Hugo Hays

Hugo currently works at Fyffes, a multinational tropical fruits company based in San José, Costa Rica. Originally from the UK, he spent his formative years in Uruguay, where he grew up on a farm. Hugo’s early experiences fueled a lifelong passion for agriculture, and he went on to study Business Management in Food and Ag Industries at the Royal Agricultural College in the UK.

During his career, he has enjoyed various roles across Europe, Latin America, and Africa, including as farmer, agronomist, management consultant, food safety auditor, standard development and capacity-building expert.

In 2002, Hugo took on the challenge as Technical Director at EUREPGAP (now GLOBALG.A.P.), an exciting role at the time of huge growth for the organization, that deepened his expertise in global good agricultural practice standards. A few years later, he lived in Southern Africa, working on a regional EU-funded SPS project, collaborating with government ministries from 15 SADC member countries. 

Since 2013, he has had the pleasure and honor of leading an exceptional team at Fyffes in Costa Rica, where they oversee assurance on food safety, compliance, and related subjects on a global scale.

Additionally, Hugo is proud to have represented farmers in the Americas on the GLOBALG.A.P. Advisory Board since 2015, advocating for the development of practical, responsible, and sustainably focused standards.