Dr. Léonie Bonnehin-Verrier joined Olam Cocoa on 17th February 2020 as Cocoa Agroforestry Head, West Africa, to be part of the core Sustainability Leadership Team and to support Olam “Cocoa and Forest Initiative” commitments on reforestation & reduction of Natural Capital Costs. Léonie has with 30+ years of experience in Environment, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, mostly developed in West and Central Africa. Prior joining Olam, she has worked with Wageningen University/Tropenbos; GIZ (ex GTZ), Conservation International (CI) and SIAT.

Léonie has a MSc in Biogeography and Botany from University of Tours and Montpellier, France and a PhD degree in Forest Ecology and Management from Wageningen University, Netherlands. She was awarded in 1993 by the USIA/International Visitors program as a Young African Leader in Environment with 11 colleagues from North, West, Central, South Africa and Madagascar.