SEATTLE, USA – Starbucks has announced the leadership appointment of Roberto Alonso Vega Alfaro as vice president of Global Coffee Agronomy, R&D and Sustainability for Starbucks Coffee Trading Company, effective June 1st, 2023. In this role, Roberto will be responsible for coffee agronomy research, development, and sustainability globally. He will oversee the company’s global network of 10 farmer support centers, the C.A.F.E. Practices approach to ethically sourcing coffee for the company, and the oversight of Hacienda Alsacia, Starbucks’ farm located in Costa Rica.
Roberto will be implementing proactive, sustainable practices to ensure the future of coffee for all. He will be based out of the SCTC office in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Roberto most recently joins Starbucks from Syngenta where he has been leading a variety of functions within Sustainability since 2013. Roberto started his career in the financial sector in Costa Rica, moving then to the AG industry almost 25 years ago.
He has had the opportunity of working in many countries and contributing to the improvement of smallholders’ livelihoods scaling a multitude of initiatives.
Throughout his career, Roberto has advised and supported many international organizations in the agricultural sector including the World Banana Forum (as one of the co-founders), Fairtrade International, the Sustainable Food Lab, SAI Platform, IDH and many others.
Roberto has an MBA and Master’s in Environmental Governance and Policy-Making, complemented with multiple certifications and training on sustainable development and AG management.
Roberto will spend the next several months immersing in the company and culture, learning about the work underway across the Farmer Support Centers, and partnering closely with leaders to ensure a well thought out and timely transition.
In addition, Elliot Bentzen, has been promoted to director, Trading & Traffic. Elliot is a seasoned coffee professional with over 19 years of experience in the Coffee industry, including managerial assignments at origin.
He joined the SCTC team as a green coffee trader in 2015 and has since played a crucial role in the overall success and growth of the company’s activities. Since joining SCTC over eight years ago, Elliot has been responsible for managing the strategic development and sourcing of green coffee of over 20 different origins, most recently responsible for Brazil and Asia Pacific.
In his new role, Elliot will be responsible for overseeing and managing the overall global coffee and cocoa sourcing activities along with the evolution and execution of our global coffee sourcing strategy to ensure the future of high-quality coffee for Starbucks in the years to come, while ensuring the deployment and timely delivery of green coffee and cocoa across our growing international network.
