Pablo Ramirez

Pablo Ramirez is director of blended finance at Winrock International. An international subject matter expert in applying sustainability principles to core business practices. Mr. Ramirez applies insights from his days as an organic coffee farmer and entrepreneur to international and local NGOs. He earned an MBA from the University of Illinois and a Master of Agribusiness from Texas A&M, where he won the U.S. National Case Study Competition in Agricultural Economics. Later, he worked in soy and beef supply chains in the U.S. before moving to international retail finance at Starbucks. In 2009, he became the ethical sourcing manager at Starbucks, covering programs in coffee, cocoa, dairy and produce. In this capacity, he focused on verification standards, continuous improvement and financial inclusion. The latter included managing the $20M Farmer Loans program and growing it into the $50M Global Farmer Fund, a portfolio of short and long-term loans to more than 40 cooperatives in eight countries working with social lenders and multilaterals like the International Finance Corporation and the Inter-American Development Bank. Ramirez did his undergraduate work in his native country, Colombia, majoring in animal science with a specialization in the financial evaluation of agricultural projects.