Michael Gidney

Michael Gidney is the Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation.

Michael had previously worked in international development for 20 years, with a particular focus on poverty reduction and small enterprise development, helping producers identify and access markets. This has led him to believe that there is no better model for ending poverty than through enabling fairer trade and that Fairtrade, when it works well, can be transformational.

Before joining the Fairtrade Foundation as Deputy Executive Director in 2009 Michael spent eight years as Director of Policy at Traidcraft, where he led their research and advocacy programme on issues including international trade policy, corporate accountability, competition and responsible sourcing.