Ol man mo woman blong VARTC
Our people
Scientists, technicians, field staff, mechanics, administrators and the on-station villages who keep Saraoutou growing.
Leaders through the years
From station directors to CEOs
Reconstructed from public sources. The gaps are real — VARTC's own archive, now being digitised, will fill them.
Help us fill a gap- 1962 – c.1981IRHO station directors — not found in public records. Help us fill this.
- 1967 – 1973R. Manciot (IRHO) — Charolais programme; [1]
- c. 1982 – 1988Claude-Hervé Calvez — Director, IRHO Saraoutou station[2]
- 1988 – 2002IRHO-CIRAD and CIRAD-mandate directors — not found in public records. Help us fill this.
- 2003 – 2011First CEOs under the VARTC Act — not found in public records. Help us fill this.
- Apr 2012Marie Melteras — "VARTC's director"[3]
- Apr 2014Dr Roger Malapa — director[4]
- 2015Tiata Sileye — Acting CEO[5]
- Mar 2016Alistair Wate — Acting CEO[6]
- Apr 2016 – Mar 2019Muriel Degobert — CEO[6]
- c. 2019 – 2020Steglar Tabiaga — CEO[5]
- by Apr 2021Michel Lechapt — CEO[5]
- 2025Steglar Tabiaga — CEO[7]
Team roll, 2016
The 2016 team
From the organisation chart on VARTC's 2016 website.[6] The current staff directory.
Management & administration
Chief Executive Officer
Deputy CEO & Finance Accountant
General Secretary
Finance Officer
Coconut
Research Supervisor (interim)- JBJonathan Buleuru
Production Supervisor
Horticulture
Head of Section
Cacao / Coffee
- TSTiata Sileye
Head of Section - WTWilly Tabi
Field Supervisor
Root Crops
Field Supervisor
Livestock
- STSteglar Tabiaga
Head of Section 
Field Supervisor
General services
- JSJules Sarsoum
Head Mechanic - FJFranck Jimmy
Head of Building Maintenance - PRPedro Relman
Farm Hand
Heroes, past and present
Long-serving staff are national heroes. Their stories live in the Hall of Fame.
Ol Hero blong VARTC → Scientist profiles → Careers →