We are delighted to welcome Claudia Giulia Cantele Silva as our new Administrative and Financial Officer.
From our Brussels office, she will help strengthen our internal processes and contribute to the efficient management and coordination of activities across the organisation.
Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your professional background before joining LIFE?
I am a finance professional with more than 15 years of experience in different areas of finance, from accounting and tax to budgeting and forecasting. I have an international background, having worked in Brazil – where I am originally from – in France, in Hungary and now in Belgium. Despite working in diverse industries, my latest experience was in banking, where I led a team of financial advisors for Wholesale Banking clients. I live in Antwerp, about two hours from our Brussels office. I am married, with no kids (but many plants), and reading is one of my favourite things in the world. My older brother is a fisher in Alaska, and some of my sweetest childhood memories are of him visiting and sharing photos of life at sea.
How does your previous experience in the corporate sector help you in your work at LIFE?
I believe the corporate sector allowed me to be exposed to several different strategies and tools for effective resource management and efficiency gains, which I intend to put into practice at LIFE, to facilitate internal processes but also to offer support to our fishers’ network where they require financial expertise and advice. Another aim is to support LIFE reach its strategy to secure long-term funding, which is something I have achieved successfully in past experiences.
Since joining LIFE, what has been the most interesting or surprising aspect of working with the small-scale fisheries sector?
Certainly, the aspect that surprised me the most was to learn that small-scale fishers are actually the largest part of the fleet and workforce in fishery, which makes it striking to see how underrepresented they still are in decision-making at the EU. What is also surprising is to understand how integrated and connected the small-scale fisheries sector is with the whole food system and how significant the impact they can have when properly involved in policy making.
What message would you like to share with the LIFE network of fishers and partners across Europe?
One message I would like to share is that I deeply value collaboration, openness, and transparency. So please feel free to reach out at any time with suggestions, ideas, concerns, or feedback. I am always ready to listen with intention and to work toward making our partnership meaningful and valuable for everyone involved. As Administrative and Financial Officer, my mission, together with the whole LIFE staff, is to ensure that all members of our network and partners across Europe feel valued and confident that their resources are being used where they will have the greatest impact, securing a more sustainable future for all.
