New Board members elected at PEFC’s 21st General Assembly

15 November 2016 Organisation news

Peter Latham has been elected as the new Chairman of PEFC, at the PEFC General Assembly in Bali, Indonesia.

“I would like to thank everyone for the support I received, and I am very much looking forward to being your Chairman,” said Mr. Latham, following his election. “For me, our greatest strength is that we are truly all members of the same family, the PEFC family.”

“While we have been through a successful period as an organization, with significant growth in certified forest area, the number of new members and acceptance in public procurement schemes, we still face important challenges, and we need to face them together.”

“I am looking forward to working alongside Peter in his new role of Chairman,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, following the election of the new Board members.

“Peter brings with him great experience; not only has he been on the Board since 2011, he was also the Chairman of PEFC UK and heads one of Britain’s oldest and most respected timber trading companies, Lathams, established in 1757. His knowledge and expertise will be invaluable to our organization as it moves forward towards PEFC’s vision of a world in which people manage forests sustainably.”

“I would also like to thank Natalie Hufnagl-Jovy and Sheam Satkuru-Granzella for the excellent work they have done over the past years as Vice Chairs – they led both the organization and the Board extremely well,” Mr. Latham concluded.

Alongside Peter, three Board members, including Natalie Hufnagl-Jovy as Vice Chair, were re-elected and we welcomed three new members onto the Board.

We also said goodbye to four members of the Board: Olivier Bertrand, Pedro Albizu, Dieter Koenig-Woehl and Julian Walker-Palin. We would like to thank them all for their contributions and dedication to PEFC, and wish them well on their future undertakings.

The newly elected Board members

	Peter Latham, OBE, is Chairman of James Latham PLC, one of Britain's oldest timber companies. He is a former Chairman of the Forests Forever Committee of the Timber Trade Federation, member of the Council of the Commonwealth Forestry Association, and former Chairman of PEFC UK. Current Term of Office: 2016-2018
	Natalie Hufnagl-Jovy is a Senior Policy Advisor with the Consortium of the German Forest Owner Associations (AGDW). She draws from 8 years of experience as Secretary General of the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) and is a former Board member of IFFA. Current Term of Office: 2016-2019
	Genevieve Chua has been working in the paper industry for over 20 years. An accountant by profession, she worked for KPMG before joining the industry in 1990. She is currently Managing Director of paper merchanting group Spicers Singapore and Spicers Asia and Honorary Treasurer of the Print & Media Association of Singapore. Current Term of Office: 2016-2019
	David Ford is a family woodland owner and professional forester. David is the CEO of L&C Carbon with previous leadership positions at National Forest Products Association, Oregon Small Woodlands Association and Metafore. David also serves on the American Forest Foundation’s (AFF) National Woodland Operating Committee. Current Term of Office: 2016-2019
	Juan Carlos Jintiach works with COICA, the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin. He also serves as the elected official representing indigenous peoples of Latin America in the CBD, as well as a focal point in the indigenous people’s caucus within the UNFCCC and in the Forest Investment Program (FIP) within the World Bank. Current Term of Office: 2016-2019
	Fermín Olabe Velasco is the Director of the Forest Service in the Navarra Region of Spain, as well as a member of various Working Groups in EU Policy. Fermín also helps to support sustainable forest management and PEFC certification in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Uruguay, collaborating with different national and international institutions and companies. Current Term of Office: 2016-2019
	Eduardo Rojas Briales is Chairman of the Spanish Board of Foresters. Previously, he was Assistant Director General and Head of the Forestry Department at FAO, Director of the Catalan Forest Owner Association and head of the forest policy area of the “Centro Tecnológico Forestal". Current Term of Office: 2016-2019