David Bennell

As the Program Director of Food and Capital Markets, David leads Ceres' work in a multi-organization collaboration working to enhance the sustainability of key food supply chains, with a particular focus on commodities associated with deforestation and illegal fishing.

David began his career working at Microsoft, where he co-founded the Microsoft Green Team, and continued corporate work at REI and at L.L. Bean, where he headed Product Research, Testing and Environmental Affairs.

As a former management consultant, he’s helped investors and corporations reduce the risk associated with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in global supply chains and recently wrote and filmed an 18-part learning series on Linked In’s learning channel, Lynda.com, teaching about his experiences.

David has led two international NGOs focused on improving environmental and social conditions in forest-dependent and agricultural communities and helped found the for-profit social enterprise company, Cotton Connect, a 2012 Ethical Corporation Magazine award finalist for world’s most innovative company.

He is former adjunct faculty at MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and an alumnus of the Prince of Wales Business and Environment Programme at Cambridge University. In his volunteer time, he is a board member of one of the country’s largest Community Development Finance Institutions and assisted in creating its impact investing fund, CEI Notes.