Fred Schutter, Managing Director
Fred is responsible for the overall management of BARCA operations and has led the establishment and growth of the company since 1994. Fred has been part of the Brinkman Group since 1978 and, prior to moving to Costa Rica, managed reforestation projects in British Columbia, Canada. He lives near Parrita, Costa Rica.
Ricardo Lujan, Chief Forester
BARCA was able to attract Ricardo from his teaching position at the Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica (ITCR) in 1996 to head up the forestry team. He was a professor in Forestry at ITCR and a Principal Research Forester at CATIE. He has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from ITCR and completed a Master of Science in Forestry/Agroforestry from CATIE. Ricardo is a registered professional forester and surveyor in Costa Rica.
Diego Dipieri, Director of Operations
Diego is responsible for overseeing field operations and the management of over 400 staff and field workers. He has been part of the Brinkman Group since 1991, having managed reforestation operations in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada before moving to the Central American operations in 2002. He lives in Panama City.
Jorge Mora, Director of Finance
Jorge has provided financial and accounting consulting services to BARCA since 2002 and joined as Director of Finance in 2006. Responsible for the finances and accounting of the organization in multiple countries, as well as meeting the reporting functions required for investors, Jorge came to BARCA with valuable Central American experience. He lives in San Jose, Costa Rica.
In-country teams
In each country, dedicated Operations Managers and local field teams become intimately knowledgeable about the land under their management. We utilize a management philosophy that encourages individual responsibility and initiative in all levels of the operations, and strive to ensure that the people who are closest to the work are well informed and able to make the right decisions at the right time.
Costa Rica
Jose Corrales, Operations Manager
Jose joined BARCA in 1997 as a graduated Forester from the ITCR. He has acquired extensive knowledge in all fields related to plantation management and the evaluation of its quality. He has experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Moreover, he has conducted surveys and appraisals on farms. Currently he is the Operations Manager for Costa Rica, leading all the activities related to plantation establishment and maintenance, nurseries, and wood brokering and extraction contracts.
Betsy Barcus, Administration Manager
Betsy came to work in the administration of BARCA in the year 2000. She has a US degree in Business Administration and came to Costa Rica originally as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 1980s. She also has experience in Human Resources and Quality Systems. She is currently the Administrative Manager of BARCA Costa Rica and leads all non-forestry related activities, such as general administration, occupational health, legal relations and real estate, as well as supporting the Operations and Financial departments.
Panama
Clementino Herrera, Operations Manager
Clementino is a Forestry Engineer with a Masters in Silviculture from the Forestry Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia and a Masters in Forestry Sciences from the University of Gottingen, Germany. He has worked during most of his professional career in the areas of establishment, maintenance and management of high value forest plantations. He also has experience in the methodologies and procedures related to the mitigation of climate change through carbon fixing in forestry plantations. He has been working with BARCA since 2006.
