The Marine Stewardship Council Board of Trustees has appointed Dr Werner Kiene as MSC chair. Dr Kiene will formally take up the full responsibilities of his role in 2013, when current chairman, Will Martin, retires from the MSC Board after a decade of service and leadership.
Dr Kiene has over 40 years’ experience in key strategic positions in global development, leading international, multi-stakeholder initiatives in the fields of food security, strengthening communities, and systems for effective and sustainable resource management. Key appointments include his work at the Ford Foundation, where he led the nutrition policy programme for Latin America and the Caribbean, and helped pioneer the Green Revolution for expanding food production in developing countries. While at GTZ-GIZ (Germany’s Development Assistance Organisation), he led projects to help embed FAO-based principles for sustainable fisheries management in Mauritania’s fishing industry.
At the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), as the first director of the WFP’s newly-established office of evaluation, Dr Kiene helped strengthen corporate oversight and governance. While country manager for the UN-WFP in Bangladesh, he was responsible for managing the international and national relief effort in response to the floods that devastated the country.
Dr Kiene has brought his technical and strategic expertise to the world of compliance, certification and governance systems. He chaired the World Bank Inspection Panel and is currently involved in a similar assignment at the Inter-American Development Bank. He is also vice chairman of the Board of Fairtrade International Certification (FLO – CERT), ensuring producers, processors and traders comply with the Fairtrade social and environmental standards.
“My interest in serving on the MSC Board arose from my strong conviction about the importance of the MSC’s mission and the significant contributions that eco-labelling efforts are making to global environmental management,” said Dr Kiene. “I am delighted to be appointed at such an important stage of the MSC’s development, and will bring to bear my experience with mission-led organisations to help the MSC realise its vision of seafood supplies safeguarded for future generations. I look forward to working with the Board and all the MSC’s partners over the coming years.”
Will Martin, welcoming Dr Kiene into the role, said, “The MSC is a unique approach in the fisheries world, a multi-stakeholder collaboration of business and conservation interests, committed to working with the grain of the market to promote and reward sustainable fisheries through economic incentives. What began as a small but ambitious programme, has flourished and grown into the real catalyst for change in the seafood market we see today.
“I have been honoured to serve the MSC as Board member and chair, and I am delighted that Werner has sought this role and recognises the vital contribution of our programme to achieving the linked goals of environmental sustainability and economic security for the world’s fisheries and seafood industry.”
Rupert Howes, MSC chief executive, said: “Will Martin has been part of the MSC Board for twelve years and chair for seven years. Will is a true statesman. The insights and integrity that he has brought to the MSC have been invaluable. I have very much enjoyed working with him and I will miss him greatly when he steps down. Under his leadership the MSC has grown from a bold idea into a proven concept. We are fortunate that as we move forward to deliver our new strategic plan, Werner Kiene has accepted this demanding role. I look forward to working with Werner and the rest of the Board over the coming months and years.”