Staff

CIAT has a total of 968 staff representing 59 nationalities present across three regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. Many are based from our regional offices located in Colombia (HQ), Kenya, and Vietnam.

The full list of CIAT research staff will be available soon.

Management Team*
Echeverría, Ruben G., Director General (See biography)
Araba, Debisi, Regional Director for Africa (Kenya)
Bernal, Mario, Director, Human Resources Management
Campilan, Dindo, Regional Director for Asia (Vietnam)
Jarvis, Andy, Decision and Policy Analysis Research Area Director
Tohme, Joseph, Agrobiodiversity Research Area Director
Rajasekharan, Maya, Head, Research Management
Rengifo, Gloria, Director, Finance & Administration
Verchot, Louis, Soils and Landscapes for Sustainability Research Area Director
Zandstra, André, Head, Partnerships & Communications

* Website for Management Team Only

Office of the Director General
Gil, Luz Stella, Executive Assistant
Jaramillo, María Virgina, General Counsel
Rayo, Carolina, Administrative Assistant
Reyes, María Fernanda, Secretary to the Board of Trustees and Management Team

Research Areas

Decision and Policy Analysis Research Area
Jarvis, Andy, Research Area Director

Leaders
Läderach, Peter, Climate Change (Vietnam)
Lundy, Mark, Linking Farmers to Markets
Quintero, Marcela, Ecosystem Services

Soils and Landscapes for Sustainability Research Area
Verchot, Louis, Research Area Director

Leaders
Desta, Lulseged, Soil Information (Ethiopia)
Kizito, Fred, Landscapes (Rwanda)
Sommer, Rolf, Soil Health (Kenya)

Agrobiodiversity Research Area
Tohme, Joseph, Research Area Director

Leaders
Becerra, Luis Augusto, Cassava
Beebe, Stephen, Bean
Correa, Fernando, Rice
Peters, Michael, Tropical Forages
Wenzl, Peter, Genetic Resources

Regional Offices

CIAT–Africa
Araba, Debisi, Regional Director (Kenya)

Pan-African Bean Research Alliance (PABRA)
Robin Buruchara, Director (Kenya)
Waswa, Boaz, Program Coordinator (Kenya)

CIAT–Asia
Campilan, Dindo, Regional Director (Vietnam)
De Haan, Stefan, Regional Program Management Officer (Vietnam)

CIAT–Latin America and the Caribbean
Navarrete, Carolina, LAC Regional Coordinator
Francesconi, Wendy, Peru Technical Liaison Officer (Lima)
Ochoa, Libardo, Colombia Program Coordinator (Bogotá)
Jenny Wiegel, Central America Coordinator (Managua)

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
Campbell, Bruce, CCAFS Director (Denmark)
Bonilla-Findji, Osana, Science Officer
De Abreu, David, Knowledge and Data Sharing Coordinator
Loboguerrero, Ana María, Regional Program Leader for Latin America
Martínez, Deissy, Scientific Officer
Rivera, Julián, Manager Finance Contracts and Liaison
Tall, Arame, Senior Risk Management Scientist, USA

HarvestPlus
Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H, Global Director Product Development

HarvestPlus Crop Product Development Managers
Virk, Parminder, Manager Crop Development (India)
Andersson, Meike, Crop Development Specialist

HarvestPlus Regional Managers
Mbunji, Marx, Manager, Africa Region Business Development (Zambia)
Ubomba-Jaswa, Patience Acanda, Market Development Manager (Zambia)
Katsvairo, Lister, Manager, Africa Regions Partnership Countries (Rwanda)
Mwansa, Nicholas, Seed System Specialist (Zambia)

HarvestPlus Country Managers
Bashar, Khairul (Bangladesh)
Lubobo, Antoine Kanyenga (DR Congo)
Bidiaka, Sylvain (Dr Congo for Vita- A Cassava)
Ilona, Paul (Nigeria)
Cherian, Binu (India)
Bux Baloch, Qadir (Pakistan)
Mulambu, Joseph (Rwanda & CIAT Country Representative)
Simpungwe, Eliab (Zambia)

Research Support

Program Coordination
Rajasekharan, Maya, Head, Program Coordination
Castillo, Perla, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
Mascarenhas, Martina, Communications Specialist
Mwanzia, Leroy, Data & Information Manager
Roa, Carolina, Intellectual Property Officer
Staiger, Simone, Leader, Data, Information, and Knowledge

Partnerships and Communications
Zandstra, André, Head, Partnerships and Communications
Breiter, Melanie, Donor Relations Manager
Jaramillo, Carolina, Resource Mobilization Analyst
Torres, Sylvia Carolina, Strategic Partnerships Officer
Knapp, Juliana, Partnerships Coordinator

Neno, Stéfanie, Communications Manager
Palmer, Neil, Senior Communicator
Romero, Madelline, Communications Coordinator for Asia
Smith, Georgina, Communications Coordinator for Africa
Varón, Adriana, Communications Coordinator for Latin America

Finance & Administration
Rengifo, Gloria, Director, Finance & Administration 
Escober, Vilia, Finance and Administrative Coordinator, Central America
Hoang, Thao, Regional Administrative Coordinator, Asia
Kiragu, Wanjiku, Head, Regional Operations, Africa (Kenya)
Meneses, Carlos, Head, Information Technology
Osorio, Luis Fernando, Manager, Financial Planning & Monitoring
Peña, Jorge, Manager, Financial Operations

Human Resources Management
Bernal, Mario, Director, Human Resources Management
Kareri, Alice, Human Resources and Administration Coordinator, Africa
Marulanda, Natasha, Talent Management

Organizations based at CIAT headquarters

Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute
Contact: María Estefanía López, Eduardo Tovar

Biopacific Park (Headquarters)
Contact: Edwin Gilberto Giraldo Henao, Director

Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA)
Contact: Claudia Patricia Vélez García

CLAYUCA Corporation
Contact: Bernardo Ospina

Corporation for the Development of Biotechnology (Corporación BIOTEC)
Contact: Miryam Sánchez

Foundation for Agricultural Research and Development (Fidar)
Contact: José Restrepo

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Contact: Luis Narro

Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS)
Contact: Ryozo Hayashi 

Latin America Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR)
Contact: Eduardo Graterol