Marco Wopereis (The Netherlands) joined the World Vegetable Center as Director General in April 2016 and is based in Taiwan. An agronomist with a Doctorate in Tropical Agronomy from Wageningen University, The Netherlands, he has global expertise in agricultural science and management, and previously served as Deputy Director General and Director of Research for Development of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) in Benin and as the Director of the Annual Crops Department of the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) in France. He also worked in different capacities for the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) in Togo, the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA, now AfricaRice) in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire and for the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. His specific strengths include fostering productive, action-oriented partnerships for efficient and effective research among international research institutes, national research systems, the private sector and community organizations.
Wang Yun Ping is the Deputy Director General – Partnerships at the World Vegetable
Center (WorldVeg). He focuses on building partnerships with Taiwan’s public and
private sectors, research institutions, and universities. His aim is to use these
resources and WorldVeg’s global reach to promote sustainable agricultural
development and improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in developing countries.
Before joining WorldVeg, Yun Ping was the Deputy Director of the Technical
Cooperation Department at Taiwan ICDF. He supervised overseas Technical Missions,
collaborative projects, and worked with Taiwan’s research institutions to integrate
innovative technologies into international agricultural development.
Yun Ping has extensive experience in agricultural international development, having
served in Taiwan’s Technical Mission in Central America and the Caribbean, and
worked with Tainan DARES and Taoyuan DARES on crop breeding and biotechnology.
He holds a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from National
Taiwan University. Yun Ping is dedicated to advancing agricultural innovation and
sustainability, driving change, and building resilient food systems globally.
Center (WorldVeg). He focuses on building partnerships with Taiwan’s public and
private sectors, research institutions, and universities. His aim is to use these
resources and WorldVeg’s global reach to promote sustainable agricultural
development and improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in developing countries.
Before joining WorldVeg, Yun Ping was the Deputy Director of the Technical
Cooperation Department at Taiwan ICDF. He supervised overseas Technical Missions,
collaborative projects, and worked with Taiwan’s research institutions to integrate
innovative technologies into international agricultural development.
Yun Ping has extensive experience in agricultural international development, having
served in Taiwan’s Technical Mission in Central America and the Caribbean, and
worked with Tainan DARES and Taoyuan DARES on crop breeding and biotechnology.
He holds a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from National
Taiwan University. Yun Ping is dedicated to advancing agricultural innovation and
sustainability, driving change, and building resilient food systems globally.
Dirk Overweg (The Netherlands) is Director of Finance. He is a commercial engineer with a doctorate in Applied Economic Sciences from KU Leuven, Belgium. He has more than 20 years of experience in financial management, IT and administration, and has worked in several countries in Africa and Asia. Prior to joining AVRDC in 2013, Dirk was Regional Finance Manager-Asia for Belgian Technical Cooperation based in Hanoi, and Chief, Finance & Administration for the Mekong River Commission in Lao PDR. He has also served as an independent consultant in management control matters.
Jocelyn “Joyce” Pilapil (Philippines) is the Director of Human Resource Services. She is a recognized and accomplished international Human Resources and Organizational Development practitioner and consulting executive with management and leadership experience in a wide range of international non-profit, private, and public sector organizations in Southeast Asia and Middle East countries that spans over 25 years. Before joining WorldVeg, she was the Vice President of Transformation and Organizational Development at the Atlantic Gulf and the Pacific Global and was Country Director of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, – Save the Children, UK. She also used to work as Global Head of Workplace Relations, Organizational Development, and Advisory Services at the International Rice Research Institute.
She holds post-graduate degrees in Law and Industrial Relations from the Manuel Luis Quezon School of Law and the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations and is a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science graduate from the San Sebastian College-Recoletos. Additionally, she has international certifications in Organizational Development from the Carlton Advanced Management Institute, USA, and Prince2 Foundation (Project Management) from APMG-International, UK. A recipient of international scholarship programs from the Employers Confederation of Japan and Singapore-Japan Association of Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships, she also carries with her post-graduate Diplomas in Asia Personnel Management and Total Quality Management.
She holds post-graduate degrees in Law and Industrial Relations from the Manuel Luis Quezon School of Law and the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations and is a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science graduate from the San Sebastian College-Recoletos. Additionally, she has international certifications in Organizational Development from the Carlton Advanced Management Institute, USA, and Prince2 Foundation (Project Management) from APMG-International, UK. A recipient of international scholarship programs from the Employers Confederation of Japan and Singapore-Japan Association of Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships, she also carries with her post-graduate Diplomas in Asia Personnel Management and Total Quality Management.
Delphine Larrousse (France) joined the Center in January 2019 as Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia, based in Bangkok, Thailand. She previously served as a Senior Program Officer in Agriculture and Food Security at Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC), with a leadership role in research uptake and knowledge management. Her expertise in international development is founded on 15 years of experience designing, managing, monitoring, and evaluating projects globally. She has lived in 10 countries, and led research and development projects in over 15 countries. Her specific strengths include communication across cultures, disciplines, and sectors, coordinating large multidisciplinary research teams and fostering partnerships. Through a broad range of strategic communications and knowledge sharing methods, Delphine’s professional interest is to contribute to maximizing the benefits of research and development initiatives to positively impact people’s lives. She holds a Masters of Arts (MA) in Intercultural Communication from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England, and is fluent in five languages.
Gabriel Rugalema (Tanzania) joined WorldVeg Eastern and Southern Africa as Regional Director in October 2019. Dr. Rugalema brings more than 30 years of experience in leadership and management of agriculture and food security programs at country, regional and global levels to the post. Prior to joining the World Vegetable Center, Dr. Rugalema was Representative/Country Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Kenya, where he managed a large and diverse field program portfolio of more than USD 90 million for both the Kenya country program as well as regional programs covering the broader East African region. During his service as FAO Resident Representative and United Nations Resident Coordinator (ad interim) in Sierra Leone he led national and international institutions in a successful response to an Ebola outbreak in 2015-2016. Dr. Rugalema served in various senior technical capacities at FAO Headquarters in Rome. He has also worked for other UN agencies in various capacities. He holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands.
As Flagship Leader for Enabling Impact and Healthy Diets, Pepijn Schreinemachers (The Netherlands) leads the design and implementation of ex-post and ex-ante evaluations of WorldVeg technologies and interventions and uses the results to support evidence-based decision-making and strategic learning of the organization. His work cuts across all WorldVeg regions and flagships. As Lead Specialist – Impact Evaluation, Pepijn contributes to the development, design and planning of research and development projects so that projects have a clear and feasible strategy towards impact that is in line with Center’s mission and strategy. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Bonn, Germany, and an MSc in Rural Development Studies from Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He is a member of the WorldVeg Research Management Team.
Srinivasan Ramasamy (India) received a PhD in Agricultural Entomology from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India / Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, Taiwan in 2003. Since 2005 he has led the Entomology Group at the World Vegetable Center. His professional interests include host-plant resistance, chemical ecology of insect pests, biological control, and molecular entomology. As a member of the WorldVeg Plant Protection and Breeding Team, he received the International Plant Protection Award of Distinction from the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences. Dr. Srinivasan is an active member in professional societies / networks such as Royal Entomological Society, Society for Invertebrate Pathology, Entomological Society of America, International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences, New York Academy of Sciences, and International Society of Chemical Ecology. He has more than 60 peer-reviewed journal publications and book chapters, two field guides and a Conference Proceedings to his credit.
Roland Schafleitner (Austria) joined WorldVeg in 2010 from the International Potato Center (Peru), where he worked on abiotic stress tolerance of potato and marker development for sweet potato. Currently he leads the WorldVeg biotechnology/molecular breeding group and the Vegetable Diversity and Improvement Flagship. His areas of expertise are in molecular genetics and biotechnology, and his main interest is the production of molecular tools for plant breeding, especially for under-researched vegetable crops. He received a PhD in Biochemical Technology from TU Vienna and a MSc in Molecular Microbiology, University of Vienna, Austria. He is a member of the WorldVeg Research Management Team.