Cocoa Association of Asia appoints Cargill’s Alvin Lee as chairman
The Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA) has elected Alvin Lee, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate’s commercial director for Asia-Pacific, Alvin Lee, as its new chairman, writes Neill Barston.
His two-year appointment began this week, and prior to taking up his role he had served with the Singapore-based organisation’s executive committee for the past five years.
Furthermore, Quek Ngee Chuan, vice president Cocoa Division of Olam International, will continue serving as the association’s vice Chairman, while other appointees also remain, including Amit Suri, general manager at Wilmar Group for Cocoa and Chocolate and Africa as secretary, and Mr Gerald Abwerzger, chief executive Officer at Von Alm Pte Ltd as Treasurer. They will form the new CAA Executive Committee.
Alvin, (pictured), has been intricately involved with the food and cocoa industry throughout his career. In his current role based in Singapore, Alvin leads Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate’s trading, risk management and international physical sourcing efforts across the Asia-Pacific region.
He is also responsible for product line and margin management of the Group’s state-of-the-art cocoa processing asset in Gresik, Indonesia. Before joining Cargill in early 2015, Alvin handled regional dairy sourcing and risk management responsibilities for Kerry Ingredients. Previously, he had worked for ADM Cocoa in both Singapore and the United States in a variety of trading and sourcing roles.
Commenting on his new post, Alvin said: “I’m honoured to be taking on the Chairmanship for the CAA and excited to carry on the excellent work laid by my predecessor. The previous exco has left a solid foundation for our new exco to build upon and we look forward to bringing the Association & its membership to new heights while continuing to champion and promote consumption of what is arguably the world’s most delicious ingredient in the region and beyond. We will continue to advocate for our growing membership’s varied needs and strive to be a positive contributor to the cocoa & chocolate industry globally through more initiatives and collaboration.”
Organisation developments
In other major moves for the organisation, CAA Executive Director, Mr Marc Donaldson, will be leaving CAA as of April 2021. He joined CAA as its first full-time employee in 2019 and was instrumental in building the partnership with Enterprise Singapore and expanding CAA’s presence within and outside the Asia region. CAA
Marketing Manager, Shirley Choo, will assume the role of Director, Marketing and Operations, with immediate effect, taking up responsibility for the day-to-day operations of CAA. Shirley joined CAA in 2019 and has been the force behind all of the CAA marketing initiatives ever since.
