Our Team
We are an international organization represented by a diverse team of 54 based in 28 countries across the globe. Over the past 27 years, we have expanded our work to cover oversight of various organic and sustainable sectors, including organic textiles, textile and plastics recycling, organic and natural cosmetics, animal welfare, sustainable fisheries and fair trade, amongst others. We also collaborate with external technical experts who provide specialized support during assessments. We invest heavily in the training and competence of our team to ensure the highest quality standards are maintained.
Our Management Team
Lauren Carlyle, South Africa
Executive Director
Lauren holds a Bachelor of Business Science in economics with honors in environmental marketing. With over 20 years of management experience in finance, marketing, business development, recruitment, human resources, governance, and operations across Asia, the UK, and South Africa, she most recently served as the CEO of a South African non-profit organization. In her new role as IOAS Executive Director, she is dedicated to facilitating the development and growth of IOAS to contribute to a more sustainable world.
Amaia Aldana, Spain
Technical Director
Amaia initially worked as a Client Manager at the IOAS, assessing certification bodies against international standards. Prior to this, she was involved in development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on organic standards and certification processes. Amaia holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering and now serves as the IOAS Technical Director, representing the organization on the IFOAM Accreditation Requirements Committee.
Mafalda Carneiro, Portugal
Operations Director
Mafalda has extensive experience as a control and organic schemes manager, overseeing inspectors and auditors, assigning inspections/audits, and monitoring clients. She is a qualified lead auditor with additional qualifications in organic farming and animal welfare. At the IOAS, she manages accreditation and assessment activities and oversees Client Service Managers.
Teresa Barnett, USA
Quality Director
Teresa joined the IOAS with over two decades of experience and a thorough working knowledge and understanding of the regulatory compliance industry. With an MSc in chemistry, Teresa’s career began with the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) and the Meritus Medical Laboratory. Not only an experienced internal auditor, Teresa’s senior management roles have given her extensive experience with conformity assessment programs, quality management systems, document control, corrective and preventive actions, complaint resolution, peer evaluations with Mutual Recognition Arrangement partners around the world and ISO compliance.
Our Technical Experts & Advisors
David Crucefix, UK
Business Development Advisor
David joined the IOAS as Assistant Executive Director in 2000 after an earlier career in development aid working mainly in the Caribbean islands, Africa and Asia followed by a move to organic agriculture as a grower, inspector and finally certifier. With IOAS he has performed many assessments of certification bodies all over the world and developed IOAS as a trainer. In 2024 David stepped down as Executive director but will stay on in a part-time capacity as a business development advisor for IOAS. He has a degree in agricultural sciences and a PhD in plant pathology.
Our Scheme Liaison & Assessor Team
Abrar Ahmed Apu, Bangladesh
Assessor
Abrar is highly qualified with a Masters in Textile and Clothing Management and a BSc in Textile Technology, in addition to being a Certified Lead Auditor. His extensive work experience includes textile inspection and auditing of certification bodies; providing training services for GOTS; and lecturing at Bangladesh University of Textiles. Abrar has considerable knowledge of textile and recycled textile processing and chemical management.
Md. Amran Hossain, Bangladesh
Assessor
Amran is a textile specialist with a BSc in Textile Engineering (Major: Wet Processing), an MSc in Environmental Science, and an MBA in Human Resource Management. He specializes in social, environmental, and chemical sustainability assessment, with extensive experience in international standards and codes of conduct in Asia and the Middle East.
Andreas Georgakakis, Greece
Scheme Liaison & Assessor
Andreas Georgakakis began his career as an organic inspector and took on additional responsibilities working with private standards and certification schemes, collaborating with numerous international CBs. His expertise in inspection, certification, and accreditation, along with his support for the organic movement, was recognized through his election to the IFOAM EU Council.
Andrés Vásquez Millán, Argentina
Scheme Liaison & Assessor
Andrés is based in Argentina and is an Engineer in Agronomy with a postgraduate in Environmental Management and an ISO 14001 Lead Auditor. He has worked for ten years for a Certification Body in Argentina, and has been their Certification Manager for more than five, working with several international scopes. He also worked for the Ministry of Agriculture as an Environmental Specialist, working on Environmental Impact Assessments for rural development projects. This previous working experience has resulted in a strong understanding of the requirements for conformity assessment and certification for sustainable and organic standards.
Burak Baykaldı, Türkiye
Assessor
Burak, having achieved a Bachelor's and Master’s degree in Textile Engineering, has had a multidimensional career in the textile industry. Enthusiastic about all aspects of the textile industry and human relations, he focuses on practical and creative solutions to problems. His career has taken him from product development in textile research centres to international sales and technical and social compliance audits and certification.
Dániel Szalai, Hungary
Scheme Liaison & Assessor
Dániel’s roots in agriculture and the environment began with beekeeping on his family’s farm in Hungary. Since then he has gone on to become highly qualified in environment studies, quality, international food chain and agricultural management. Alongside his impressive qualifications he has developed a thorough working knowledge and understanding of the industry, participating globally in all roles of the certification and accreditation processes and conformity assessments.
David Texier, France
Agriculture Scheme Manager, Scheme Liaison & Assessor
With a background in food engineering, David began his career in the organic sector 20 years ago as an auditor. For nearly 15 years, he worked with a leading organic certification body, managing audits and certifications teams, and implementing new tools and processes for both food and cosmetics. Since 2020, he has served as an independent assessor for multiple accreditation bodies and has since 2025 taken on the role of IOAS Agriculture Scheme manager. Throughout his career, David has interacted with numerous stakeholders worldwide, consistently dedicating himself to organic certification and striving to enhance its reliability.
Jennyfer Karall, Brazil
Textile Scheme Manager & Assessor
Although born in Germany, Jenny has lived all her life in Brazil and completed a degree in Agronomy in 2001 with special emphasis on environmental management and a thesis on biodynamic agriculture. Straight after graduation she started work as both an advisor to various biodynamic farms and joined the certification body IBD as a freelance inspector. She became a full time employee of IBD in 2003 and their Quality Manager in 2007. After joining the IOAS and completing her lead auditor training, Jenny has taken on special responsibility for our work in organic textiles.
Gergana Nentcheva, Germany
Assessor
Gergana grew up in Bulgaria where she received a degree in Food Technology. She worked in the field of food technology and ingredients for 5 years, in partnership with CHR. HANSEN and Palsgaard, before joining the European Commission as expert on food safety and quality. For four years she was the manager of an organic certification body in Bulgaria with a branch office in Macedonia. Since joining the IOAS as a Client Manager, she has gone on to take special responsibility for food safety.
Polonca Repič, Slovenia
Assessor
Involved with organic production, processing and marketing for years, Polonca graduated with a B.S. Agronomy from the University of Maribor, Slovenia. Her years of experience as an inspector, auditor, quality manager, certifier and trainer in addition to living on her own organic farm, has ensured she has a good all round understanding of organic and sustainable agriculture.
Sashika Rajapakse, Sri Lanka
Freelance Assessor
Sashika has earned a B.Sc in Agriculture Technology & Management and an M.Sc in Crop Science from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He has worked as an organic inspector, auditor, and certifications operations manager for the past decade, spanning across Asia. His extensive knowledge in food safety and organic certification makes him a highly valuable asset to the industry and the IOAS team.
Samanta Rosi Bellière, Italy
Freelance Assessor
Samanta has a degree in Agricultural Science and Technologies and a Master's in organic and biodynamic agriculture. She has 20 years of experience in organic certification, specializing in imports to the EU from third countries. Samanta also conducts audits and collaborates with sustainability standard owners. Additionally, she serves as a tutor in BTSF training courses focused on Regulation (EU) 2018/848.
Our Client Service Managers
Anabela Ramos, Portugal
Client Service Manager
Anabela has a degree in environmental engineering and a lead auditor qualification. She has also provided postgraduate teaching in quality management systems at different institutions of higher education. Her education and previous extensive experience working as a business developer and client manager for a certification body have resulted in an excellent understanding and working knowledge of the procedure for product and process certification.
Laura Pashley, UK
Client Service Manager
Laura is an experienced administrative and commercial manager. Her expertise includes working with global clients, audit planning, invoicing, and handling complex situations. She has a strong understanding of organic procedures and regulatory requirements due to her recent work in sourcing and supplying certified organic products worldwide. These skills are valued by the IOAS and our clients in her role as Client Service Manager.
Rekha Siddaraju, India
Client Service Manager
Rekha is an agriculture graduate with several years work experience in organic certification and was previously employed by a certification body as part of a team ensuring the management and communication of the certification process, Rekha's work involved interpreting inspection data, participating in the process of approval for certification, providing technical assistance to clients on organic standards and assessing the corrective actions taken by clients for compliance.
Our Administration team
Despoina Markopoulou, Greece
Quality Assistant
Despoina, has a BSc in Agronomy and is currently studying for a MSc in Applied Science and Technology in Agricultural Production. With over 17 years of professional experience in the field of Organic Agriculture in various responsible certification and quality control roles and a broad range of sustainable Accreditation Schemes. Despoina provides support in integrity investigations, handling and record keeping for sanctions, complaints and appeals.
Marina Pogrebnaya, Belarus
Finance Assistant
As a skilled finance specialist Marina has many years of experience in record-keeping, cash management, reimbursements/advances, payments processing, bank reconciliations, budget, reports. Within the IOAS Finance department, Marina assists with our record keeping, identifying late payments and handling collections communications and follow up client invoices for assessments and services provided.
Richard Davidson, South Africa
Finance Manager
Richard holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting and Auditing and has 20 years of experience managing non-profit organization finances. He is skilled in collaborating with international funding organizations and governments to establish accurate financial systems that support informed decision-making and financial sustainability through precise budgeting and reporting.
Md. Sazzad Hossain, Bangladesh
IT Systems Administrator
Sazzad has a B.Sc in Computer Science and Engineering and is partway through a M.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering at Jagannath University. Having experience in web development, assisting with systems management, network monitoring and troubleshooting as well as providing training and user support he is our resident IT expert.