The distinguished panel of expert participants represent many of the different facets of the chocolate industry. They will discuss where the industry is today and how it can move into the future as a more ecological, labor friendly, and equitable industry.

About the Speakers

Bill Guyton is a senior-level leader within international agribusiness and nonprofit organizations who is committed to leading the creation and implementation of global sustainability best practices. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his ability to create public-private partnerships as well as to develop resilient supply chain and community-based programs.

In 2022, Guyton was appointed senior advisor to the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA) after successfully serving as its executive director for nearly four years. FCIA has grown to more than 300 company members that produce quality chocolates, sourced using ethical and sustainable practices. Guyton also consults for private firms and nonprofits on strategic planning, technical training, and partnership development. Prior to his current assignments, he was the founder and CEO of the World Cocoa Foundation, and has worked in other agricultural value chains such as feed grains, livestock and fruits and vegetables. In addition to his career record of successful leadership, he currently serves on the Advisory Board for the World Food Law Institute, is a member of The Alliance to End Hunger, and is a member the Association for International Agriculture and Development.

Sam Mawutor worked as senior advisor on the Cocoa Campaign at Mighty Earth, an environmental NGO based in Washington, D.C., to push the global chocolate industry to end cocoa-driven deforestation in West Africa. He has been working on natural resources and local communities in Ghana for the past 15 years. He led the civil society campaign to reform forest law and policy in Ghana to end deforestation and illegal logging. Mawutor is also at the College of Earth Oceans and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) at Oregon State University. He worked on the 2021 Easter Scorecard, which ranks leading chocolate brands, processors, retailers and traders' environmental and social performance.

Tim McCollum is founder and CEO of Beyond Good. In 1999, McCollum traveled to Madagascar as a Peace Corps Volunteer; more than 20 years later, that experience still colors Beyond Good’s mission and model. Today, Beyond Good is the only brand in the U.S. making chocolate at source in Africa. Beyond Good recently celebrated one year and 1 million bars at Africa’s most modern chocolate factory. Beyond Good sources organic, heirloom cocoa from 100 farmers and employs 42 full-time employees at origin in Madagascar. By manufacturing finished product in Africa, Beyond Good is redefining quality and sustainability for the global chocolate industry. McCollum has been recognized by Food & Wine magazine’s 40 Under 40 list of Americans “changing the way we eat and live” and named a Leader of Change by the United Nations. Fast Company recognized Beyond Good as one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World.

Moderator Frank Price served in Côte d’Ivoire with the Peace Corps. He became a teacher and coach in Petaluma. He has been a recipient of a Fulbright Hayes Scholarship in Nigeria, helped write an Africa-centered French textbook, and served as president of TeamBuilding-Unlimited. He is currently the vice present of the Northern California Peace Corps Association, a Shriver Circle member of the National Peace Corps Association and the vice chair of the International Relations MLF at the Commonwealth Club

NOTES

MLF: International Relations