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Published on
15.01.24
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Board of Trustees officially announced Dr. Yvonne Pinto as IRRI’s new Director General, effective April 22, 2024. Dr. Pinto will also serve as the CGIAR Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and Country Representative for the Philippines.
Dr. Pinto brings a wealth of experience and expertise to IRRI and CGIAR, having previously excelled in roles such as Director of Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability at Eagle Genomics Ltd., and Managing Director of ALINE Impact Limited. Dr. Cao Duc Phat, Chair of IRRI’s Board of Trustees, said, “Dr. Pinto brings a wealth of experience and expertise to both IRRI and CGIAR. Her life’s work has been dedicated to improving agriculture systems through science, and she has a proven track record in innovation and its commercialization, ecosystems management, gender, monitoring, evaluation, and learning, environmental, social, and governance, design and implementation, capacity building, international development, and policy influence. These experiences will surely contribute to achieving our overall mission.”
Through her work, Dr. Pinto has collaborated with both private and non-government agencies stationed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. In her most recent role, she led a team that developed a unique AI-augmented software that aims to understand the microbiome in soil, plant, farm, fork, animal, and human gut. The initiative contributes towards data-driven health, disease prevention, and a generative bio-economy with more sustainable farming solutions.
Dr. Pinto has a rich background in plant genetics and has worked in various positions with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gatsby Foundation, UN FAO, and the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College. She sat on various Boards, Program Advisory, and Steering Committees, most notably, as former Chair of the WorldFish Board of Trustees. She also previously contributed to creating the strategy for One CGIAR…