André Chaves is a Land Use Manager in the Forests Program for WRI Brasil, with over 15 years of professional experience, dedicated mainly to sustainability management in the finance and agriculture industries.

Prior to joining WRI Brasil, André worked as a Sustainability Director for Nuveen Natural Capital (NNC), the land-based asset manager of TIAA, which manages over 3 million acres, with more than 40 crop types in 10 countries. Based in Chicago, he was commissioned to develop and implement a global ESG strategy for NNC. During this time, he inaugurated NNC’s deforestation and conversion free commitment, as well as its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy and process, including successfully raising an annual budget of 500k USD. Also, he helped to create a natural capital balance sheet, to measure the performance of NNC’s assets in regard to their value and services to nature. Prior to NNC, he completed an internship at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

André’s academic credentials blend social sciences with business management. His studies in sociology, political science and anthropology at the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) helped to develop the critical thinking necessary to understand and respond to the most pressing issues of our times. In addition, a Certificate in Business Administration by Insper, also in São Paulo, contributed to sharpen his leadership skills to accelerate transformations of high economic and social value. 

André lives in Rio de Janeiro, with his partner and two children.