Hans-Willem van der Waal, AgroFair, The Netherlands

Hans-Willem van der Waal (1970) is CEO of AgroFair, the pioneer of the Fairtrade and organic banana. He joined AgroFair in 2008 after having worked six years in Africa. In Burkina Faso, he established a fresh mango export company, making it the country’s largest of its kind, specializing in organic and Fairtrade. Since he became CEO of AgroFair, the company grew to around $ 100 million sales of mainly Fairtrade and organic bananas, which are sourced from small-grower cooperatives in Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. AgroFair is active in many European countries, as well as in Australasia. Based on this experience, he has a profound insight in the challenges and opportunities for the organic banana industry, the roles that small farmers can play, and of the themes that are relevant for the future development of a more socially and ecologically sustainable (organic) banana. Hans-Willem holds a BEng. in chemical engineering and an MSc in management science. He is currently working on a PhD in management science related to the Sustainable Development Goals. Other research interests are organic banana post-harvest issues.