David McLaughlin

Dave McLaughlin is Sr. Advisor: Strategy at Conservation International’s Center for Sustainable Lands and Water. Mr. McLaughlin joined Conservation International in January, 2018. Prior to joining Conservation International, he led WWF-US’s agricultural team, focusing on international commodity supply chains. Dave was born and raised in Latin America. After obtaining a master’s degree in finance from Babson College, he moved to Costa Rica to work for Chiquita Brands International, where he worked for almost 30 years in a number of different management roles. In the 1980s, as a palm oil plantation manager, he led efforts to implement cover crops, address effluent issues, and worker health and safety practices long before they became industry standards, as well as incorporating smallholder production and innovative labor management practices as an integral part of Chiquita’s business plan. In the 1990s, as the General Manager of Chiquita’s banana operations in Costa Rica, Mr. McLaughlin worked with the environmental community, including Conservation International and Rainforest Alliance, to implement a host of certification programs to improve the sustainability of banana production. With the experience gained in Costa Rica, he led a global effort to certify all of Chiquita’s operations in Latin America, Asia and Africa to the Rainforest Alliance standard as well as SA8000, which is a labor and human rights standard. At Conservation International, Mr. McLaughlin applies these lessons to a host of agricultural industries and works closely with global Brands to improve their supply chain sustainability.