Industry certification body Rainforest Alliance has named former Barry Callebaut senior executive Nicolas Mounard as its chief commercial officer, writes Neill Barston.

The key environmental non-governmental organisation, which operates across more than 66,000 products, including working within the cocoa and confectionery industry, has continued to expand its operations around the world, supporting communities around the globe.

Its latest appointee has more than two decades of experience covering the private sector and international development, with a career focused on making agricultural supply chains more sustainable while creating value for farmers and businesses.

As Rainforest Alliance, which has previously played a notable role in our World Confectionery Conference, noted, Paris-based Nicolas recently served as Vice President of ESG, Sustainability & Traceability at Barry Callebaut, where he led the company’s global sustainability agenda – which has been among the most prominent operations of its kind in the sector,  including its Forever Chocolate programme, representing the business at the most recent World Cocoa Foundation meeting in Amsterdam.

In addition, he has also worked on sustainability regulations and supply chain traceability impacting the wider value chain. He joined Barry Callebaut in 2019 and previously served as Global Director of Farmer Services and Vice President of Sustainability & Farming.

Rainforest Alliance report
Significantly, his appointment comes in the wake of Rainforest Alliance’s annual report this summer, which revealed that its operations around the world covered around five million hectares of land positively impacted by its certification approach.

The report acknowledged that there had been significant volatility in the cocoa sector during 2024 and 2025, yet despite this, there had been growing demand for its certified crop supplies during this period. However, as a result of the uncertainty in the market due to elevated prices (in which crops were trading in futures markets at around $12,000 a tonne at the start of 2025), sales in both Africa and Asia had been affected.

According to its results, Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa farms produced around 2.7 million metric tonnes of cocoa in 2025, representing a 4% increase from 2024.

Furthermore, approximately 1.56 million cocoa farms and 1.54 million farmers were part of its cocoa programme in 2025, representing increases of 4% and 7% respectively. 

Its studies showed that Africa remained the primary region, with more than 1 million farms, accounting for 81% of the global total. Producer sales reached 1.5 million metric tonnes globally in 2025 – a 3% increase from 2024.

As for its latest appointment, Santiago Gowland, Chief Executive Officer of the Rainforest Alliance, welcomed its new commercial leader.

He said:  “Nicolas brings a rare combination of commercial experience, sustainability leadership, and a deep understanding of agricultural supply chains from farm to market. 

“He understands both the realities facing farmers and the pressures facing companies, and he has spent his career building partnerships that connect the two. As we look to expand our impact, his leadership will be critical to strengthening the market relationships that can turn sustainability ambition into change at scale.”

Moreover, before joining Barry Callebaut, Mounard was Chief Executive Officer of Farm Africa, where he led the organisation’s work supporting farmers and sustainable agricultural development across eastern Africa. Earlier in his career, he served as Managing Director of Twin & Twin Trading and Chief Executive Officer of Alter Eco, building partnerships across both the private sector and institutional donors.

For his new role, he will led the alliance’s commercial work at a time when companies are navigating increased reporting requirements, regulatory challenges, and increasing pressure to build more resilient and transparent supply chains.

He will oversee ongoing efforts to deepen existing partnerships, develop new market opportunities, and connect the Rainforest Alliance’s work with farmers and forest communities to the companies and markets that can help drive change at scale.

“I have always looked for opportunities that bring together three things: growth, transformation, and impact,” said Mounard. “I can think of few organisations where those three come together as clearly as they do at the Rainforest Alliance. The organisation has a unique ability to connect what happens on farms and in forests with the companies and markets that can help transform entire sectors. I’m excited to join the team and work with our partners to grow that impact.”