It was a bit of a surprise to hear that Martin Short, who was appointed to the role of President at the World Cocoa Foundation less than a year ago, had handed in his resignation. His reasons don’t need to be shared with the public, although he hints a moving to a new role or in a different direction.
This leaves the WCF caught a bit, well, short. At the time, Short wrote that he saw great opportunity in bringing sustainability to all aspects of the cocoa supply chain. While a number of chocolate companies are making good progress now toward their sustainability goals, it’s not clear what leadership role the WCF has played in the delivery of that.
Press Release
August 5 – Martin Short announced his resignation on Friday as President of the World Cocoa Foundation. Chris Vincent, the Foundation’s Senior Vice President for Programs, will be Interim President effective from Monday, August 8.
Short, who joined the Foundation last year, said he was leaving to pursue other opportunities after having led a strategy review with the Foundation’s Board.
It was a privilege to work with the talented team at the Foundation and an engaged and enthused Board of Directors and to lead the strategy review that has put the Foundation on a strong footing. The Foundation is poised to move to another level of success and will be looking for the leadership to achieve that with the new strategy.
Martin Short
A British national, Short joined the Foundation after holding leadership positions in the non-profit and private sectors. His most recent position was as Chief Executive Officer at The Power of Nutrition, a United Kingdom and U.S.-based non-profit.
We’re sorry that Martin has decided to leave after a strong start at the Foundation and wish him well in his new endeavors. The Foundation’s Board will immediately start a search for a replacement to ensure that the plans to further increase the Foundation’s impact on sustainability can be quickly implemented.
Barry Parkin, Foundation Chairman
About the World Cocoa Foundation: The World Cocoa Foundation is a non-profit international membership organisation whose vision is for a thriving, healthy and equitable cocoa sector, where farmer poverty, child labour, and deforestation are overcome. The Foundation’s mission is to catalyse public-private action to accelerate and entrench cocoa sustainability across cocoa producing countries. A champion of multi-stakeholder partnerships, the Foundation convenes and aligns public and private investment, policy dialogue, and joint learning and knowledge sharing both among its membership and external partners and stakeholders to achieve transformative change in the cocoa supply chain.
