Coordination Team

Email: s.weise@cgiar.org

Stephan Weise is the Interim Director of Cacao of Excellence and Managing Director for Asia of the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), a CGIAR research center. Prior to his current appointment, Stephan was Bioversity International's Deputy Director General for Research for almost a decade. His research and leadership role spans beyond his time with Bioversity and the Alliance as he also worked on different research programs on biodiversity, tree crops, and farm diversification in west and central Africa while at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). He also served as the regional manager for the Sustainable Tree Crops Programme - a public-private partnership and innovation platform that was identifying and implementing new approaches to  improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in west and central Africa. Prior to that he spent four years in Canada working on integrated weed management and farming systems research at the University of Guelph after completing his PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH).

Email: j.simonis@cgiar.org

Julien Simonis is Programme Manager of Cacao of Excellence and joined the team in 2023. Julien brings over 15 years of R&D experience across the chocolate industry, specialising in cacao sensory analysis. He previously served as a key contributor at Puratos-Belcolade from 2012 to 2021, where he coordinated international research projects focused on post-harvest processes and their impacts on chocolate taste. Julien played a key role as a sensory analysis reference for cacao products within the Puratos Group, providing training, and advising panels globally. He has been an integral member of the Cacao of Excellence Technical Committee since 2021. Julien holds an MBA from the IE Business School focused on Innovation Management and a Bachelor Double Major in Bioengineering and Nutrition Sciences from the Université catholique de Louvain. He is a native French speaker with fluency in English, German, Dutch and Spanish.

Email: s.escobar@cgiar.org

Sebastián Escobar Parra is the Associate Team Leader of the Cacao of Excellence Cacao Quality Laboratory and Training Centre and joined the team in May of 2024. Sebastián brings over 9 years of research and development experience in cacao fermentation science, having made significant research contribution to the understanding of cacao and chocolate flavour formation. His work has been pivotal in optimising post-harvest operations to elevate quality standards throughout the cacao value chain. Previously, Sebastián led several international research projects at Agrosavia (the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation). His work has explored the relationships and effects between cacao genetic diversity, climate conditions of production, and post-harvest processing on quality, applying analyses of chemical (flavour precursor metabolites), aromatic, and sensory characteristics in chocolate. Sebastián holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Complutense University of Madrid, specialising in bioprocess development and scaling-up. He is fluent in Spanish and English and possesses a good knowledge of French.

Email: a.meter@cgiar.org

Andrew Meter is a Research Specialist and joined Cacao of Excellence in 2018 focusing his work on communication with participating countries and producers, data compilation and analysis and the development of tools for the sensory analysis of cacao. Andrew joined the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in 2016 working on the evaluation of previous research projects in cacao genetics, a review of research on cadmium and its uptake by cacao and the development of the CacaoNet Global Compendium on Cocoa Research. Previously he worked on genetic resources governance and collaboration in agricultural science at CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development). Andrew holds an Msc in Agriculture from the Ecole Supérieure d’Agricultures d’Angers and an Msc in Agricultural Development Economics from Montpellier SupAgro, France. A French-American national based in the south-west of France, he is fluent in French and English and has a good understanding of Spanish.

Julia Butac, of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines, has served as a Cacao of Excellence R&D Laboratory Assistant since 2023. Julia brings with her over 10 years of administrative and home economic experience, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Nueva Vizcaya State University, Philippines. In her role, Julia is responsible for all aspects of cacao processing and chocolate-making for the assessment of cacao quality and flavour and manages product development, inventory, and delivery. Julia also assists in the coordination and implementation of laboratory visits and trainings. Julia is fluent in English, Italian, Tagalog, and Iloco.

Matilda Malapela serves as the Cacao of Excellence R&D Laboratory Assistant and joined the team in 2023. Matilda brings over 5 years of experience in HR and administration, in the private and charity sector. In her role, she manages all aspects of cacao processing and chocolate-making for quality and flavour assessment. Additionally, she manages product development, inventory, and delivery as well assistance in the coordination and implementation of laboratory visits and trainings. Matilda holds a Higher Certificate in Marketing and Management from the Institute of Marketing and Management, Species College, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Matilda is a native English and Ndebele speaker, and is proficient in Italian.

Email: n.villasenor@cgiar.org

Nadia Villaseñor, leads the global communications for the Cacao of Excellence programme, working closely with colleagues, partners and stakeholders at global, regional and national levels across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Prior to Cacao of Excellence, Nadia served in a variety of communication advisory roles, including at the Nordic Development Fund, the African Development Bank headquarters in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries in New York, USA. Nadia holds a BA in Economics from the University of Victoria, in Victoria Canada and a master’s degree in Applied Economics and Management from Macquarie University Sydney, in Sydney Australia. Nadia’s native language is English, and she is fluent in Spanish, with a good knowledge of French, Danish and Italian.

Email: l.nanzala@cgiar.org

Lilian Nanzala joined Cacao of Excellence in July 2022 as Programme Assistant to provide administrative and operational support.  Lilian has a Bachelor in Business Administration and a Master in Human Resource Management as well as a Diploma in Sales and Marketing Management from the International Association of Business Executives IABE. She has over fifteen years working experience with various international organizations (IFAD, ECHO funding agency), and non-governmental organizations (FAWE, COOPI, Intersos, CU and LCIP-USAID funded project) in four different African countries (Gambia, Liberia, Malawi and Kenya), mainly in the area of Human Resources and Administration.  Previously, she worked for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), as an Associate HR Analyst (Recruitment) in the Business Partner Unit within the Human Resources Division.  Lilian is from Kenya, based in Rome and speaks fluent English and Swahili, and has a good understanding of Italian.

Email: l.peroux@cgiar.org

Lou-Anne Peroux joined the Cacao of Excellence team as a Communication and Partnership Trainee in September 2024. As a young professional with a focus on global communication in the agricultural sector, Lou-Anne’s role involves supporting communication strategies and global engagement around the programme. She began her career as an intern with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) after earning a Double Master’s Degree in International Relations from Sciences Po Bordeaux and the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (LUISS) Guido Carli. Originally from France, she has been living in Rome for the past two years. Lou-Anne is fluent in French, English, and Italian, has a strong understanding of Spanish, and possesses a good knowledge of German.