Fair Trade USA Announces Sugumar Raman as Chief Program Officer

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Sep 06, 2023, 09:00 ET

Longtime sustainable sourcing leader to play key role in expanding the organization's program impact

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fair Trade USA today announced a key addition to its core leadership team. Sugumar Raman, who most recently served as the Director of Operations at FLOCERT, will serve as the organization's Chief Program Officer.

A veteran in the global sustainable sourcing movement, Sugumar is tasked with designing, innovating, and implementing Fair Trade USA's programs with the goal of increasing the organization's scope and scale of impact and tackling some of the most pressing global challenges.

"We are extremely lucky to have Sugumar join our team," said Paul Rice, Founder & CEO, Fair Trade USA. "His years of leadership experience on the front lines of the global sustainable sourcing movement will be a tremendous asset to our organization as we continue to reimagine how to best deliver the deepest and broadest impact to the farmers and planet we serve."

Sugumar is a specialist in leading organizational change through a robust and collaborative engagement process. As Director of Operations at FLOCERT, he led the transformation of the organization towards a 360‐degree assurance provider by digitizing its core processes, while inspiring internal teams and influencing stakeholders through that evolution.

As Chief Program Officer, Sugumar will be an important stakeholder in Fair Trade USA's new groundbreaking Innovation for Impact Initiative, a multi-stakeholder engagement and design lab aimed at developing a more scalable, higher-impact Fair Trade Certified™ coffee program.

Prior to FLOCERT, Sugumar developed his expertise in the private agribusiness sector, serving as the Global Production Manager at Chessumplants Ltd. in Kenya & Nigeria, as the Group General Manager at Solai Plantations in Kenya, and as the Deputy Manager and Assistant Manager of Production at Tata Global Beverages & Harrisons Malayalam Ltd. in Munnar, India. He holds a bachelor's degree in Botany / Agronomy from Bharathiar University in India along with an Advanced Management Program qualification from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

For more information about Fair Trade USA, visit the website.

About Fair Trade USA

Fair Trade USA, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the leading certifier of Fair Trade products in North America. Its award-winning, rigorous, and globally recognized sustainable sourcing certification programs improve livelihoods, protect the environment, and build resilient, transparent supply chains. The trusted Fair Trade Certified™ label on a product signifies that it was made according to stringent Fair Trade standards. Fair Trade USA is building an innovative model of responsible business, conscious consumerism, and shared value to eliminate poverty and enable sustainable development for farmers, workers, their families, and communities around the world.

Contact:
Fair Trade Public Relations
[email protected]

SOURCE Fair Trade USA