Benoit is a researcher and B.A. Krukoff Curator of African Botany at the Royal Botanic gardens, Kew. His taxonomic research focuses on the Compositae (Asteraceae) family with a particular interest for the tribe Vernonieae. Before joining the Africa team at Kew, Benoit worked in Brazil for 15 years. His interests span systematics, taxonomy, phylogenetics, evolution and biogeography of several plant families. He is the editor of Flora Zambesiaca, for which he is writing up part of the Compositae.