WEC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
- Finance Manager
Adane Woldemariam joined WEC as Finance Manager at WEC since February 24, 2020. Adane is a Certified Public Accountant in the United States and he is also member of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accounts (ACCA) in UK. He has extensive knowledge and experience in accounting, auditing, tax consulting, budgetary planning and control of profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Prior to WEC, Adane worked in a CPA firm, World Food Program (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in various positions of Accounting, Auditing, Budget and Resource Management. He always ensures that legal and regulatory requirements are adhered and professional standards and ethics are followed. He successfully accomplished special assignment to investigate and reconcile a budget variance and accounting anomalies in three different countries.
Adane has a BA degree in Accounting from Addis Ababa University, ACCA (Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants) from UK and CPA (Certified Public Accountant) from Washington State board of Accountancy.
Mr. Izquierdo has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute (Instituto Politecnico Nacional) in Mexico City. He has twenty years of professional experience focused on applying business development, facilitation and training, project management, and technical assistance to resolve business, sustainability, energy and environmental challenges. He has participated in clean production audits (+200) as an environment, water, process and, energy specialist in various industrial & service sectors including, oil & gas, foods & beverage, hotels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, among other industrial sectors & subsectors (+10).
He has designed and implemented projects with international experts from Germany, the US, Canada, North Africa, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Mexico, and Central America in a wide variety of industrial, service, and governmental sectors. As a consultant, he has provided consulting services for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), World Environment Center (WEC), United States Department of State (US DoS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Trade and Development (UNTAD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Institute for Sustainability (IFS), International Lead Management Center, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PA Consulting, Tetra Tech ENE and various National Cleaner Production Centers from the Middle East, North Africa, Central, and South America, among others.
He has published various articles (+20) and technical guides in National and International renamed publications like the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences; the Journal of Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy and the Industry and Environment Review. As an expert, he has participated as a presenter in conferences (+30) in various countries of Latin America, Morocco, and Jordan.
Job Titles:
- Secretary / Chief Operations Officer - Global Reporting Initiative / Chief Operations Officer - Global Reporting Initiative
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Deputy General Manager, Shared Services, Ricoh USA, Inc
Job Titles:
- Supervisory Board Member / Lead Sustainability Director, EH & S and Sustainability, Dow / Lead Sustainability Director, EH & S and Sustainability, Dow
Retired from Merck Group as the Senior Vice President, Environment, Health, Safety, Security & Quality. He served on the WEC Board between 2008 and 2014. Since 2013 he has been chairing WEC Europe's Supervisory Board until 2019.
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Director / Chief SHE Officer at Roche
Job Titles:
- Board Chair / Senior Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer - Ecolab, Inc
Job Titles:
- Latin America Operations Director
Mr. Samayoa has led the operations of WEC in Latinamerica since 2006. He´s been leading WEC´s Capacity Building programs which have been expanded also to Northern Africa and Middle East. Through such initiatives, Mr. Samayoa has directed the execution of innovative programs, supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in more than 15 countries in three continents, customizing best practices through technical assistance and new technologies to help SMEs to increase their competitiveness and sustainability.
Implementing WEC´s Greening the Supply Chain initiative and working collaboratively and in partnerships with industry associations, national governments and different stakeholders, more than 500 SMEs have been assisted through the development of these programs directed by Mr. Samayoa. Areas of assistance include a range of innovative customized solutions, through energy efficiency, water and raw materials conservation, cleaner production, circular economy, plastics, economic growth, agricultural best practices, financial and competitiveness tools.
Before joining WEC, Mr. Samayoa was advisor to the Minister of Economy of El Salvador and country consultant for the World Bank on Corporate Social Responsibility, and also worked in the apparel sector.
Job Titles:
- Board Vice - Chair / SVP, Chief Sustainability Officer - CRH / SVP, Chief Sustainability Officer - CRH
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Director / Director & General Manager of AdeS Latin America, Coca - Cola FEMSA Served As the WEC Board Chair from 2016 - 2018
Frank Werner has led the European office of WEC since January 2008. Amongst other responsibilities, hefacilitates an information exchange on sustainability issues among Vice Presidents of multinational companies and advises them on how to create value for both their company and society. In addition, he is responsible for further developing WEC's Capacity Building Program to support member companies that implement sustainability strategies across their business and value chains. In this function Frank also oversees projects that include Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's) and aim at increasing their sustainability performance.
Prior to his current position at the WEC, Frank worked in the field of Corporate Responsibility for eight years. He advised multinational companies on all aspects of sustainability reporting (with Akzente Kommunikation und Beratung, Munich, Germany) and earlier evaluated the sustainability performance of more than 100 global players as a sustainability analyst (with Oekom Research, Munich, Germany).
Frank received his diploma in Geography (equiv. to Masters) from the University of Heidelberg in 1996, where he also studied Political Science and Public Law. During his academic education he spent one year at York University (Toronto, Canada) and later on worked as a scientific researcher on sustainable water management in Chile. In addition to his native German he speaks English and Spanish as well as basic French. He is the author of several publications in the fields of sustainable water management, environmental business strategies and sustainability reporting.
Job Titles:
- Member of the WEC Europe Supervisory Board
- Board Member of Lensational
- Chief SHE Officer of Roche
- Supervisory Board Member / Chief SHE Officer, Roche
- Visionary Leader
Gordon Bedford is the Chief SHE Officer of Roche, based in Basel, Switzerland. His responsibilities include safety, security, health, environmental sustainability, compliance and business continuity.
Gordon started his career in the British Army, before moving to PepsiCo in the UK. In 2009 he relocated to Australia / New Zealand as head of supply chain, before becoming head of EHS for PepsiCo across Asia Pacific. In 2015 he joined Mattel Inc as Global Head of EHS and Corporate Social Responsibility based in Hong Kong, with a particular focus in China, Asia, North America, Central America and Europe.
In 2017, Gordon moved back to Europe as Global Head of EHS Resilience at Novartis. In addition to resilience, he led Novatis's EHS technical operations, strategy and innovation teams. In 2022, he moved to his current role at Roche.
Gordon is a visionary leader who understands how to integrate EHS to create value in large, complex organizations.
Outside of work, Gordon is an experimental (and occasionally successful) chef. He is inspired by travel, particularly by motorbike, and experiencing diverse cultures - his current bucket list includes South America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Nordics and Eastern Europe.
Gordon is also a Board Member of Lensational, a charity supporting the financial and emotional empowerment of women through photography
Job Titles:
- Member of the WEC Europe Supervisory Board
- Supervisory Board Chair / Managing Partner, ERM Central Europe & Eurasia ERM / Managing Partner, ERM Central Europe & Eurasia ERM
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Director / Co - Founder & Partner at IMAGINE. Served on the WEB Board from 2005 - 2012
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Vice President Sustainability, Shell / Vice President Sustainability, Shell
Retired from SC Johnson as Senior Vice President - Global Corporate Affairs, Communications & Sustainability. Served on the WEC Board from 2016 to 2020. Kelly assumed the role of WEC Board Chair 2019
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Principal, Beveridge & Diamond PC / Principal, Beveridge & Diamond PC
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- Board Ex - Officio / President & CEO - World Environment Center / President & CEO - World Environment Center
- Emeritus Director / President of the Fred a. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation. Served on the WEC Board from 2009 - 2015
- Writer
Margaret O'Gorman has operated at the intersection of business and nature for over a decade as the president of the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), where she supports corporate efforts to align nature-positive goals with ESG and EHS priorities. As the author of Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning (Island Press, 2019) she laid out a road map for the private sector to strategize, implement, measure and recognize its impacts on nature. O'Gorman was the lead designer of WHC's signature Conservation Certification®, which recognizes corporate biodiversity efforts across the globe using an accessible approach that balances operational pragmatism with corporate ambition.
O'Gorman has consulted with Fortune 500 companies like General Motors, Exelon, Chevron, BASF and others to develop strategies and frameworks to integrate biodiversity into business. These strategies have been deployed in companies and along supply chains in 28 countries connecting to larger corporate, social impact and climate goals. She continues to lead WHC's efforts to support companies seeking to align with frameworks and initiatives like TNFD, SBTN, GRI and others.
Prior to joining WHC, O'Gorman's work focused on organizational growth and development as a leader and development professional in nature and sustainability focused non-profits, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, New Jersey Future and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. Additionally, she led business development for global educational and scientific publishing companies in the U.K. and the U.S.
O'Gorman is a compelling writer and speaker on the need to act for nature. She uses her platform and audience to promote private sector engagement to restore ecosystems, build climate resilience and connect communities. O'Gorman is an advocate for ambitious, practical and science-based action and especially for connecting the various emerging nature-based frameworks to real change that will improve the health and well-being of our planet and people.
She is a member of the trinational Biodiversity and Climate Change Assessment Guidance Committee, and has served as a committee member for the Convention on Biological Diversity's efforts on Mainstreaming Biodiversity on a variety of other committees, commissions and initiatives to provide the private sector perspective.
O'Gorman holds a BSc in geology and geophysics from University College Ireland, Galway and a Masters in Micropaleontology from the University of Southampton, U.K.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Vice President, EHS & Sustainability, Boehringer Ingelheim / Vice President, EHS & Sustainability, Boehringer Ingelheim
- Supervisory Board Member / Vice President, EHS & Sustainability Boehringer Ingelheim / Vice President, EHS & Sustainability Boehringer Ingelheim, GERMANY
Job Titles:
- Treasurer / Chief Sustainability Officer - the Chemours Company, Retired / Chief Sustainability Officer - the Chemours Company, Retired
Smitha Konduri brings a wide range of experience in project management, event planning, communications and marketing. In her role at WEC, she has focused on supporting the activities of WEC's government-funded activities in Latin America that help SME's access new markets and adopt sustainable practices.
Before joining WEC, she worked with one of the major management educational institute in Malaysia as a Corporate Communications Officer & Marketing Executive. Ms. Konduri holds a BA Environmental Studies from Hawai'i Pacific University, and an MBA in General and Strategic Management from Maastricht School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Gender Specialist & Grants Coordinator
Verónica Díaz-Torres is a committed professional with comprehensive experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. She joins WEC as a Gender Specialist & Grants Coordinator for the Empower Innovation Challenge Grant. With a strong background in gender equality and social inclusion, she has developed research, policies, and guidelines to advance these principles and practices in a variety of contexts. Verónica graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a BA in Sociology and an MSW with a concentration in Social Services Administration. She has pursued further studies in Evidence-based Policy Research Methods, Communication for Development (C4D), and Human Rights Framework. Throughout her career, Veronica has worked in diverse settings, including Taller Salud, UNICEF, and academic institutions. Her professional background, academic qualifications, and dedication to advancing gender equality and social inclusion will provide WEC with a body of knowledge and experience. Verónica is committed to promoting social justice and equality and is fervent about having a positive impact through her work.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Head of Sustainability - Infrastructure, EQT / Head of Sustainability - Infrastructure, EQT