Secretariat staff
IPPC Secretariat
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Enrico Perotti Dr. Enrico Perotti is the newly appointed Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He brings over 30 years of experience in scientific research and biosecurity, spanning government, academia, and the private sector. A passionate advocate for food security and sustainable agricultural productivity, Enrico has held senior roles including leadership of the biosecurity risk assessment team at New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries and key positions within the Australian Public Service focused on biosecurity policy and emergency response. He also advanced Australia’s trade and market access as Australia’s first Agriculture Counsellor to Malaysia and Brunei. Since January 2023, Enrico has served as General Manager of the Invasive Species Program at Biosecurity Queensland, leading efforts to prevent, manage, and mitigate the impacts of invasive plants and animals across the state. Coming from a multicultural background, he champions collaborative approaches that harness diverse strengths and perspectives to tackle biosecurity challenges. Enrico supports scientific innovation and the development of novel tools to enhance biosecurity and agricultural outcomes. His broad expertise includes managing operational and research programs, driving industry-wide initiatives, and building strategic partnerships across primary industries. He has worked with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in Mexico and Australia, and previously lectured in plant biology, biochemistry, genetics and epigenetics at the Universities of Lausanne and Zurich in Switzerland. Dr. Perotti's enduring passion and professional focus remain centered on improving food security and combating hunger worldwide through science-based biosecurity and international collaboration. |
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Avetik Nersisyan Avetik leads the Standard Setting Unit and oversees functions such as staffing, budgeting and resource mobilization. He coordinates standard setting activities of the IPPC Standards Committee, technical panels and expert working groups. As the Unit Lead, he makes a substantial input to preparations for sessions of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), the Strategic Planning Group, the CPM Bureau, and other ad-hoc meetings. Avetik is also a liaison between the IPPC Secretariat and some key organizations and stakeholders. Before joining the secretariat, he managed the implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s Strategic Programme Two (SP2) in the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia. SP2 focuses on making agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more productive and sustainable. He has previously served as alternative FAO Representative for Moldova, FAO Technical Officer for Plant Production and Protection in the region and Assistant FAO Representative in Armenia. Avetik is an agronomist with a PhD in plant production and about three decades of experience in management of agriculture, plant production and protection programmes at local, regional, and global levels. Avetik has authored and co-authored several scientific publications, book chapters and training materials. He speaks Armenian, Assyrian, English, German, and Russian. |
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Sarah Brunel Sarah leads the Implementation and Facilitation Unit (IFU), which coordinates implementation, facilitation and capacity development activities such as the production of IPPC guides and training materials, phytosanitary capacity evaluations and capacity strengthening activities to address emerging pests. Sarah’s focus is on the coordination of implementation projects and management of the IFU’s workplan, including staffing, budgeting, resource mobilization and strategies. She is the IPPC Secretariat’s lead on One Health. Sarah is also the secretariat’s liaison with organizations such as the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF),?Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), Comité de Liaison Entreprenariat – Agriculture – Dévelopement (COLEAD), the European Union and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Sarah is an agricultural engineer from the Institut Supérieur d’Agriculture Rhône-Alpes (ISARA). She has a master’s degree in international affairs and another in anthropology from Sorbonne University and the French Museum of Natural History, respectively. She has more than 20 years of national, regional and international experience in plant protection, pest and disease control policies and legislation, implementation of standards for phytosanitary measures, environmental protection and capacity development. ? She is a French national and speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish. |
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Adriana Gonçalves Moreira Adriana coordinates the work of the IPPC Standards Committee, IPPC technical panels and expert working groups, which contribute to drafting International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs). Previously, she was the IPPC Secretariat lead for the Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols. Adriana is the IPPC Secretariat’s liaison with several international organizations, helping to ensure mutual interest agreements for implementation of IPPC strategic objectives, mission and vision. She has authored and co-authored several scientific publications, book chapters and training materials. In 2019, she was recognized as one of the FAO 100 Young Employees. Before joining the IPPC, Adriana was a senior plant pathologist in the multinational seed industry. As a plant quarantine lead, she coordinated a post-entry quarantine station accredited by the Brazilian national plant protection organization. Adriana has a PhD in plant pathology, focusing on plant virology. She speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish. |
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Russell Caplin Russell is seconded to the IPPC Secretariat from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In this capacity, he supports the IPPC’s ongoing work on strengthening plant protection infrastructure, standard setting and implementation with a focus on new and revised standards for phytosanitary treatments. He also supports the work of the CPM Focus Group on Global Phytosanitary Research Coordination (FG-GPRC). Previously, he represented USDA-APHIS in the Asia-Pacific Region where he worked with counterparts in various countries to resolve sanitary and phytosanitary issues and facilitate bilateral and multilateral agricultural trade. Russell has a bachelor’s degree in international studies and a master’s degree in agriculture economics from Clemson University, South Carolina, USA. |
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Aoife Cassin Aoife coordinates and organizes IPPC governance meetings for the CPM- the IPPC’s governing body, CPM Bureau and the IPPC Strategic Planning Group. She is involved in preparing the discussion papers, processing and reviewing documents and implementation of follow-up actions. Before joining the IPPC Secretariat, Aoife was an associate technical support scientist in a technical projects group in the private sector. The group focused on formulation changes and process improvements in diagnostic products. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Biology and Biopharmaceutical Science from the Galway Institute of Technology, Ireland. Aoife is Irish. |