Meet The Team
David Santilli
Founder & Managing Director
David brought together the financial backing for the farm in 2015 and oversees the strategic direction of the farm. He is personally responsible for market development and product sales. David has been traveling to Belize since the 1990s and after a successful career in management consulting relocated from Washington, DC to Belize in 2006. He is now a dual national with Belizean & U.S. citizenship. David holds a Masters Degree in International Management, excels at putting together successful teams, and has founded, grown, and exited three multi-million dollar businesses to date.
Rupert Smith
Farm Manager
Rupert has been working with cacao at scale since 2014. He was instrumental in the revitalization of the former Hershey plantation in Belize and set the protocols for their post-harvest processing which resulted in a long-term contract with Valrhona. Rupert grew up farming in Belize, has a degree in agriculture, and is a wizard at keeping Finca Chocolat's equipment in top shape.
David Kafka
Investor Relations
David stumbled on Belize in 2004 and fell in love with the people, culture, and simplicity of life here. In 2010 he sold everything, moved to Belize, started a real estate career with RE/MAX, and quickly became one of their top salesmen. In 2013 David purchased the RE/MAX franchise in Placencia and the Hopkins Village territory. While still heavily involved in real estate, David founded Caribbean Capital Group in 2020 to help investors find credible projects in Belize. David oversees Finca Chocolat's 506(c) Private Placement Offering.
The Finca Chocolat Team!
They Get it done
While you are most likely to talk to one of the leadership team highlighted above it is our dedicated crew that deserves the lions share of the credit for making Finca Chocolat a success.
Day in and day out they ensure the work gets done and the crops are well cared for. We owe our success to their persistence, hard work, and skill.
If you want to gain a true appreciation for the amount of work that goes into producing chocolate and the other products we focus on at Finca Chocolat come work with the crew for a few days. We guarantee you will have a new appreciation for farmers and the work they do.