Speaker Profiles

Lord Mark Price

Lord Mark Price began his career at the John Lewis partnership as a graduate trainee, progressing through a range of different roles that led to him becoming Managing Director of Waitrose and Deputy Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership.

Lord Price was also Chairman of Business in the Community from 2011-2015 and The Prince’s Countryside Fund from 2010–2016. He was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the 2014 New Year’s Honours for his work with Business in the Community and The Prince’s Countryside Fund. He is also Life Patron of GroceryAid.

In February 2016, Lord Price was appointed the United Kingdom Minister of State for Trade and Investment and was made a life peer. Lord Price left the Government in September 2017 to pursue his writing and business interests and remains a member of the House of Lords. To date he has published five books on business, food and for children.

Rajesh Agrawal

Rajesh Agrawal is the Deputy Mayor of London for Business. Born in India, Rajesh moved to London in 2001. As an entrepreneur, he founded RationalFX in 2005, and Xendpay in 2014, both companies utilising technology to reduce the cost of international money transfer for businesses and individuals. 

Rajesh is passionate about promoting entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for young people. He was appointed Chair of Oxfam’s Enterprise Development Programme in 2015 and has been a Patron of the Prince’s Trust for many years.

As Deputy Mayor, Rajesh aims to be a strong voice for London’s business community, protecting jobs and growth, and ensuring that the capital remains the most open and attractive place to do business in the world.

Dr. Nyagoy Nyong’o

Dr. Nyagoy Nyong’o joined Fairtrade Africa as the Executive Director in December 2013. Dr. Nyong’o has a wealth of experience in the Fairtrade sector, as well as hands-on management experience in the humanitarian and development sectors. She worked for over 8 years as a Fairtrade auditor (Max Havelaar Switzerland and FLO-CERT GmBH) of small farmers’ organizations and agricultural companies in Africa. She has held senior management positions with several NGOs and has over 15 years’ experience as a consultant/manager within civil societies and the public sector.

Dr. Nyong’o has worked within many multi-cultural environments, living in countries such as Ghana, Togo, Tanzania, Kenya, U.S. and Switzerland. In her earlier career, Dr. Nyong’o taught forestry at Moi University, in Kenya, and was also a researcher at the Forest Research Institute of Ghana.

Xiomara J. Paredes

Xiomara J. Paredes has almost two decades of experience in socio-economic development and a strong financial background, underpinned by a Master of Business Administration, that lead Xiomara to the head of CLAC in 2009. She now manages the strategic implementation of their mission in 24 countries across Latin America.

CLAC is the Latin America and Caribbean Network for Fairtrade Small Producers and Workers, which represents more than 800 organisations; their members produce coffee, banana, cacao, sugar, vegetables, fruits, wines, quinoa, flowers, oil and seeds. The sales of Latin America and Caribbean represent above 70% of Fairtrade global sales.

Malcolm Copland

Malcolm Copland has 21 years’ experience in a variety of roles within Retail and Purchasing Category Management, including being the Commercial Director for Greggs Plc since 2014. He is a member of Greggs Operating Board and has full accountability for Category Management, Forecasting & Replenishment New Product Development and Purchasing.

Malcolm also leads the Customer Health and Responsible Sourcing agenda across Greggs. At the heart of that is the Fairtrade relationship that has developed into a strategic partnership.

Michael Fletcher

Michael Fletcher is the Retail Chief Commercial Officer at Co-op for the Food Business, the UK’s largest consumer co-operative. Michael has worked in Food Retail for his entire career and has extensive operational experience, developing and leading commercial strategy, opening new markets and leading synergy initiatives. As part of his retail experience, Michael ran and managed stores for a year and is passionate about supporting the execution of all commercial and supply chain activity through the lens of store colleagues.

Married with three children, Michael has ambitions to play golf and sail but tends to be found on a school sports fields helping coach at his local rugby club. Keen to support children’s education, Michael is a Trustee Governor of his local school.