World Cocoa Foundation Names Mars' Barry Parkin As New Chairman

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) has named Barry Parkin, chief sustainability officer at Mars, Incorporated, as its new Board of Directors chairman. He will complete the term of Nicko Debenham, who recently became the new vice-president of cocoa sustainability at Barry Callebaut.

"We are grateful to Barry Parkin for taking on this important position at WCF.  Barry brings great drive and a real passion for cocoa sustainability to the WCF chairmanship. Under his leadership we are guaranteed to continue to advance our mission of creating a sustainable cocoa supply chain," says Bill Guyton, president of WCF. "We thank Nicko Debenham for his leadership during a very dynamic and exciting period and wish him every success in his new role at Barry Callebaut," he continued.

"I'm honored to accept this chairmanship and confident we can improve the lives of millions of farmers and the sustainability of cocoa by harnessing the collective influence and resources of the WCF membership," says Parkin. 

As chief sustainability officer at Mars, Incorporated, Parkin is responsible for developing Mars' sustainability programs across the value chain from farmers through to consumers. He works with the business unit's sourcing teams to develop Mars' corporate sourcing strategies across all raw materials and with the operational teams to build programs to make Mars' operations sustainable in a generation.

About WCF
The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) is an international membership foundation that promotes a sustainable cocoa economy by providing cocoa farmers with the tools they need to grow more and better cocoa, market it successfully and make greater profits. WCF's membership includes cocoa and chocolate manufacturers, processors, supply chain managers, and other companies worldwide, representing more than 80% of the global cocoa market. For more information, visit www.worldcocoa.org.

SOURCE World Cocoa Foundation