The Secretariat was extremely saddened to learn of the passing away, on 28 December 2007, of Dr. Roger W. Krueger (1953-2007) (Death notice).

Roger was a familiar face to CBD delegates. Beginning with COP-II in Jakarta in 1995, he participated in numerous meetings, most recently SBSTTA-12 in July 2007. He always brought scientific expertise and provided constructive input but, most of all, exuded optimism concerning the achievement of the goals of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Roger actively promoted the relevance of the Convention to industry peers and worked to more broadly engage companies across business sectors. Amongst other things, he established and chaired the International Chamber of Commerce’s Task Force on the CBD. Roger encouraged Harvard Business School to write a case study on the Convention for the Agribusiness Seminar held in early January 2007. He also contributed to this publication (download).

Roger was responsible for Seed Regulatory, Seed Policy and Stewardship at The Monsanto Company. He also served as Director of Technical/Environmental Stewardship and Global Product Development, Director of Technology Development, Technical Manager for Stewardship of Roundup Ready technology and selective chemistries.

Aside from his work at Monsanto, Roger had been an Executive-in-Residence for the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at University of Missouri, USA. He was also involved in many industry associations, including the International Seed Federation (ISF) and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). Prior to joining Monsanto, Roger held positions at American Cyanamid, Yale University and Dekalb-Pfizer Genetics.

He earned a B.S. in Plant Science (University of New Hampshire), an M.S. in Plant Nutrition (University of Rhode Island), a Ph. D. in Biology (University of Missouri- Columbia) and an Executive MBA (Dartmouth College).

Our thoughts go to his colleagues, friends and family, in particular his wife, Ann, and three children, Van, Mara and Hanna.