Governance and Leadership
External Review: Fit for the Future
In 2025, the Executive Board commissioned an independent external review to assess the Crop Trust’s achievements over the past decade and provide guidance for the next five years. The review found the organization to be highly effective and globally respected, with clear impact in strengthening crop diversity conservation and the global genebank system.
The Review also offered forward-looking recommendations to enhance support for national collections, scale system-wide services and guide strategic decisionmaking for future impact. Moving forward, recommendations from the review will inform Crop Trust strategy and activity.
Members of the Executive Board
- Catherine Bertini, Chair of the Executive Board
- Mercedes Aráoz, Vice-Chair of the Executive Board
- Carlos Furche, Executive Board Member
- Jean-Christophe Gouache, Executive Board Member
- Geoffrey Hawtin OBE, Executive Board Member
- Dagfinn Høybråten, Executive Board Member
- Masaru Iwanaga, Executive Board Member
- Josette Lewis, Executive Board Member
- Joachim von Braun, Executive Board Member
- Stefan Schmitz, Executive Board Member, Ex-officio
- Kaveh Zahedi, Executive Board Member (non-voting), FAO Technical Representative
- Juan-Lucas Restrepo, Executive Board Member (non-voting), CGIAR Technical Representative
Members of the Executive Committee
- Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director
- Sarada Krishnan, Director of Programs
- Jaspreet Stamm, Director of External Affairs
- Anne Clyne, Director of Administration
- Luigi Guarino, Chief Scientist
- Christoph Beck, Chief of Human Resources and Corporate Operations
External Members of Executive Board Subsidiary Committees
- Victoria Sant, Chair of the Investment Committee
- Alexandra Readey, Member of the Investment Committee
- Stephan von Stenglin, Member of the Investment Committee
- Steven Lainoff, Member of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee
