Three Industry Leaders Recognized at Univar International Reception

By Lisa Lupo

At the Univar International Reception on Wednesday evening at PestWorld, Univar Director Specialties & ES LATAM Benjamín Gómez Guerrero presented three Global Ambassador Awards to acknowledge and thank individuals who have made a tremendous impact on the global industry.

The Ambassadors Class of 2015 is:

• Motokazu Hirao was recognized for his work with Matasushita Electric Works to fund the first 20 professional pest management companies in Japan to respond to the country's enormous rodent population. Hirao has devoted his life to improving the professionalism of the industry throughout the world.
• Mirko Baraga, a former Pilot who used to risk his life spraying fields in his homeland of Argentina, has since moved away from airplane applications to become the leading influencer of IPM in Latin America. Baraga specializes in food industry plants, teaching thousands of fellow PMPs from down the Grand River to Ushuaya, Argentina. He is a father of two wonderful kids and husband to the CFO Ximena.
• Bertrand Montmoreau is the chairman of the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations. There have been many attempts to unify European nations over the years, but where others have failed, Bertrand has succeeded. He took 27 disparate national organizations and consolidate them into one unified body – while finding a way to work with NPMA and his colleagues in pest management around the world. Just this year, NPMA and CEPA hosted a joint conference on global commercial food safety.