Fair Trade USA Names New Chief Program Officer

Fair Trade USA has named Sugumar Raman as the organization’s chief program officer. 

A veteran in the global sustainable sourcing movement, Sugumar is tasked with designing, innovating, and implementing Fair Trade USA's programs with the goal of increasing the organization's scope and scale of impact and tackling some of the most pressing global challenges.

"We are extremely lucky to have Sugumar join our team," said Paul Rice, founder & CEO, Fair Trade USA. "His years of leadership experience on the front lines of the global sustainable sourcing movement will be a tremendous asset to our organization as we continue to reimagine how to best deliver the deepest and broadest impact to the farmers and planet we serve."

Sugumar is a specialist in leading organizational change through a robust and collaborative engagement process. As Director of Operations at FLOCERT, he led the transformation of the organization towards a 360‐degree assurance provider by digitizing its core processes, while inspiring internal teams and influencing stakeholders through that evolution.

According to Fair Trade USA officials, Sugumar in his new role will be an important stakeholder in the organization’s new Innovation for Impact Initiative, a multi-stakeholder engagement and design lab aimed at developing a more scalable, higher-impact Fair Trade Certified coffee program.

Prior to FLOCERT, Sugumar developed his expertise in the private agribusiness sector, serving as the Global Production Manager at Chessumplants Ltd. in Kenya & Nigeria, as the Group General Manager at Solai Plantations in Kenya, and as the Deputy Manager and Assistant Manager of Production at Tata Global Beverages & Harrisons Malayalam Ltd. in Munnar, India.