • Chief People Officer
Neil oversees all aspects of the organization's HR, guides and manages the HR strategy, policies and activities.

Noah Phiri

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Regional Representative, Southern Africa

Rehana Ali

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Gender Cum Communication Expert

Renee Tan Chee Ling

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Sales Operations Executive, APAC

Rob Reeder

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Programme Support Manager

Sabyan Faris Honey

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Deputy Director Business Development

Saif Ali

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Officer, Policy

Sarah Thomas

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Plant Pathologist

Sathis Sri

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member

Sean Murphy

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Global Scientific Advisor IPM and Modelling

Shakeel Ahmad

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Program Management Coordinator, Development Communication and Extension ( DC & E )

Sihle Blessings

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Lab Technician

Simi Kamal - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Founder
  • Founder and Chairperson of the Hisaar Foundation
Simi Kamal is the founder and Chairperson of the Hisaar Foundation. She has 40 years of experience in establishing institutions, building platforms and developing programmes, specializing in areas related to water, poverty and gender. As a women's empowerment advocate, she has promoted gender equity and equality in programmes, with governments and through international campaigns. Simi is the founder of several private and non-profit organizations as well as international and national networks, programmes and initiatives. She has served on numerous boards, committees, task forces and networks. Her experience ranges from being a member of a task force on food security assisting the government of Pakistan (2020-2022), to her current roles as Chair of the International Water Management Institute and as a Trustee with WaterAid UK. Simi has extensive experience working on donor funded programmes, including those with USAID, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and UN agencies. She is a geographer educated and trained at the University of Cambridge.

Solomon Duah

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Communications Specialist, Ghana

Suzy Wood

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Scientific Support

Syed Azeem Hayder Shah Naqvi

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Region Coordinator

Thelma Caine

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Mycology Information and Training Manager

Ulrich Kuhlmann

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director, Global Operations
Ulrich oversees the management of CABI's international network of centres and CABI's scientific output.

Victor Attuquaye Clottey

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Regional Director, West Africa

Vishnu Dhanpaul

Job Titles:
  • Executive Council Chair
His Excellency Vishnu Dhanpaul has served as High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago to the UK since August 2021. In a career spanning over 34 years, he previously worked in the public service of Trinidad and Tobago including as Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Finance, Energy and Energy Industries, and Public Utilities. HE Dhanpaul chaired several state boards, including the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, the National Investment Fund Holding Company and the Agricultural Development Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. He was the Alternate Executive Director in the World Bank Group from 2010-2012, and was also the President of the Tourism and Industrial Development Company and the first President of the Tourism Development Company. HE Dhanpaul received a National Award in 2021, the Gold Public Service Medal of Merit. His studies at the University of the West Indies comprised an Executive Master's in Business Administration, postgraduate studies in Economics and International Relations and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.

Wallace Ngene

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • ICT Manager

Walter Hevi

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Scientist - SPS

Wanjiku Kiarie

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Global Operations Manager, International Development

Weng-Kiong Lum

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Financial Officer

Willis Ochilo

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Project Scientist

Xin Chen

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Centre Administrative Assistant

Yelitza Colmenarez

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Centre Director, Brazil

Zeeshan Butt

Job Titles:
  • Centre Staff Member
  • Finance Coordinator