Dr. Christof Walter

Walter has over 15 years of experience working with multinational consumer goods companies on sustainable sourcing strategies, certification and agri-standards, supply chain development, and inclusion of smallholder farmers in commercial supply chains. Dr. Walter started his career at Unilever, where he worked on sustainable agriculture projects worldwide. He developed the company’s industry-leading smallholder farmer engagement strategy and managed a CEO-level collaborative project between Unilever and Oxfam to connect 100,000 smallholders to commercial supply chains. Following Unilever, Mr. Walter has worked on smallholder supply chain strategies and projects for more than 25 crops including coffee, tea, palm, cotton, coconut, mango, and tomatoes. He has worked with food companies like SAB Miller, Kellogg’s, Unilever, and Marks & Spencer, investors and Development Finance Institutions, including KfW, EBRD, Deutsche Bank, and Afrexim Bank, and NGOs and non-profits, including Sustainable Food Lab, Utz Certified, Solidaridad, Cotton Connect, COELACP and the International Trade Center. He speaks English, German, and Spanish. Dr. Walter has studied agronomy, economics and ecology, and has a PhD in horticultural sciences.