Specialty green coffee traders, sourcing from 26 origins on behalf of over 1000 roasters.

Our People

FALCON COFFEES - UK

Konrad is the founder of Falcon and is responsible for defining Falcon’s business strategy. Over the last twenty years Konrad has built start-up export operations in Zimbabwe, Angola, DR Congo and Cameroon. He also developed Falcon’s Collaborative Supply Chain business model in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and Nicaragua. Before starting Falcon Coffees, Konrad spent fifteen years with the WM Cahn and CTCS group, beginning his coffee career in Africa before relocating to the UK in 2000. Konrad spends his time on the road, presenting Falcon’s business concepts to prospective clients, visiting origin partners and supporting the trading team in Lewes.

Helen’s interest in coffee was sparked when she lived in Rwanda in 2015 providing business development support to entrepreneurs. Helen worked with a couple of coffee companies on working capital loans and process improvements before she met Falcon. She is passionate about using business to engineer positive change and social impact and coffee, with its potential to impact millions of smallholder farmers, is a great fit.

She moved back to the UK to be the Financial Controller, also starting to drink coffee and learn latte art.

Prior to living in Rwanda Helen spent 6 years with EY in their London audit practice, gaining her chartered accountancy qualification in 2010.

Helen became CFO in January 2018 and is responsible for financial reporting, compliance and risk management and overseeing the accounts team. In addition she is working on initiatives to measure Falcon’s environmental and social impact across the business both internally and externally. She also sits on the Sustainability Panel for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

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Agnieszka joined Falcon in 2018, bringing with her more than 20 years of coffee industry experience including physical trading, strategy, finance and risk management. Agnieszka has a Master’s Degree in Corporate Finance, is a coffee Grader under ICE London, and a coffee Arbitrator with the British Coffee Association and the London Court of International Arbitration. Agnieszka’s involvement in Falcon is to oversee operations of all departments to measure and control their performance and direct growth in a sustainable manner.

Matt specialises in Latin American origins and sales to the North European markets. Before joining Falcon in 2012 Matt was Head of Trading at Twin Trading UK. He has been trading green coffee since 2002 and prior to that worked as a business writer on Latin American business and industry affairs. Matt is a Q grader and fluent Spanish speaker. A regular traveller to the Latin American region, he has also delivered numerous workshops on risk management and market access to coffee producers.

KATIE

Katie was one of the first employees of Falcon in 2008. She started her Falcon career in logistics spending 3 years on the Isle of Man managing shipments of coffee all over the world. In 2011 she moved to the Lewes office and has built up the Logistics team from 1 to 5 people.

Katie was instrumental in designing and implementing the trade database and is now responsible for further development of the database and systems.

Her current role is wide ranging encompassing managing the Logistics team, projects on traceability and system improvements.

Tesby has worked in the coffee industry since 2005. He has experience in Logistics, Accounting, Physical and Futures Trading. He began his career in Nicaragua on logistics and moved to the UK in 2007. He now manages Falcon’s Futures Position and Cash Management.

Craig joined Falcon in September 2014 to take a role in the logistics department working mainly with our Ugandan partners. Originally schooled in coffee at Lincoln & York Coffee Roasters where he served a 10 year apprenticeship. Prior to joining Falcon, Craig worked at Mercanta overseeing all logistic operations and learning the art of shipping green coffee.

Matt is a qualified Physiotherapist but his fascination and love for coffee led him towards a new career with Falcon back in 2014. Matt has travelled extensively at origin, visiting farms in Rwanda, El Salvador, Indonesia, Brazil and Guatemala, to name just a few.

He has experience at the front end of the coffee supply chain, having worked as a barista in Melbourne prior to joining Falcon. Matt is also a certified Q-grade cupper.

Saro has a Biochemistry degree and a background in the Pharmaceutical industry. He arrived in the UK in 2010 where soon after he joined Twin Trading Ltd. as a Quality officer, gaining experience in roasting and cupping skills.

He then joined Falcon Coffees Ltd. In 2014 where he has acquired a great knowledge in Logistics, especially dealing with our Latam origins.

Liz joined the Falcon accounts team in January 2017, having previously worked in the business factoring industry, looking after a client portfolio and a team of credit controllers. More recently, Liz achieved her AAT Advanced Diploma, qualifying her in financial processes, advanced bookkeeping and final accounts.

Ben joined our marketing team in early 2018, assisting in branding, web design and events. Ben is a former freelance graphic designer, having worked on various print and web-based projects for multiple clients. His last role before joining Falcon was working in post-production graphic design with Formula 1.

Anna joined the team in June 2017 and is an International Trade Technician. With more than 2 years in the forwarding industry prior to joining us, she wanted a change from shipping industrial products for something far more exciting – coffee. Ana now manages South and Central American shipments alongside Saro, who collectively form the LATAM team in Lewes. Ana is originally from Barcelona and faces every new coffee origin as a challenge to strengthen her logistical skills.

David has over 20 years experience in Finance, having graduated in Finance and Accounting in 1994. David’s previous roles include Financial Controller, Finance Manager and Group Accountant, having held positions in Australia, the Cayman Islands, Germany, Guernsey, Jersey and the UK.

Since joining Falcon in 2017, David’s role includes overseeing monthly financial reporting, being responsible for our year-end financial audit and building analysis of profitability at both origin and customer level to aid traders and other internal stakeholders.

Line graduated as an Engineer in Agronomy from Montpellier SupAgro in 2014, before beginning her path into the coffee industry; firstly in Venezuela and then for a year in Peru. Having gained valuable experience in South America, Line moved to Tanzania, where she spent 2 years working for Falcon’s sister company Tembo in Mbeya, applying her studies and experience in agronomy and farmer impact projects, alongside sales and logistics-based tasks.

Line joined Falcon Specialty in August 2017, where she works alongside the sales team and provides support for our roaster clients across Europe. Line is also a fluent French, Spanish and Portuguese speaker.

Sophie joined Falcon after several years working as a barista and coffee shop manager and has since become an integral part of Falcon’s specialty sales team. Having honed her sensory skills as our QC and lab manager, in 2017, Sophie successfully completed her Q Grade certification.

Helen is our laboratory and quality controller. She handles all the incoming and outgoing samples, does our sample roasting and prepares our daily cuppings to Q-grade specifications. Helen came to us with a number of years experience working as a barista and coffee shop manager.

Gabriele joined Falcon’s Specialty Team in early 2018 to work in a logistics role, she now oversees the specialty logistics team and manages shipments from origin to our specialty clients in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Prior to joining Falcon Gabriele graduated with a BA in International Business from her studies in the UK and The Netherlands. During that time she developed a particular interest in corporate social and environmental responsibility which resulted in her collaborating and leading on various in-house environmental sustainability projects.

George started his journey with Falcon in mid-2019 after working in cafes and roasteries from New Zealand to the UK. After working closely with our Quality Control Team, George was eager to engage with our growing pool of Specialty Coffee Roasters and moved into a customer service role in early 2020. Armed with growing coffee sourcing knowledge and a way with words, George is proud to write our weekly UK/EU newsletters, and to match-make roasters with their next sublime single-origin.

Changing career direction and gravitating towards the coffee industry over the last few years, Steve joined Falcon early in 2018. He joins us with a background in engineering and coffee knowledge with the aim to assist with the expansion of our the Quality Control team.

Having spent 3 years with the specialty team Josh took a year out to see some more of the world. On his return the lure of coffee proved too much and he re-joined the Falcon family in late 2020 to focus on developing the micro business, a few months later he moved to join the trade desk as a junior trader.

Georgios joined Falcon in 2021 having been a head roaster for six years for one of London’s most reputable coffee companies. Prior to this he was head barista of a specialty cafe roastery in Primrose Hill whilst studying for his Accounting and Finance degree at London Metropolitan University, having moved from his native Greece in 2013. Georgios’ role for Falcon Specialty encompasses sourcing and sales. He is also a certified Q-grader.
 

Stevie found his way into the coffee industry during an academic hiatus after completing a Master’s degree in philosophy and literature. His interest in coffee grew as he gained experienced as a barista and café manager before spending recent years working as a head roaster in London. He obtained his Q Grader certification in 2019 and joined the Falcon quality team in 2020. He currently works within the Branding & Communications team as a copywriter and content manager. 

Our newest member of the growing QC team, Lewes local Alex came to Falcon in the summer of 2021 and quickly became a valuable asset to us. Alex manages the large amount of sample request that come in to the UK lab and is honing his skills as a roaster. A self-confessed F1 nut, Alex is also a beekeeper and a photographer.

Originally from Guatemala, Monse experienced first hand the social and economic impact of the coffee industry on farming families there. After moving to the UK, Monse gained experience as a care support worker, a role she found greatly valuable for the service it provided. Monse joined the Specialty Logistics team in October 2021. She oversees all aspects of logistics coordination on shipping for Specialty customers in both UK and European territories. She has an MBA in Senior Management, and has previous experience in finance and construction as well as logistics and distribution. She speaks Spanish, English and Italian.

Noah joined our logistics team having moved to the UK from South Africa. Noah has always maintained an interest in logistics and having multiple members of his family already working in the coffee industry, it seemed like a natural calling. Noah currently works closely alongside members of the Lewes logistics team, dealing predominantly with African shipments

Harry joined Falcon in 2021 and holds a biochemistry degree from Swansea University. As Falcon’s data analyst, Harry leads all emissions calculations and analytics and is a primary contributor to Falcon’s annual CDP and TCFD disclosures. Harry is also Falcon’s lead researcher and holds extensive knowledge in carbon accounting, mitigation and sequestration.

Mandi is an ecologist and research scientist who has worked in the coffee industry for over a decade. She is interested in sustainable agriculture as a means to provide wildlife habitat, foster ecosystem services, and conserve biodiversity, while simultaneously providing for human livelihoods.

She has led research studies in coffee-growing regions of India, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Mandi completed her postdoctoral research with the Bird Friendly coffee program at the Smithsonian Institution and taught classes in coffee, agroecology, and food systems at Columbia University.

Mandi continually seeks to build bridges between academia and industry and collaborates with various actors across the coffee value chain. She is leading the Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP) at Falcon to identify and implement methodologies for measuring and mitigating carbon emissions in the coffee supply chain.

FALCON COFFEES - North America

Kevin is based in Austin, TX and is focused on sales to the North American market. Before joining Falcon, Kevin held positions at Keurig Green Mountain and Keurig Trading in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he managed the sourcing of African and Asian coffees and the procurement planning for their seven different roasting plants. Prior to his time in coffee, Kevin spent 12 years in the snowboard and skateboard industry in various logistics and supply chain roles. In addition to his extensive origin travel, Kevin is a licensed Q grader and an experienced differential buyer.

Brian is based in Austin TX and is focused on sales to the North American market. Brian’s coffee journey started writing bad poetry at cafes in Berkeley California during high school. This love of coffee and language fused with his first coffee job as a barista at Peet’s Coffee.

He quickly gained a reputation as a very slow barista (before slow was cool) and focused on romancing customers purchasing bags of coffee with long, poetic descriptions. After moving to Seattle Brian worked for Tully’s Coffee where his responsibilities were Master Roaster, Green Coffee buyer, developing quality control procedures for roasting and packaging, blend development and warehouse management. Most recently Brian worked for a large specialty-focused coffee importer for 10 years focusing on sales to north American clients and was responsible for purchases from East Africa for the company. Brian is a Q grader.

Kate started working in the coffee industry in 2010 and joined Falcon in 2021 with a wealth of experience in Operations, Sustainability, and Project and Program Management. Kate holds a Masters in Community Development & Applied Economics from UVM, with a thesis on sustainability in coffee supply chains. Kate leads Falcon’s global sustainability strategy. As a firm believer that every actor in the coffee supply chain can do good while doing well, she is a proponent of a comprehensive and fast-paced transition to climate-conscious supply chains. Kate is also a trained Q-Grader.

Corey started working in coffee while in university studying religious studies and sociology. It started as a way to meet people who weren’t students, but it wasn’t long before she was connecting her philosophical ideas to the coffee world and turning tasting notes into poems. Corey trained baristas and managed events before heading to the west coast to pursue a graduate degree in poetry & continue working in coffee as a barista trainer. She then moved behind the scenes to production, roasting, and working on espresso machines before becoming a production manager.
Before joining the team at Falcon, Corey worked for a specialty coffee roaster for 5 years buying green coffee, overseeing the operations side of the coffee program, and managing production & wholesale, which is also how she became acquainted with Falcon. She is now based in Austin TX and focused on North America specialty sales for Falcon, a job that brings her experience and love for connecting with roasters and producers together.

Having grown up in Western Massachusetts, but of Korean and Irish descent, Lilly joined the US Army directly out of high school.  After time served in the Army, she graduated from UC Davis in 2015 with a BA in Communications and dove headfirst into the world of logistics.  Over the past 5 years she has worked in various logistical roles supporting large brands such as Tesla and Macy’s as well as working as a Terminal Manager for XPO Logistics in Oakland.  Lilly has extensive experience in managing FTL/LTL, rail, final mile deliveries, and port operations.  She joined Falcon in 2021 and will focus on logistics for Falcon’s North American specialty customers.

Raised outside of Washington, DC, Diego joined Falcon in 2021 and is based in Austin, TX. After graduating from the University of South Carolina in 2018, he joined Nestlé as an operations supervisor, where he led warehouse teams in Texas and then Illinois. Diego mainly handles the logistics for Falcon’s North American commercial customers. The son of Nicaraguan and Uruguayan parents, he speaks Spanish and studied Portuguese at university.

Alba is based at our Austin office where she works as a Quality Control specialist. Originally from Lima, Peru, Alba studied as a sound engineer before moving into coffee. She moved to Houston, TX in 2018 where she developed her skills as a barista and then managed a high-end specialty cafe. After embarking on an origin trip to Colombia in 2021, she was inspired to move behind the scenes to do more of what she loves – cupping. She received her Q Grader certification in early 2022.

A native Texan, Vincent joined the Falcon North America logistics team in September 2022. Prior to his current role, Vincent came from a background in grocery retail as a special projects coordinator in Dallas, Texas in which he gained a huge interest in supply chain and logistics of the coffee industry.  As part of the Logistics team, Vincent monitors and tracks oversea shipments before they are due to arrive in North American ports to ensure a smooth clearance of holds and customs so that the coffee arrives safely and on time to commercial and specialty clients. 

Vincent has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is now pursuing an MBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the University of North Texas.

FALCON COFFEES - Europe

Bara has been working in coffee since her teenage years, spanning various roles in the industry including barista, master roaster, coffee consultant and since 2019, European Sales Representative for Falcon Specialty. Bara’s career in coffee has seen her travel extensively throughout Europe and South America, and she is currently based in Berlin, Germany. Bara’s innate enthusiasm for connecting roasters with producers and our supply chain partners has become an intrinsic part of her longer-term vocational role within the coffee industry.

Julie had been working for several years as a barista and coffee trainer as she loves sharing her knowledge and experience about coffee. Coffee took her traveling to Latin America and lead her to join Berlin’s thriving coffee scene in 2019. Julie joined the Falcon Coffee’s Europe team in the summer of 2021 and is now a great asset to our Berlin quality control and sampling departments. She is an illustrator in her spare time and is often inspired by the day to day adventures of life in the lab.

Jess is originally from Halifax, Canada but lived in Vienna, Austria from 2008-2020. She has been working in coffee since 2010 in various roles, starting as a barista and progressing to roasting. She won the Austrian Cup Taster’s Championship in 2017, then moved to Berlin in May 2020 to continue working as a production roaster. She joined the Falcon Coffees Europe team, initially to work with Falcon Micro in 2022 and she now divides her skills between the QC lab and assisting in specialty logistics.

Richard joined Falcon in 2016 with a wealth of knowledge from the high-end specialty business, having spent the last decade working his way from front-end specialty barista to Master Roaster for the highly respected Nude Coffee Roasters in London.

Richard is a qualified Q-Grader and completed his studies for his MBA at City University London in February 2017. Richard deals specifically with trading our commercial spot coffees, serving roaster clients in Europe and the UK.

Richard relocated to Johor, South East Asia during 2021 to direct the setup of our Asia trading office and now acts as our Manager Director there.

Jongyun has worked in coffee since 2017 joining Falcon full time as of January 2022. Jongyun has held multiple positions in his coffee career from Head Barista, Quality Control and Supply Chain Manger. He also holds a BSC in Psychology from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.

Nas started his coffee career in 2014 as a Barista. Since then, he has worked in QC, roasting and as an independent consultant. He has a passion for coffee competitions making the final of the 2019 Malaysia Barista Championships. He joined the Falcon Asia team in June 2023 to support with QC and Specialty Coffee Sales in the region.

Vicky joined Falcon with 12 years of logistics experience in the manufacturing industry. She handles all the logistics for Falcon Asia. Vicky has extensive knowledge of Malaysia’s customs regulations and a broad network of service providers throughout the region. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology. Although new to the coffee industry she has long been an eager consumer: She loves a flat white!

FALCON COFFEES - ETHIOPA

Teshale joined Falcon coffees as Operations Manager in our Addis Ababa Office in October 2018. He graduated from VHL, University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, with a Masters in Agriculture Production Chain Management. Teshale has worked in the coffee sector for more than 10 years in different positions, and has served as farm manager, farm supervisor, as an agronomist in commercial-owned coffee farms and as a project coordinator.

As Operations Manager, he helps identify areas and producers that fit Falcon’s sourcing needs and also puts in place procedures that help us facilitate export delivery and performance out of Ethiopia. Teshale speaks 3 languages: Oromiffa, Amharic and English.

Gemechu graduated from Debub University (now Hawasa University) in Food science and Post-harvest Technology. Gemechu worked in Zonal Food security and Disaster Prevention and Preparedness for more than four years, before joining Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) for eight years where he served as Coffee Quality Controller and Coffee Quality Supervisor.

As Quality Manager and Q Grader for Falcon’s Ethiopia office, Gemechu utilises his experience from the ECX and is in charge of cupping coffee samples that will be sent to our UK lab and buyers.

Eyoel joined Falcon Coffees in October 2018, as Logistics and Admin Specialist based in our Addis Ababa Office. Eyoel has been working in the Logistics and Freight Forwarding Industry since 2013 and has a broad background and experience, both in export and import operations, managing shipments for many companies, and covering a whole range of products.

Eyoel brings operational and country-specific knowledge to improve the logistical flow from Ethiopia and to provide detailed information to our teams in the UK and US, helping us to update our customers and make more strategic decisions at the contracting stage.

Segni worked with the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) for three years as a cupper and subsequently with a leading coffee export company in Ethiopia as coffee lab analyst. He has a university degree in plant science.

Feven joined Falcon’s regional office in Addis Ababa as Logistics and Admin Assistant in mid Feb 2022. She has previous experience in customer service in the Logistics/Freight Forwarding/Shipping industry. including a role managing export shipments with Maersk shipping line. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management.

FALCON COFFEES - PERU

Jacqueline is based in Lima, Peru where she is focused on managing trade and supply for Falcon within the origin. Prior to joining Falcon in October 2019, Jacqueline worked as a trader and cupper with exporter and broker Sustainable Trading Company in Costa Rica.

Her coffee career began in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia, where she held positions with two green bean importers before deciding to relocate to Latin America in 2016. She is a fluent Spanish speaker, certified Q Grader, and published writer, including various contributions to industry publications.

Geidi Neira graduated as an agro-industrial engineer in 2008 and began working in the coffee industry in 2010 in various roles in the regional agroindustry in northern and central Peru. She has worked for a major coffee exporter in both the northern and central regions of Peru, including as regional manager for six years. She joined Falcon in early 2022 and oversees operations at the warehouse.

LLensy is a professional accountant from a family of coffee farmers in the San Ignacio province. LLensy has worked in various positions related to coffee production, including as accounts assistant, quality control assistant, coffee reception and warehouse manager for two cooperatives in the region. She joined Falcon in 2019

Jose Ramirez is the son of coffee producers. He has worked for a number of leading cooperatives and specialty exporters as a field officer and quality control assistant, and was responsible for the technical area. He joined Falcon in 2019 as field officer and now responsible for quality control and producer relations.

Kely is the daughter of a coffee-producing family. After completing her technical degree in agricultural production, she began working in the coffee industry in 2016 with two cooperatives, conducting technical inspections and training in cupping. In 2017, she worked at Olam Agro Perú Sac as a coffee receptionist. In 2018, she joined Falcón as a quality control assistant. Her interest in coffee grew with experience, and she is now in charge of quality control and is a qualified Q-Grader.

Leyla comes from a coffee producing family. She joined the Falcon team in 2018 and has since been responsible for the reception and physical analysis of green coffee deliveries at our warehouse in Jaen. She studied agricultural production. She now oversees our green coffee reception and is also involved in monitoring processing of our lots prior to export.

Mirian comes from a family of coffee producers and graduated as a Food Industry Engineer from the National University of Jaen. She joined Falcon in 2019, working closely with the quality control team. In the last two years, her primary function at FCP has been in sample roasting and cupping.

Jhoseari Fernandez is an agricultural engineer with a master’s degree in environmental management. He has been working in the coffee industry since 2013. Jhoseari has worked as a zonal advisor, responsible for certifications, quality initiatives, sustainability planning with a leading cooperative and also as a consultant to other associations. Jhoseari has Q Processing Level 2. He joined Falcon Peru in April 2022 to lead Falcon’s technical area and work on a sustainable program with Falcon’s producers in Peru.

Cleber joined Falcon Coffees Peru in 2019. He completed his technical studies in Computing and Informatics in the city of Chiclayo. He worked in the technology industry in the same city before moving to Jaén where he worked briefly for a cooperative in warehouse operations before joining Falcon as warehouse officer.

Merly joined Falcon in June 2021 as a logistics officer based in our Lima office. She is an experienced International Business and Administration professional, with more than three years experience assisting logistics processes and handling export documents. Merly has worked as an assistant and logistics coordinator at one of the largest coffee exporters in Peru and has managed logistics operations for commercial, specialty and certified coffee exports to destination across the globe.

Arturo Ramirez Ramos comes from a family of farmers. He joined Falcon Coffees Peru in 2019 as an estevedor and in 2021 transitioned to the physical analysis and reception department. Arturo brings with him valuable experience and knowledge gained from his background in coffee production.