LONDON – Hannelore Beerlandt from Belgium is ICO’s new Head of Operations. “The Executive Director presents her compliments and wishes to inform Members of the Organization that, after having undertaken the required procedures as stipulated in Rule 48 of the Rules of the International Coffee Organization, she has the pleasure of welcoming Ms Hannelore Beerlandt, who will join the Organization towards the end of January 2025,” write the ICO in a statement.
Ms Beerlandt will work together with Mr Gerardo Patacconi, the outgoing Head of Operations, until the 139th Session of the International Coffee Council, which is due to take place in March 2025 as approved during the 138th Session of the Council in September 2024.
This will ensure that there is a smooth handover between the holders of this position. After the ICC meetings, Ms Beerlandt will be assigned as Head of Operations.
The Executive Director looks forward to collaborating closely with Ms Beerlandt in promoting and advocating the work of the ICO.
With a Masters Ir. Agricultural Engineering, Major In Agricultural Economics, from the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), Hannelore Beerlandt is a leading strategist and passionate executive for international cooperation in agricultural value chains and global commodities, especially coffee.
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Over the past three years – acting as senior advisor to the European Commission – she has contributed to analysis, studies, speaking notes to DG INTPA F3 in the context of formal representations regarding sustainable coffee
She was a facilitator of multistakeholder platforms on Coffee related to Policies of Importing Countries (amongst others, facilitator in Working Stream Lead by the International Coffee Organisation – Coffee Public Private Taskforce). This includes design and implementation of activities, mappings, small studies in cooperation with stakeholders of the coffee sector
Beerlandt also gave support to EU Delegations regarding implementation of policies and programmes on coffee, cocoa and cotton, in particular coffee
