Chris Vincent plans to step down as World Cocoa Foundation president
Chris Vincent, president of the WCF, opened this year's partnership meeting. He has just confirmed his departure from the role at the end of this year. Pic: Neill Barston
After leading the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) as its president for nearly four momentous years, Chris Vincent is set to step down from his post at the end of this year, reports Neill Barston.
The organisation confirmed its leader’s decision today, which it stressed had been a planned move since last summer, when its senior representative notified the group of his plans and willingness to stay on until a successor would be fully in place.
Confectionery Production has been a media partner for the latest WCF meeting this past week in Amsterdam, which came amid a period of considerable disruption for the sector. It has faced fresh crisis as cocoa prices spiralled downwards in the past month, with figures reaching below $4,000 a tonne on futures commodities markets.
This prompted Ghana’s government to dramatically cut cocoa farm gate prices paid to agricultural communities by 30% this month, with neighbouring Ivory Coast swiftly deciding to do the same in close succession, leaving question marks over whether authorities would deliver rates of payment at previous higher rates agreed last year.
Notably, as reported last week, this year’s partnership meeting reflected those core test in the market, including building resilience in the market after its major price shocks, tackling key outbreaks of cocoa diseases such as swollen shoot virus impacting crops in West Africa, and enabling communities to evolve agroforestry to drive a move towards a living income.
As for Chris Vincent’s decision, he has been serving as its president since October 2022, having taken on the role on an interim basis that summer, from its previous postholder, Martin Short, who had resigned after serving less than a year in the role.
Moreover, Vincent has been praised by the WCF for driving its direction over the past four years, during a period under which it has undergone major external scrutiny, with major confectionery business players within its ranks coming under pressure in terms of their levels of performance against stated sustainability goals for the industry.
As the WCF noted, at the Board’s request, its president has agreed to continue as President through to the end of 2026 (see our exclusive video interview with him reflecting on this year’s event below),
Furthermore, as the organisation stated, Chris, who had prior to taking up his post, had gained more than two decades working for NGO’s and organisations in West Africa, has led a significant transformation of the organisation, strengthening its strategic focus, credibility and role as a convener across business, government and sustainability stakeholders.
Significantly, it added that the Board retained full confidence in Chris’s leadership and is committed to a structured, well- governed and orderly succession process at the appropriate time.
Tricia Brannigan, World Cocoa Foundation Chair, who had also played an integral part in this year’s partnership meeting, added: “The Board is deeply grateful for Chris’s leadership and the role he has played in strengthening WCF’s strategy, credibility and convening power over the past five years.
Succession planning is a core responsibility of the Board, and this transition reflects normal, healthy governance and long-term planning.
“With Chris’s continued leadership through the end of 2026, we are confident in WCF’s ability to deliver its refined strategy and support members and partners through a critical period for the cocoa sector.”
As the organisation added, it remains committed to evolving its strategy, as well as supporting its members and partners, with a core focus on forging long-term resilience and sustainability within the cocoa sector, as it continues to navigate a significant range of challenges. Details of the next annual partnership meeting have yet to be released.
