Getting in touch with us
We manage our activities and relationships across the continent from our two regional offices in Nairobi/Kenya and Ouagadougou/Burkina Faso and from our head office in Hamburg/Germany.
Corin Wood-Jones, Managing Director
Corin Wood-Jones has a professional background in agriculture, with roles spanning both the development and private sectors for more than 25 years. This has included 15 years living and working in a number of African countries, with a strong focus on cotton production, ginning and trading. Prior to joining CHA, Corin held the position as ‘Head of Partnerships’ at the Better Cotton Initiative.
Jan Sass, Managing Director
Jan Sass is an agricultural engineer by background and has been working in international development for more than 20 years. His fields of expertise range from advisory on sustainable agricultural practices, natural resource management, water and irrigation to organisational development, business advisory and M&E. Moreover, Jan leads the Africa Department of the GFA Consulting Group GmbH and is based in Hamburg.
Contact: jan.sass@cotton-house-africa.org
Dr. Gudrun Krause, Operation Manager
Dr. Gudrun Krause holds a PhD in agricultural science and has more than 25 years of experience in international development project. Her technical focus lies on tropical crop production, integrated and biological pest management and agricultural extension. Before heading the portfolio for agriculture and rural development at the GFA Asia department, Gudrun spent more than eight years working on agricultural projects in Africa – including a long-term assignment in Mali. Gudrun has now return to her technical and geographical roots and manages the operations of the Cotton Expert House Africa from Hamburg.
Kristina Geisel, Junior Sustainability Manager
Kristina Geisel has completed Liberal Arts and Sciences and legal studies in the Netherlands and in the UK focusing on international relations and environmental law and policy. She has gained first work experience in international development cooperation in the Philippines, Singapore and Cambodia and has supported a project aiming at improving the social and labour standards in the Asian textile and garment sector in Cambodia. Kristina has joined the Cotton Expert House Africa as a Junior Professional for Sustainability Management and is based in Hamburg.
Tom Apina, Regional Manager
Tom Apina is an agricultural engineer with over 10 years of experience in the fields of agriculture and rural development, agricultural value chain enterprise development, policy and strategy formulation, programme design and implementation. Tom has previously worked for several agencies active in the implementation of programmes and projects in a number of countries in Eastern Africa. He now supports the regional activities of Cotton Expert House Africa in Eastern and Southern Africa from the regional hub in Nairobi.
Contact: tom.apina@cotton-house-africa.org
Boureima Sanon, Regional Manager
Boureima Sanon has more than fifteen years of experience with the promotion of agricultural value chains, notably for cash crops. In this context, he is working with producer associations at national and regional level. Working for the COMPACI programme, Boureima gained valuable experience in the fields of sustainable cotton production and built up a strong stakeholder network in Western and Central Africa. He supports the regional activities of the Cotton Expert House Africa in Western Central Africa from the regional hub in Ouagadougou.
We are happy to hear from you about any requests or comments.
