Center Directors General

Tony Simons has worked for 27 years on issues at the interface of tropical agriculture and forestry in more than 40 developing countries. His work has spanned the private sector (Shell Forestry), academia (University of Oxford), official development assistance (United Kingdom Overseas Development Administration now the Department for International Development), and research (CGIAR).

In 2009, Tony was made an honorary professor in tropical forestry at the University of Copenhagen. Tony serves on the boards of the African Centre for Technology Studies, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa, the DANONE Livelihood Fund, and DCM International Imaging. He also leads the Unión Internacional de Organizaciones de Investigación Forestal Forest and Water Task Force.
Tony has a Bachelor in Agricultural Science degree from Massey University, New Zealand, and a master’s and a doctoral degree from Cambridge University, UK. He has published over 100 research papers and has served on several journal editorial boards. His interests encompass tree germplasm, agroforestry systems, tree product marketing and extension, land health, climate change, environmental services and policies, and tropical forest margins.