The Celtic goddess Dana is linked to water and earth. She is a symbol of fertility and of the cycle of life marked by the seasons. D A N A are also initials for Development-Agriculture-Nature-Advances, encapsulating the profound significance of nature and agriculture for society and underlining the need to accelerate transformative changes in the way we produce, manage natural resources, and consume.
Holder of a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Bern and a graduate of the University of London in Development and Environment, Philippe has been involved in sustainable rural development since 1991, working on the prevention of animal diseases in West Africa. He then joined Veterinarians Without Borders Switzerland, first managing the NGO’s program in the Horn of Africa, before taking over its direction in Bern in 2004. He joined FAO headquarters in 2008. It was there, working on sustainable development in pastoral areas and managing climate and health crises, that he transitioned in 2013 towards rural poverty reduction, natural resources management, and the transformation of food systems based on an inclusive and multidisciplinary approach. From 2019 to 2023, he was the head of the FAO office for North Africa, successfully implementing the same approach in a region heavily impacted by climate change.
With thirty years of professional experience, fifteen of which were spent in Africa, Philippe founded dana.consulting to share all the knowledge gained, his field expertise, his listening and analytical skills, and his network, for the success of initiatives promoting sustainable and inclusive rural development. He has a particular interest in collaborations between the public and private sectors.
Philippe has successfully supported the preparation and implementation of over 150 projects, managed numerous processes for preparing national, regional, and global strategies covering areas ranging from public health to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He has facilitated and negotiated numerous multipartite agreements and action plans up to ministerial level.
Dana.consulting adopts a flexible and dynamic approach that enables us to provide our clients with the best expertise available at any given time, according to their specific needs. We will draw on a a large and diversified international network of seasoned experts to find the expertise best suited to our clients’ needs once these have been expressed.