PaulNicholson – Vice President and Head of Rice Sustainability and Research forOlam International Ltd. Prior to Olam, Paul began his career at theInternational Monetary Fund as a Senior Commodities analyst where he was published regularly in the World Economic Outlook. After the IMF, Paul was theExecutive Director and General Counsel of the Texas State Pension Review Board, an agency with fiduciary oversight of 400+ Pensions worth over US$200 Bn, and then the Global Head of Commodity Research at Kraft Foods where his team supported the hedging, accounting, and contracting of US$13Bn of global commodity exposures.

With Olam, Paul has established Sustainability projects in India, Thailand, and Vietnam with more than 15,000 farmers in the network receiving training and support with commitments to reach 50,000 in three years. He has a wife and two children.