Simon J Costa

Simon John Costa AO (born 9 February 1967 in Geelong, Victoria) is an Australian executive, philanthropist, and humanitarian. He has served as CEO and managing director of the Costa Group of Companies and has had executive roles for nonprofit humanitarian organizations such as the United Nations World Food Programme and the Bluearth Foundation.[1]

Career

Costa joined the Costa family business in 1992, after spending five years working for other organisations.[2][3] During his initial years in the company, Costa worked in its retail, wholesale, and export divisions.[3]  In 1999, he became COO of the Costa Group of Companies.[2] During this time he introduced the “Character First!” program (designed to promote strong character in the workplace) across the Costa business.[3][4]

In 2004, Costa succeeded Frank Costa as Group CEO and managing director of the Costa Group of Companies.[2][3] Costa was appointed CEO of the publicly listed Chiquita Brands / Costa Exchange in January 2010,[5] but stepped down as CEO of the overall Group of Companies prior to the family entering into a strategic partnership with Paine + Partners in 2011.[6] The Costa Group of Companies was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in July 2015.[7]

Philanthropy

Costa has been involved in charitable initiatives throughout his career. He has served as an executive board member of Vic Relief and Foodbank.[3] In 2004, he cycled 1,100 kilometres across Europe to raise funds for muscular dystrophy treatments and the Very Special Kids charitable foundation.[2][3][8] In July 2008, Costa climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise funds for Sparrow Village, a treatment center for HIV infected children in South Africa.[9][10]

In 2019, Costa founded Inspiring Leader, an executive coaching firm where 100% of all fees are donated to charity.[11] In the same year, he was also appointed chairman of the Bluearth Foundation, an organization formed to increase the physical health of Australian communities by promoting physical activity.[12]

Humanitarian work

In 2012, Costa volunteered for the United Nations World Food Programme.[13] Costa implemented a sustainable development strategy for increasing crop production and reducing post-harvest crop losses for farming communities in Africa.[11] His team's work received the Global Innovation Challenge Award for the Most Impactful Humanitarian Innovation from the United Nations World Food Programme in 2015.[1][14]

In 2016, Costa was appointed a Director of the United Nations World Food Programme.[15][14] He oversaw a strategic alliance between the United Nations and seven of its global partners to seek solutions to systemic problems in developing countries’ food systems.[13] This project, the Farm to Market Alliance, received the UN/WFP Innovation Challenge Award[16] and the Fast Company's 2019 Most Innovative Companies in Africa Award in 2019.[17][18]

References
  1. "Simon Costa: How one man has changed the lives of millions". 2019-02-11. Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  2. Tobin, Des (2007). Frank Costa: Family, Faith and Footy. Killaghy Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9751403-5-2.
  3. Hougaz, Laura (2015-02-23). Entrepreneurs in Family Business Dynasties: Stories of Italian-Australian Family Businesses Over 100 Years. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-13918-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-05-11.
  4. "Coca-Cola finds the fizz in its workforce". The Australian. 2011-05-10. Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  5. "CostaExchange CEO steps down". Fruitnet. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  6. "Paine Schwartz buys up minority stake in Costa Group for $161m". farmlandgrab.org. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  7. "Australia's Costa Group shares debut at A$2.24 versus A$2.25 issue". Reuters. 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  8. "Fight for life inspires marathon". The Age. 2004-05-12. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  9. "North Central Review_2019-02-26 Pages 1-32 - Flip PDF Download | FlipHTML5". fliphtml5.com. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  10. "Sustainable Choice" (PDF). VIP Packaging. 2008.
  11. "From Success to Significance 从成功到真谛". EZ AUSTRALIA.NEWS. 2020-04-26. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  12. "New Chairman Simon Costa AO takes on the physical activity crisis amongst Aussie kids". Bluearth Foundation. 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  13. "Former executive Simon Costa recognised for humanitarian work". Herald Sun. 2019-02-06.
  14. "2016 Conference: Simon Costa". The Crawford Fund. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  15. "Transformation and change". Money & Life. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  16. "From Australia to Africa: Simon Costa Awarded for Services to African Agriculture - The Lucas Group". 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  17. "2019 The World's Most Innovative Companies". Fast Company. 2019. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  18. "Fast Company reveals 10 most innovative companies in Africa for 2019". MoreBranches. 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
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