Our people
Bernard de Galembert
Director, Forest Solution Group
Bernard de Galembert is excited to join the Forest Solution Group as Director. He ambitions to build on the successful work done so far to provide proactive support to the leading and most progressive forest product companies in their endeavour to pursue high sustainability objectives.
He joined the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) as Forest Director in 2002. In this function, he followed issues and dossiers, such as forest certification, timber legality, biodiversity, climate change, etc. He was also involved in a number of international policy processes both at global level and regional level.
As of September 2014, he took the position of Innovation and Bioeconomy Director at CEPI and took part to the founding of the European Bioeconomy Alliance (EUBA) that gathers 16 European bioeconomy-related associations. He was also manager and member of the Board of the European Technology Platform for the forest-based sector (FTP) aiming to boost innovation in forestry and forest product industries.
In parallel, he was actively involved in the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) and member of the Steering Committee of the FAO Advisory Committee for Sustainable Forest Industries.
After a classical humanities curriculum at school, he obtained in 1994 a Master degree in Economics, with a specialisation in European Affairs. In 2001 he completed a training in forest management and silviculture. Since 2017, he also holds an Executive Master Degree in Human Resources Management.
French citizen, he lived most of his life in Belgium. Married, he has 3 grown up children. The “red thread” of his professional life has been “natural resources”. He has been successively working for the sugar manufacturing industry, for the farmers and farmer cooperatives, for the landowners, for the pulp and paper industry and for the chemical industry.
Volunteer works (CEO of a primary school, treasurer of the local parish, teaching disadvantaged children).
Book reading (historical fictions, dystopia, classics, essays)
Sport (gym, ski, hiking)