Martien was the former Global Director for the World Bank’s Agriculture and Food Global Practice. He provided leadership to the formulation and implementation of the Bank’s strategy and knowledge in agriculture and food, and actsed as senior spokesperson for agriculture and food Bank-wide and globally. Martien is a Dutch national, who holds post-graduate degrees in Agricultural Economics from Wageningen University, The Netherlands, and in Business Administration from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C, USA.