Caterina Occhio is a former development aid manager with over 15 years experience in supporting employment and institutional reform.
She worked extensively for the European Commission, different UN agencies and from 2002, she specialized in the socio- economic integration of women.
In 2007 she founded and was the secretar general of the SEED foundation.
In 2008, she led the team charged with improving the effectiveness of the European Commission’s external aid programmes, and in 2010 she became EU policy adviser for the new employment strategy in Tunisia.
In her quest to help and improve women’s conditions in the MENA region, in 2013 Occhio took a leap of faith and launched SeeMe the first fair trade verified brand of the MENA region.
In 2015 and 2017, Occhio has been guest speaker at Conde Nast International conference on Luxury by Suzy Menkes.
She was a key note speaker at the First Ladies Luncheon during the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
In 2018 she received Palladio award for SCR in jewellery and was the testimonial of Marella, MaxMara group, campaign for the collection designed with them.
Via SeeMe she provided ethical sourcing to brands the like of Karl Lagerfeld, Missoni, Pucci, Mulberry, Tommy. Since October, Occhio is the coordinator of UN program for social entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean.
