Romano Devivo

Romano De Vivo is a leader in sustainable agrifood systems, with over 30 years of experience in innovation, sustainability and strategic partnerships across the public, private, academic and non-profit sectors. He serves as Vice Chair of the Global Forum on Agricultural Innovation and Research (GFAiR) and is Strategy Advisor and Senior Researcher at OPERA Research, the think tank of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. He is the founder of VIVO Advisory GmbH, an independent advisory practice in sustainability, biodiversity and agrifood systems.

Romano has held senior global roles at Johnson & Johnson, Syngenta, Givaudan, CropLife International and OCP Nutricrops, where he shaped sustainability strategies, environmental policy, stakeholder engagement and business transformation. His work spans the agrifood value chain, from genetic resources, crop production and biologicals to food ingredients, regenerative agriculture, climate resilience and sustainable finance. He negotiated the first industry benefit-sharing agreement on digital sequence information.

Working in more than 100 countries, he has designed and led programmes that combine productivity, profitability and care for the environment, from regenerative agriculture and reforestation to ecosystem restoration and circular resource use. He has built partnerships among companies, governments, international organisations, research institutions, investors and civil society.

He chaired the Second International Agrobiodiversity Congress, with more than 3,000 participants and over 800 scientific contributions. He has spoken at many international conferences and policy forums and has published on natural capital, biodiversity, agricultural innovation and food systems.

Romano has taught and conducted research at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and the University of Zurich, where he led the Sustainable Agriculture practice at CCRS (2020–2021).

He holds a Master's Degree in Economics with specialisations in Agricultural Policy and Corporate Finance, an MBA from Stoà–MIT Sloan, an Executive Master's in Environmental Governance from the Geneva Graduate Institute, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Board Governance from the University of St. Gallen. He is also a registered statutory auditor.

His work is guided by the conviction that resilient, biodiversity-positive food systems require the convergence of science and technology, sound policy, finance, field practice and inclusive partnerships.