Paloma Lopez is the Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer at food manufacturer, Bel US.
I recently sat down with her to discuss her nonlinear journey from corporate leader to entrepreneur and back again, and how that unconventional path could be a blueprint for any prospective CSO.
1. Tell us about your current role at Bel US. How is sustainability positioned within the business?
Bel US is a mission-driven company, so sustainability permeates everything we do. What’s quite unique at Bel US is that sustainability sits within an umbrella we call Impact, Trust & Ethics. That includes communications, nutrition, legal, and regulatory functions.
That structure is intentional. It means sustainability becomes the way we do business, not an add-on. It’s part of how decisions are made, not something we argue for after the fact.
2. You’ve had a dynamic journey from corporate roles to entrepreneurship and now back to corporate leadership. Why did you step away, and what did you return knowing that you didn’t before?
After 15 years at Kellogg, I needed to unlearn. I needed space to rethink how I showed up as a leader and where I could create the most impact. I took nearly a year to travel and observe food systems more closely. Then I co-founded Future Fit Foods in Colorado, a regenerative and circular food venture.
Building something from scratch forced me to learn procurement, accounting, product design, and storytelling firsthand. That chapter helped me prepare to re-enter corporate life in a new way, with greater operational empathy and clarity. Bel US was such a great fit as it shares those values.
3. In complex sustainability coalitions, what should a CSO’s role actually be? How do you decide where to lean in, and where not to?
It starts with being clear on what kind of collaboration you’re entering. Some spaces are designed to build energy and alignment. Those big events where that happens have value. But that momentum only helps if it gets executed on.
Where I really lean in is in collaborations that change how money, land, or supply chains move. We recently partnered with a major U.S. retailer to co-invest in a regenerative agriculture corridor in the Midwest. What made it work wasn’t that everyone did the same thing. It was that everyone played to their strength.
Retailers brought scale and convening power. Brands brought agility and category expertise. Local partners brought community trust and on-the-ground execution. A CSO’s role isn’t to lead every piece. It’s about understanding where your organization has leverage, and deploying it there.
4. What does sustainable leadership look like for a CSO in 2026, both from a personal and systemic standpoint?
Sustainability is emotionally demanding work. If we don’t build resilience intentionally, we burn out or lose focus. For me, resilience operates at three levels in my life.
First, personal resilience. I protect my mornings. I swim early to set a physical and mental baseline. I delegate intentionally, with a focus on managing energy.
Second, community resilience. We often think change must be global to matter. But community activists shape families’ lives every day. Strengthening local ecosystems creates stability that allows broader system change to take root.
Third, systems resilience. That requires discipline. You cannot chase every issue. You focus only on the most material levers and let the rest go. For us, that means soil health, regenerative agriculture, food access, and nutrition gaps. The discipline is staying focused long enough for the impact to compound.
5. As AI reshapes business functions across the enterprise, what should a CSO be doing now to ensure sustainability doesn’t get left behind?
Right now, many teams are using AI to improve efficiency, draft documents, synthesize notes, and remove administrative friction. While that’s valuable and saves small teams a lot of time, it’s underselling AI’s potential
Over the next three years, every sustainability program should be viewed through an AI lens. How can AI reduce the reporting burden? How can it support soil health tracking or nutrient density measurement? How can it reduce friction for farmers and frontline teams? How can it free leaders to focus on judgment instead of spreadsheets?
If we don’t take the driver’s seat, the system will evolve without us. I tell leaders to dedicate 10–20% of their time to understanding what’s coming with AI and how it might fit into their teams.
6. Sustainability leadership often comes with resistance, budget cuts, political pressure, and internal pushback. How do you stay resilient in that tension?
You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Conflict, resistance, ‘no’ — these aren’t signs you’re failing. They’re signals. They show you where change is needed most.
There’s a phrase I love: ‘The obstacle is the way.’ The tension points are often the unlocks. And you have to hold the long view. We often overestimate what can be done in one year and underestimate what can be done in ten.
Systems don’t shift quickly. But they do shift when leaders stay steady, curious, and courageous long enough for the arc to bend. We often overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in ten. Sustainability leadership is a long game.
