‘Local realities’ at the heart of World Cocoa Foundation’s new strategy, as members prepare to meet in Amsterdam

Last October, the WCF appointed Peter Koegler as Vice President of Programmes to spearhead facilitating a transformative change in the cocoa sector. Koegler’s remit is to design and lead the strategies for both WCF’s current programmes and future ones, reporting directly to the WCF President, Chris Vincent and the organisation’s previous Programmes VP.

A senior leader with over 20 years of experience in sustainability, agribusiness, supply chain issues, energy and climate, and public and regulatory affairs, Koegler has led and supported teams in leading non-profit organizations, the financial and the corporate sector.

In his last position as Senior Director at Conservation International (CI), a global environmental organisation that combines fieldwork with innovations in science, policy, and finance, Koegler led the organisation’s corporate and financial sector engagements in Europe, where his teams of policy engagement and public and private sector fundraising experts promoted corporate and financial sector partnerships for investments in climate change, large-scale nature protection and Nature Based Solutions projects around the globe.

“The Partnership Meeting is an excellent opportunity to have in-person meetings with members and partners and interact with a great variety of stakeholders who are actively involved in the cocoa sector. I am looking forward to interesting and inspiring discussions and opportunities to meet new people and learn from each other.  With our new and very enthusiastic team of professionals, together with our growth and forward-looking strategy, we will give our friends, members, and stakeholders a refreshed boost on its way to a more sustainable, profitable, and equitable cocoa sector​,” Koegler said.

Koegler said focussing on “local realities​” will be a cornerstone of WCF Programmes. “Acknowledging and incorporating local realities into programme designs is non-negotiable. Strong teams on the ground, including dedicated members working closely with communities and local government agencies, are essential. These teams ensure a sense of belonging and ownership among all partners and stakeholders​,” he said.

Commenting on his appointment, Vincent said: ‘‘Peter is joining us at a critical time, as the focus of our signature programme, the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), pivots towards large-scale multistakeholder landscape approaches to address the challenges of deforestation and promote reforestation. We welcome his extensive experience and innovation capabilities, which will also enable us to co-create and lead new collaborative programmes that enable our members to deliver more impact at scale​."