Our Governance

Independence, transparency, impartiality and multi-stakeholder governance are central to the MSC’s values and commitment to continually maintain and strengthen world-leading standards.

We work hard to ensure our standards, strategy and decision-making take account of the views, expertise and experience of a wide range of stakeholders, from academia and government, the fishery and market sectors, and the environmental NGO community.

Our governance structure involves a wide range of stakeholders with different perspectives to ensure that the MSC’s decisions are balanced, reflecting many sectors and interests.

In addition to our governance groups, stakeholders are invited to participate in consultations on our standards and requirements, and are encouraged to participate in independent fisheries assessments.

In addition to our governance bodies, standing and ad hoc working groups may be established by the Board, Technical Advisory Board or Stakeholder Advisory Council to address specific regional or topical issues. Their members come from the MSC Board, Technical Advisory Board and Stakeholder Advisory Council, and may include other independent experts who are invited to advise the MSC.

The Board of Trustees is also supported in its work by a number of Board Committees, which meet throughout the year to reflect in detail on specific areas of the MSC’s activities and operations. Their membership is primarily drawn from the Board of Trustees.

If you are interested in participating in the MSC’s stakeholder consultations, or if you have any questions about our governance structures and processes, please contact the MSC’s Chief Operating Officer.

The MSC Board of Trustees

The MSC Board of Trustees is our governing body. With advice from the Technical Advisory Board and Stakeholder Advisory Council, it sets the strategic direction of the MSC, monitors progress and ensures the MSC meets its objectives.

The Board of Trustees meets 4 times a year and has a maximum of 15 members.

Main activities

Ensuring the MSC meets its charitable aims
Setting the strategic direction of the MSC, and monitoring progress in delivery of strategy
Ensuring that the MSC is financially secure
Publicly accounting for expenditure and income
Ensuring the MSC operates in a legally compliant manner in relevant jurisdictions
Appointing new Board members and key MSC staff
Appointing members of the Technical Advisory Board and Stakeholder Advisory Council

Leadership

The Chair of the Board of Trustees leads the Board and is elected for a term of three-years, and may serve up to three terms. Another trustee may be elected as Vice-Chair.

Appointments

Trustees are chosen for their knowledge, expertise and support for the MSC. Membership is balanced with representatives from different sectors and geographical regions (as well as other relevant demographic criteria) to reflect the broad mix of stakeholders who have a stake in the MSC's mission.

Potential new Board members are identified by existing members, and following a review process, suitable nominees are approached for interview. Favourable references must be provided, and there must be consensus amongst all Board members on the appointment of a new candidate.

Trustees are nominated by the Board in a personal capacity, not as representatives of their organisations. They serve a maximum three-year term and may stand for reappointment.

The Chair of the Technical Advisory Board and both Co-Chairs of the Stakeholder Advisory Council have a seat on the Board to ensure that these important governance bodies are represented in Board decisions. The Chair of the MSCI Board is also an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees.

MSC Board Trustees

Dr Werner Kiene - Chair

Werner Kiene Appointed as Chair of the Board in July 2013. Dr Werner Kiene has over 40 years' experience in key strategic positions in global development, leading international multi-stakeholder initiatives in the fields of food security and sustainable resource management. He has a background as an agricultural economist and previously served as Chair of the World Bank Inspection Panel and as Chair of the Compliance Review Panel of the Inter-American Development Bank. He has been involved in Fairtrade Certification and held leadership positions in the UN World Food Programme, the Ford Foundation, and German International Cooperation-GIZ.

Mr Paul Uys - MSC International Board Chair

Mr Paul Uys, MSCI board chair Appointed to the MSC Board in 2015, Mr Paul Uys is a senior executive with 40 years global retail experience specialising in brand creation, product development and sourcing. He was recruited from Woolworths South Africa to join Loblaw Companies, Canada’s largest supermarket, to head the emerging product development department of their control brands. In his latter days at Loblaw he spearheaded its sustainable seafood procurement initiative and played a key role in establishing its responsible sourcing position "Food for the Future." In 2013, Paul retired from Loblaw, and advises various organisations, including WWF Canada, on strategic ocean industry matters. He became Senior Director, External, at the University of Guelph's, Canada’s food university, to help establish the Arrell Food Institute. He is currently the chairman of Canada’s national bird organisation, Birds Canada, and a member of the advisory board of the newly created Canadian Agro-business Sustainable Initiative (CASI).

Dr Christopher Zimmermann - Chair of the MSC Technical Advisory Board

Dr. Christopher Zimmermann Appointed to the Board in January 2021, Dr Christopher Zimmermann is director for the Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries, a German Federal research institution. He is the German Advisory Committee member and one of the two German delegates to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and scientific advisor in all aspects of sustainable marine fishing to the German government and parliaments, the EU commission and parliament, industry and environmental NGOs. Chris has been involved in MSC standard setting in various fora and governance bodies since 2005 and has previously chaired the MSC Technical Advisory Board 2011-2017.

Ms Amanda Nickson - Co-Chair of Stakeholder Advisory Council

Amanda Nickson portrait Appointed to the Board in September 2019, in her most immediate previous role, Ms Amanda Nickson served as Director of International Fisheries at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Amanda joined Pew in 2010, leading on advocacy efforts with regional fisheries management organizations. From there she led Pew’s international work on ending overfishing and securing effective management of commercially fished tunas globally. Her portfolio then expanded to cover all of Pew’s international fisheries work, conservation and management of tunas and sharks, as well as work to end illegal fishing and roll out fisheries reforms in European waters.

Before joining Pew, Amanda worked for WWF for nearly 12 years, including leading international efforts to protect threatened charismatic species including tigers, pandas and marine turtles. She also developed and led WWF’s Bycatch Initiative, a major policy and field program aimed at reducing the incidental catch of non-target species in fisheries in more than 20 countries throughout the world.

In January 2022, Amanda joined the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation as the Senior Program Officer for Ocean Conservation.

Mr Kristjan Th. Davidsson – Finance Committee Chair

Kristjan Daviddsson portrait image Appointed to the Board in July 2021. Kristjan Th. Davidsson is an Icelandic seafood industry specialist with more than 35 years of executive and non-executive roles within and related to the international seafood industry, in Iceland, Norway, Chile and Peru. Kristjan’s working experience spans fishing, production, trading/sales of seafood, technology and services, finance, management, consulting, banking and financial advisory. He has held and holds non-executive roles in companies within the seafood industry, fishing/production/sales, services and technology, banking, internet service and fibre provider, and a pension fund. He currently manages his own consulting business and an investment company.

Mr David Lock - Audit Committee Chair

David Lock Appointed to the Board in November 2018 , Mr David Lock is an experienced Australian director, currently serving on the boards of several agribusiness and infrastructure companies. David has extensive experience in the Australian seafood industry, having been the Managing Director, and currently Chairman, of Mareterram Limited, a fishing company based in Western Australia. Prior to Mareterram, David was Chief Executive of the Craig Mostyn Group for 12 years.

David is also Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee of Water Corporation. He has previously been Chairman of the West Australian Food Industry Association. In 2012 he was awarded the National Australia Bank Agribusiness Leader of the Year, and in 2013 he was recognised as an Australian Export Hero by the Export Council of Australia. David is a Chartered Accountant with a background in insolvency and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mr Jim Leape - Development Committee Chair

Appointed to the Board in December 2015. Mr Jim Leape has worked in conservation for more than three decades. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Jim began his career as an environmental lawyer bringing environmental protection cases in the United States; advising the UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya; and co-authoring the leading American text on environmental law. Jim joined WWF-US in 1989, and led its conservation programmes around the world, serving ultimately as Executive Vice President. From 2001 to 2005 he directed the conservation and science programme of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, one of the largest philanthropies in the US. In 2005, Jim was appointed Director General of WWF International, serving as the chief executive of WWF International and leader of the global WWF Network. He held that position until 2014. He is currently the Cox Consulting Professor at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.

Mr Giles Bolton

Giles Bolton Appointed to the Board in January 2019, Mr Giles Bolton is Director of Responsible Sourcing and Packaging at Tesco, one of the world's largest retailers. He leads a team of 60 environment, human rights and packaging experts across ten key sourcing countries, responsible for ensuring good working conditions and sustainable practices across Tesco's supply chain. Prior to Tesco, Giles had a ten-year career as an aid worker for the British Government, managing development programmes in Kenya, Rwanda, Iraq, and on trade.

Giles is on the Board of the Ethical Trading Initiative and is co-chair of the Consumer Goods Forum working group on Forced Labour. He chairs the aid transparency NGO Publish What You Fund, and is author of the activist book Aid and Other Dirty Business.

Ms Maria Damanaki

Maria Damanaki Appointed to the Board in September 2019,Ms Maria Damanaki is serving as a principal advisor for SYSTEMIQ/ London, and the Paradise Foundation/China. She served as Global Managing Director for Oceans at The Nature Conservancy (2014-2020), running marine programs in 27 countries, across all continents, focused on transforming how the world manages its oceans, including sustainable fisheries management, large-scale protection and restoration of coral reefs and other ecosystems.

Maria also co-chairs the UN Sustainability Committee for Blue Growth, and co-chairs the advisory network of the High-Level Panel for Oceans created by the Norwegian Prime Minister and 13 PMs around the world. She is a member of the Friends of Ocean Commission of the World Economic Forum. She sits on the Board of Directors in Oxford Martin School Ocean Program, University of Oxford, the Boards of Monaco Ocean Foundation and Oceanographic Institute, the board of European Marine Regions Forum.

Mr Stuart Green

Close-up profile photo of Mr Stuart Green Appointed to the board in June 2020. Stuart J. Green is a marine science and policy practitioner who specialises in fisheries governance for small scale fisheries through Blue-Green Advisors Ltd in the UK. Stuart has extensive technical and scientific experience from over 25 years of conservation and fisheries governance work during his residency in the Asia-Pacific. His work has focused on impactful partnerships between marine conservation donors and implementers working to improve some of the world’s most socially, economically and ecologically significant marine resources. Over the last decade, Stuart has been advising the David and Lucile Packard and Walton Family Foundations on ocean governance.

Dr Kevin Stokes

Appointed to the Board in July 2020. Dr Kevin Stokes is a fisheries science, management, and policy consultant with extensive international experience. He has held senior management positions in both the public and private sector as a fisheries scientist, manager, and adviser. He has provided advice nationally and internationally at senior governmental and ministerial levels, as well as to the fishing, processing and retail sectors. Kevin has acted as a fisheries assessor, auditor, and peer reviewer for multiple MSC certification assessments for a number of Conformity Assessment Bodies.

The MSC Technical Advisory Board

The Technical Advisory Board advises the MSC Board of Trustees on technical and scientific matters relating to the MSC Standards, including developing methodologies for certification and accreditation and reviewing the progress of fisheries certifications.