Speaker's Profile

JD serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which is the world's leading sustainability standard for palm oil and its associated products. He and his team work to define and demonstrate how such crops can be produced sustainably while ensuring the availability of sustainably produced and certified palm oil products in the global market.

Prior to this role, JD held a position as an official of the United Nations. He served most recently as the Special Advisor for Strategic Planning and Innovation and was a member of the Executive Group at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In this capacity, he led a team that explored the future of sustainable development worldwide. He was instrumental in establishing UNDP's Accelerator Lab Network and played a key role in designing and implementing UNDP's Strategic Plans.

JD was born in Malaysia and received his education in Malaysia, Australia, and the United Kingdom. He holds degrees in politics, economics, and international development. He began his career as a management consultant, where he worked on business strategy, feasibility analysis, privatizations, and sector strategies.

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