Pouli Dr. Keneti Faulalo appointed first Export Authority CEO

Staff Reporters/

Apia, SAMOA – 14 June 2024 – Cabinet has appointed Pouli Dr. Keneti Faulalo as the first Chief Executive Officer of the Samoa Export Authority.

The Authority is one of the key initiatives identified in the FAST Governments manifesto and is being set up to drive economic development through coordinated exports of agricultural and locally manufactured products.

Pouli Dr Keneti Faulalo brings a wealth of experience to the role with more than two decades of work in international development with a strong focus on the sustainable development issues of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

He was a former Senior Technical Adviser for UNDP and FAO projects around the Pacific islands in the areas of sustainable agriculture, sustainable value-chains and transformation of food systems.

He also served as a Programmer Manager for Pacific regional and multilateral environment programmes in the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT).

Pouli was also a lecturer at the National University of Samoa and a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the School of Agriculture for the University of South Pacific.

On a voluntary basis, he is on the Executive Boards of the Samoa Cancer Society and of the Sosaiete Fa’asao o Samoa/Samoa Conservation Society.  He is also the Chair of the interim Board of a new NGO in Samoa called Live&Learn Environmental Education (LLEE-Samoa).

The Samoa Export Authority will be established by law and public consultations have been completed and the Bill is expected to be tabled and passed later this year.

The Authority is based at Vaitele at the STEC premise that will eventually be phased out.

Pouli hails from Utualii and Apia villages and was educated at Samoa College, the New Plymouth Boys High School and the University of Canterbury where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science with Honors.