Vice-president of Strategic Purchase and Agricultural Development, Luker Chocolate
Vice-president of Strategic Purchase and Agricultural Development at Luker Chocolate and CEO of Luker Agrícola- Bogotá, Colombia. Civil Engineer, master’s degree in administration, with 30 plus years of experience in production, administration, and commercial areas in food companies in Colombia and abroad. Currently he works for Luker Chocolate (Casa Luker) as Vice-president of Strategic Purchase and Agricultural Development and CEO for Luker Agrícola before he was Innovation and Business Development Director. His main responsibilities are the direction of the agricultural and scientist research, technical and commercial support to farmers and producers’ associations, the cacao procurement, and the management of Luker’s commercial plantations of both cacao and African palm.
From 2008 to 2018 he was the International Business Director in charge of the design and implementation of the global strategy for chocolates reaching more than 40 countries in the chocolate gourmet market.
He has broad knowledge in all the steps of the cacao chain supply worldwide including R&D, agricultural development, sustainability, production and marketing and commercial areas. He has served on the WCF Board of Director since 2010 in representation of the small and medium enterprises, including serving on the Strategic Planning Committee that helped guide the new WCF strategy. He is also a member of the International Cocoa Council Organization ad-hoc panel for Fine Flavor Cocoa since 2015