Project:Sandbox

Simon J. Costa
Simon John Costa AO (born February 9, 1967 in Geelong, Victoria) is an Australian businessman, philanthropist and humanitarian. He has successfully led large private, public and not-for-profit ventures and dedicated much of his life to private initiatives for the public good.

History
Costa is the grandson of Sicilian immigrants who moved to Australia in the 1880s[1]. His family established a successful fruit and vegetable retail store in Geelong (Victoria), which remained the principal family business until the 1960’s, when Costa’s father (Adrian) and uncle (Frank) expanded into fresh produce wholesaling. Costa’s parents, Adrian and Mary, were tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1972 [1] [2] [3], leaving Costa, his elder brother Paul (b. 1964), elder sister Catherine (b.1965) and younger sister Sally (b. 1969) orphaned at young ages.

Despite early challenges[4], the Costa family business grew to become one of Australia’s largest privately-owned businesses, before being listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in July 2015[5] [6]. Simon Costa succeeded Frank Costa as the Group Managing Director of the Costa Group of Companies in April 2004[2] [3].

In 2012, Costa resigned from all corporate responsibilities and commenced a full-time voluntary role with the United Nations, World Food Programme[7] [8].

Education
Costa attended primary school at St. Josephs College Geelong[9], before transferring to complete his secondary education in Kilmore, where he was a boarder at Assumption College from 1981 to 1985[10]. A promising sportsman, he incurred a near fatal head injury in 1984, which prevented him from playing any further contact sport. Costa is currently the President of the Assumption College Old Collegians Association[11][12].

Costa completed post-graduate studies at Deakin University[13], Monash University[14] and Harvard University[15].

Career
Costa was invited to join the family organisation in 1992, following a mandatory 5 years employment in other businesses. His initial years were spent in the retail, wholesale and export divisions, before taking over Costa Logistics in 1996. In 1999 he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of the Group, responsible for the performance of 17 operating divisions[3]. During this time, he was part of a leadership initiative which developed an enviable 'culture of character[16], which combined with highly efficient management practices resulted in the significant increase in scale, profitability and geographic breadth of the organisation.

In April 2004, Costa was appointed Group CEO and Managing Director of the Costa Group of Companies[2][3]. Following a series of successful joint ventures and acquisitions, which included Chiquita Brands South Pacific[17], the Costa Group became Australia's largest horticultural company with diversified operations across the supply chain from farming and packing to marketing and large-scale distribution, both domestically and internationally. Costa took over as CEO of Chiquita Brands / Costa Exchange[18] in January 2010, but stepped down as the overall Group of Companies CEO prior to the family entering into a strategic partnership with Paine + Partners in 2011[19]. The Costa Group of Companies was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in July 2015[6].

Philanthropy
Throughout his business career, Costa dedicated much of his private life to supporting charitable activities. In addition to being an Executive Board member of Vic Relief and Foodbank[20], he regularly participated in fundraising activities to assist local and international not-for-profit organisations. Most notably, in 2004 he cycled 1100 kilometres across Europe raising important awareness and funding (AUD 380,000) for muscular dystrophy and the Very Special Kids charitable foundation[3] [21] [22]. Similarly, in 2008 Costa identified an orphanage for HIV children requiring financial support and set about raising money for Sparrow Ministries in Maraisburg, South Africa. His goal of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, generated R1.75-million (AUD 275,000) for the orphanage[23] [24].

Humanitarian
In April 2012, Costa commenced a full-time voluntary role with the United Nations, World Food Programme[7] [8] as Food Security Advisor for Sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing on the crippling levels of crop losses occurring annually and their contribution to widespread starvation and poverty in the region, Costa initiated a sustainable development strategy for eradicating post-harvest crop losses, significantly benefitting millions of low-income families and farming communities throughout developing regions of Africa [25] [26] [27] [28]. His team was awarded the 2015 United Nations WFP Global Innovation Challenge Award for ‘High Impact’ innovations.

In September 2016 Costa was appointed as a Director of the United Nations World Food Programme and given the role as Global Head of a Strategic Alliance between the United Nations and 7 private and public partner organizations, seeking sustainable solutions to the systemic problems affecting food systems in developing countries[29] [30] [31]. Utilizing the expertise of industry leaders to educate and empower farmers, as well as mobilizing local partners, the consortium established a pathway for global food security, greatly reducing poverty and starvation in the process.

Costa has also provided support in assisting East Timor and Australia to reach agreement regarding a maritime boundary in the Timor Sea [32] [33]. Along with former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks AC, Former East Timor President Xanana Gusmão and East Timor Ambassador to Australia Abel Guterres, Costa lobbied for a fair conciliation process to resolve the long-disputed maritime boundary between Australia and East Timor. An agreement was finally reached between the two countries in 2018 [34] [35] [36].

Honours
In the 2019 Australia Day Honours[37], Costa was appointed a Senior Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia by the Governor-General of Australia, for distinguished service to business and humanity[38] [39] [40].

In 2016, Costa was awarded the Pride of Australia Medal for his selfless services to support the disadvantaged overseas and within Australian society[41] [42].

Costa has also been honoured as a member of numerous teams recognised for excellence; (UN|WFP Global Innovation Award for the Most Impactful Humanitarian Innovation [2015]; Australian Family Business of the Year [2008]; Australia’s Leading Transport and Logistics provider [2009].