The Interamerican Ethanol Commission would like to welcome its two new committee chairs, Dr. Chelston Brathwaite and Mr. Sergio Thompson Flores who will be chairing the Research Committee and the Investment/Infrastructure Committee respectively. Both of these individuals bring with them a wealth of experience that will serve an integral role in the forthcoming activities of the IEC.

Chelston W.D. Brathwaite, PhD. has been the Director-General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) since 2001. A citizen of Barbados, Dr. Brathwaite is known for his administrative, technical and institutional leadership in international agricultural development having worked in the USA, Italy, Kenya, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and Costa Rica. Through implementation of his vision for IICA, he has been able to redefine the Institute as a development agency that promotes sustainable agricultural development, food security and prosperity in the rural communities of the Americas.  In addition, as a partner institution to follow up on the decisions of the Summit of the Americas process, IICA has facilitated the Ministers of Agriculture of the Hemisphere in the development of the Plan Agro 2003-2015, a hemispheric agenda for Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas.

As Chairman of the Research Committee, Dr. Brathwaite is responsible for efforts to promote technical and scientific research throughout the hemisphere relating to the production and distribution of ethanol.

Sergio Thompson-Flores is a founding shareholder, the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Infinity Bio-Energy. Mr. Thompson Flores has been involved with Infinity Bio-Energy, which produces clean and renewable fuels with an emphasis on ethanol made from sugarcane, since March of 2006. Using the most modern operational procedures, Infinity practices sustainability to the fullest extent with a commitment to people and the environment.

Before becoming involved with Infinity Bio-Energy, Thompson Flores served as a board member of various companies in the electronic, mining, software, Internet and transportation sectors. In March of 1995, Thompson Flores became a founding and principal partner of Worldinvest, an investment banking and asset management firm, and was responsible for the strategy and management of many of many of its main transactions, which totaled over US$ 8 billion. He served as the Company’s president until 2005. Prior to joining Worldinvest, from 1991 through 2005, Thompson Flores was the Financial and Investment Director of the Brazilian Innovation Agency, known as Research and Projects Financing (FINEP-RJ).