Our Team

So you’ve read about our co-operative and you know the story of how we went from packaging hot chocolate in a church basement to becoming a 20-member organization growing at a rate of 50% per year.

Here’s your chance to meet La Siembra’s employees and find out what we’re up to on a daily basis :

Co-Executive Directors

Jeff de Jong – Co-Executive Director
With a background in International Development and years of experience working in the South, Jeff oversees the Sales and Marketing departments and leads on Fair Trade and producer relations. Jeff is a worker-owner.

Martin Van Den Borre – Co-Executive Director
After years of work in tropical agroforestry and within Québec’s co-operative movement, Martin now oversees Operations, Finance and Human Resources, leading on La Siembra’s relationships within the co-operative sector and investor relations. Martin is a worker-owner.

Sales

Tia Loftsgard – Senior Sales Manager
Tia manages Cocoa Camino retail sales within the health food sector and the gift market. She is also one of La Siembra’s original founders. Tia is a worker-owner and sits on La Siembra’s Board of Directors.

Caitlin Peeling – Direct Sales Manager
Within the Sales team Caitlin is responsible for wholesale relationships and our fundraising program. Caitlin is a worker-owner and sits on La Siembra’s Board of Directors.

Rodd Heino – Food Services Sales Manager
Rodd will be transitioning into a new position for La Siembra, managing existing food service related accounts and developing new channels for foodservice related products in the marketplace. Rodd is a worker-owner.

Yannick Carrière – Direct Sales & Sales Desk Manager
Yannick is coordinating and processing all the sales orders, maintaining the database of customers, processing all direct sales enquiries, managing the direct sales program, and assisting with the samples sendouts.

Colin MacDougall- Grocery & Private Label Accounts Manager
Colin manages Cocoa Camino sales to mass market accounts as well as La Siembra’s expanding private label program. He has been with the co-op since its early days and moved from Finance to Sales in 2008. Colin is a worker-owner and sits on La Siembra’s Board of Directors.

Marketing & Communications

Barry Ésau – Chief Marketing Designer
Barry undertakes the artistic direction for and oversees the production of all marketing and educational materials, as well as product packaging. He also brings the marketing perspective to new product development and brand strategy. Barry is a worker-owner.

Shannon Sutton – Communications Manager
Shannon S. is responsible for managing media relations, writing content for marketing, press and educational materials, researching and tracking industry news and developing key communications tools including our website and newsletter. Shannon is a worker-owner.

Mélanie Broguet: Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Mélanie coordinates trade shows, consumer fairs and events, and manages La Siembra's extensive sponsorship portfolio. Mélanie supports both the Marketing and Communications team as well as the Sales team through her work in marketing research, sales reports, mass mailings, translation and proofreading, amongst other activities.

Operations

Henk van der Molen – Operations Director
As Operations Director Henk is responsible for overseeing the purchasing, import and manufacturing of all Cocoa Camino products and the ongoing development of La Siembra's supply chain.

Heather Deeth – Production & Inventory Manager
Heather coordinates all manufacturing activities with La Siembra’s co-packers and handles most of La Siembra’s purchasing. Heather is a worker-owner and sits on La Siembra’s Board of Directors.

Shannon Devine – Quality Assurance Manager
Shannon D. develops, implements and maintains La Siembra’s Quality Assurance Program, ensuring the quality and integrity of all our products from source to end consumer. Shannon is a worker-owner.

Pascal Marais – New Product Development Manager
Pascal coordinates supply chain research activities related to new products, plays a leadership role within the New Product Development committee and coordinates new product launches.

Linda Ullyett – Logistics Coordinator
Linda oversees logistics for La Siembra. She manages inventory, schedules transportation, monitors stock levels and liaises with carriers and warehouse staff. Linda is a worker-owner.

Jennifer Williams
Jennifer Williams is currently on maternity leave. Jennifer is a worker-owner and sits on La Siembra’s Board of Directors.

Finance

Kailash Dongol – Finance Director
Kailash is responsible for financial planning, budgeting, developing and implementing fincancial policies & procedures and evaluating the operations of the Finance and IT departments. Kailash is a worker-owner.

Irene Sandoval – Accounting Manager
Irene manages La Siembra’s day-to-day accounting operations, working closely with the Finance Director to monitor our co-op’s activities and ensure that they are accurately reflected in financial statements.