Speaker bio TBC.
Speaker bio TBC
He graduated from Faculty of Agronomy of Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague in 2000. Since then, he has been working at the Ministry of Agriculture: begins his professional career as a desk officer, and then becomes a Head of International Trade Agreements Unit and later, a Head of Unit for Trade Policy. After a long-time period of serving as a Director of the Food Department, he became an accountable Deputy Minister for the Section of Food and Agriculture in 2019. Since January 2022 he has been responsible for the Section of Food.
He has countless experience in the high-level international activities in the field of food and agriculture as he e.g. chaired multiple councils, committees or forums. What’s more, he acted as Vice-Chairman of the specialized international commodity organization ICO Executive Committee and then as
Chairman of another international commodity organization ICCO (elected by all the members of the organization as the EU nominee).
During 2021, he also acted as the national coordinator of the UN High Level Summit on the sustainable development of food systems.
Jindřich Fialka is also active in lecturing and educational activities especially for small farmers and food producers.
He speaks fluent English, French, Slovak and Russian.
According to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, realising the full mitigation potential from the food system requires change at all stages from producer to consumer and waste management. The IPCC states that emerging food technologies such as cellular fermentation, cultured meat, plant-based alternatives to animal-based food products, and controlled environment agriculture, can bring substantial reduction in direct GHG emissions from food production. EU policymakers and agrifood stakeholders will need to make decisions about funding, investment, roll-out plans and policy incentives which will define the transition to a more sustainable and climate friendly food system. Developing such transition pathways requires a thorough understanding of how the carbon footprint of the agrifood sector is distributed across regions and value-chains.
Better known as Brusselsgeek, Jennifer has been a journalist in print, radio and television for nearly 20 years, the last 8+ specialising in EU policy in the tech sector.
She has worked across a wide range of media, from editing a national daily paper in Malta, to reporting on European affairs for Middle Eastern television, and has a wealth of experience in navigating the political quagmire of the EU. As well as an address book packed with insider sources and contacts in Brussels, Jennifer is skilled at translating EU policy-speak into understandable English.
Regularly listed as one of the top digital influencers in the EU bubble, Jennifer is a member of the Expert Council of the Good Technology Collective, is on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Data Protection and Privacy, is on the also a GLG expert Council Member providing advice on EU Policy, and was named by Onalytica as one of the world’s Top 100 Influencers on Data Security 2016. She was also listed by Politico as one of the Top 20 Women Shaping Brussels in 2017.
She has written for some of the biggest names in media, including ArsTechnica, Computerweekly, TheNextWeb, Macworld, PCworld, and The Register. She regularly features as an expert on BBC radio, SkyNews and others, and hosts Brussels’ must-watch weekly roundup show TOTW for Euractiv.
Esther Sanye Mengual is a scientific officer at the Land Resources Unit of the European Commission – Joint Research Centre. PhD in environmental sciences with expertise on life cycle assessment (LCA), sustainable consumption, environmental footprint and the sustainable development goals. Contributing to the development of LCA-based indicators to assess the environmental impacts of EU consumers and LCA-based tools and indicators to support EU policy-making. Former research focusing on the sustainability assessment local food production from a LCA perspective, eco-design, social acceptance of environmental innovation and perception of ecosystem services.
List of publications and overview of her research activities are available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Esther-Sanye-Mengual
Gaelle’s work at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is focused on applying circular economy principles to the food system and particularly to the design of food products, from biscuits to cheese, cereals or produce. What if food could help tackle climate change? What if it could build biodiversity? Are some of the questions she and the Food initiative team are asking players across the value chain to mobilise the industry towards a nature-positive food system.
Alan Belward works at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Italy where he is Acting Director and head of the Food Security Unit in the Directorate for Sustainable Resources. Alan has served on numerous international science panels including the Global Climate Observing System, the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 Mission Advisory Group and the NASA and USGS’ Landsat Science Team. He has a BSc in Plant Biology from Newcastle University, as well as MPhil and PhD degrees from Cranfield University’s School of Agriculture Food and Environment and is a Fellow of the UK’s Royal Society of Biology.
Matt joined Unilever in 1992 and has held global and regional senior roles across Unilever’s divisions. Prior to his current role Matt was EVP for Global Ice Cream for six years.
In this role, Matt has navigated the ice cream business through the COVID pandemic, particularly challenging given the size of our Out of Home business. He has delivered strong growth for the global ice cream business by pursuing a strategy of premiumisation and channel shift. He strengthened both Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s whilst increasing the contribution from the more profitable Out of Home channel pre-Covid and pivoting to digital commerce during the pandemic. The quick commerce IceCreamNOW channel exemplifies how Matt uses innovation as a key driver for growth.
Prior to the Global role, Matt led the European Ice Cream business from 2013 to 2015, simplifying and streamlining the business, restoring Out of Home growth and making the strategic shift to accelerate Magnum and B&J’s. From 2011 to 2013 Matt was pushing the business towards the growth tailwinds and really learning how to get the most from our people and plans in his role as VP Marketing for Europe Foods and Ice Cream.
From 2003 to 2011 Matt held a number of roles in the UK/I Home and Personal Care businesses focusing on winning market share for the Deodorants and Laundry business.
Matt is British. He is married and has three daughters. In his spare time he is a keen cyclist and enjoys cooking.
In cooperation with FoodDrinkEurope
Cooperation among food industry players, as well as between industry, farmers and other stakeholders, is key to develop and deploy innovative solutions to increase the sustainability and resilience of the agrifood sector and achieve the EU’s climate objectives. The Code of Conduct, one of the first deliverables of the Farm to Fork Strategy, encourages food system stakeholders to voluntarily commit to improve their sustainability performance and it fosters collaboration allowing food businesses to share best practices, learn from one another, and blaze a trail for smaller actors. The Code also recognizes the importance of partnership to strengthen supply chain relations and identify synergies and opportunities for collaboration in R&I, capacity building, training, skill development and uptake of digital solutions and modern technologies.
Better known as Brusselsgeek, Jennifer has been a journalist in print, radio and television for nearly 20 years, the last 8+ specialising in EU policy in the tech sector.
She has worked across a wide range of media, from editing a national daily paper in Malta, to reporting on European affairs for Middle Eastern television, and has a wealth of experience in navigating the political quagmire of the EU. As well as an address book packed with insider sources and contacts in Brussels, Jennifer is skilled at translating EU policy-speak into understandable English.
Regularly listed as one of the top digital influencers in the EU bubble, Jennifer is a member of the Expert Council of the Good Technology Collective, is on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Data Protection and Privacy, is on the also a GLG expert Council Member providing advice on EU Policy, and was named by Onalytica as one of the world’s Top 100 Influencers on Data Security 2016. She was also listed by Politico as one of the Top 20 Women Shaping Brussels in 2017.
She has written for some of the biggest names in media, including ArsTechnica, Computerweekly, TheNextWeb, Macworld, PCworld, and The Register. She regularly features as an expert on BBC radio, SkyNews and others, and hosts Brussels’ must-watch weekly roundup show TOTW for Euractiv.
Michiel de Ruiter is the chairperson of EIT Food’s Supervisory Board since February 2022.
His fascination with food began during his studies at the Agricultural University of Wageningen. After his early professional life working with McKinsey in Amsterdam, Sao Paulo and Brussels, he worked in various companies as CEO in Switzerland and in The Netherlands, in the field of early life nutrition and food ingredients.
Since September 2020, he has been active in various supervisory and advisory role, including in the food industry. Following his strong belief that companies have a major role to play in preserving this planet for future generations, he also became active in advising boards on sustainability.
Dirk Jacobs is Director General of FoodDrinkEurope, the organisation of the European food and drink industry, one of Europe’s largest manufacturing sectors in terms of turnover, employment and value added.
Mr Jacobs is a member of various EU platforms and regularly engages in global multilateral bodies such as the United Nations, WTO, FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius, OECD and FAO. He is Chair of a multi-stakeholder Task Force which led the development of an EU Code of Conduct for Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, the first deliverable of the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy.
Mr Jacobs has long-standing professional experience covering various roles in international and EU public/political affairs and strategic communications. Previously, he served as FoodDrinkEurope’s Deputy Director General and headed its department for consumer information, nutrition and health.
Mr Jacobs, a Dutch national, holds a Master of Science (MSc) in International Business Administration at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, studied international economics in Milan, Italy, and has obtained a post-graduate MBA degree in European Business studies in Brussels, Belgium.
Sean is the Senior Vice President, R&D Europe at PepsiCo, one of the largest food and drink companies in the world, with brands including household names such as Pepsi, PepsiMAX, Lay’s, Quaker and Tropicana.
During his career in the Food industry, Sean has worked on leading brands in Australia and New Zealand (Uncle Toby’s, Bluebird), before joining Nestle and moving to Switzerland, the USA and Germany with a focus on the culinary portfolio. Sean has experience with a broad range of food categories and experienced many different aspects of research and innovation in business including renovating a core portfolio, innovating new growth platforms and partnering with startups, technology partners and managing mergers and acquisitions.
Mathilde Jakobsen is a food activist, a disruptive thinker and the CEO & co-founder of the award winning Danish scale-up, Fresh.Land, which disrupts the food industry. Fresh.Land won the Think Global Award in 2021 and has previously been coined “truly pioneer in the new climate economy” by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Mathilde is an appointed member of the taskforce “CEO Commitment” advising the Danish government on digitization, together with CEO’s of the Danish business elite such as Ørsted, Coloplast and COWI. Mathilde holds a Masters Degree from Copenhagen Business School. To give back, Mathilde teaches at CBS and INSEAD – the #1 business school in the world according to Financial Times (2021).
Kristin Schreiber leads the Directorate Ecosystems I: Chemicals, Food, Retail, Health in DG GROW, the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission. She also acts as one of the two Commission Board members of the European Investment Fund.
After obtaining the Diplôme de l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (with a special focus on International Relations, Economics and European Law), a Master’s degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury and the Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies of the College of Europe in Bruges, she worked as a Graduate Lecturer at the University of Kent in Canterbury and a researcher on the Single Market in Bonn. Kristin Schreiber joined the European Commission in 1990 and was appointed to her current position in March 2021 after serving as Director for Governance of the Single Market and International Affairs in DG Internal Market (until 2015) and Director for SME policy in DG GROW (until March 2021).
Previously in the European Commission, Kristin Schreiber was Head of Cabinet of Employment Commissioner Vladimir Špidla, Deputy Head of Cabinet of Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier and member of the Cabinets of Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen and Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert. She also served as Head of Unit for International Affairs in the DG for Employment and Social Affairs and was a member of the Merger Task Force of DG Competition.
Kristin speaks German, French, English and Spanish, some Italian and has notions of Czech and Slovak.
The EU has declared 2022 the European Year of Youth, recognising young people’s role in building a better, more sustainable future. With its commitment to inclusive food system innovation, EIT Food is working to ensure that youth have a spot at the table, shaping the future of food by educating young talents to think entrepreneurially and solve food system challenges. Greater participation of younger generations in innovation can accelerate the EU’s ambitions to transform food systems. This session will bring on stage two of the best teams, formed by students aged 16-19 years old, who have taken part in the 2022 edition of ‘Skills for the Future‘. This cross-KIC project, realised in collaboration with Junior Achievement Europe, aims to mainstream the teaching of entrepreneurial skills in high schools, prepare students to become future change-makers and promote the adoption of new teaching and learning methodologies. Students confronted with challenges focusing on Food Waste, Agriculture 4.0 and Healthy Nutrition, are involved in innovation camps and tasked with creating innovative solutions and mini-enterprises. Two teams will pitch their business ideas to the audience and issue a call to action to further develop the solutions.
Dr. Mario Roccaro has joined the EIT Food in April 2018 as Programme Manager Education in charge of developing educational offerings including the Professional Development actions for postgraduates and professionals of the Agri-Food sector. Previously, Dr. M. Roccaro was engaged at the European Commission DG EAC as policy officer in charge of designing and implementing the HORIZON 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. After receiving his first degree in Food and Science Technology from the University of Milan (IT) he worked for several food industries in Italy before pursuing further education. He received a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh (UK). Subsequently, he worked as plant scientist at the Max Planck Institute Cologne (DE) performing basic and applied science.
Antoaneta Angelova-Krasteva has been Director for Innovation, Digital Education & International Cooperation at DG EAC since 2016. Her main activities are education, academic & business cooperation, research & innovation. She joined the Commission in 2008 and has covered a variety of subjects. She is a graduate in political science of Sofia University, with European studies from Germany and the UK.
Alessandra Moretti is an Italian lawyer and Member of the European Parliament.
She began her political career in her hometown, mainly focusing on young people and schools. After being a member of the Italian Parliament and of the Venetian Regional Council, in 2019 she was elected to the European Parliament. In Brussels, she is a member of the Environment and Public Health, Gender Equality and Foreign Affairs Committees, dealing with crucial issues from both European and local perspective and, above all, for future generations.
She is also a member of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and recommendations for the future.
Mrs Moretti strongly believes that only in a just society, where there are no inequalities, citizens can fully enjoy their rights and freedom. This is the driving force of her political commitment.
Speaker bio TBC.
Maciej Golubiewski is the Head of Cabinet of Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Janusz Wojciechowski.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Washington and Lee University (1999) and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the Johns Hopkins University (2005). He also holds an International Baccalaureate Diploma from the United World College of the Atlantic in the UK.
After graduation, he moved to Washington D.C. where he spent three years in business consulting at Charles River Associates International (CRAI) before going on to graduate school. During his studies Mr. Golubiewski interned with the office of Senator Richard Lugar, served as a summer fellow at the Heritage Foundation and was an associate scholar at the Center for European Policy Analysis. For close to five years, he was a teaching assistant and lecturer in political science and international relations at the Johns Hopkins University and spent two semesters as a visiting professor at Mannheim University in Germany.
In 2008, he joined, as an established official, the Directorate General for Development and Relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries at the European Commission in Brussels as a desk responsible for regional political and economic cooperation with the Horn, East and Southern Africa region. During that time he participated in the Economic Partnership Agreement free trade negotiations with the African regional blocks. In 2011, he was transferred to the newly created European External Action Service, where, since 2012, he had been responsible for preparing the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council positions on the developing conflict in Syria. Between 2014 and 2016, Mr. Golubiewski served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and the Head of the Political Section at the EU Delegation to Lebanon in Beirut and between 2017 and 2019 as the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in New York.
Mr. Golubiewski sits on an advisory board of the Integral Economic Development master programs at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C, and for almost ten years has been associated with the Sobieski Institute in Warsaw as an expert on the EU and foreign policy. He speaks Polish, English and French.
After the plenary sessions, attendees will break out into 5 parallel sessions. These sessions are meant to provide an opportunity for interaction, brainstorming and collaboration between participants who will be expected to play an active role. For each breakout session EIT Food will provide a concept note to brief participants and guide the conversation.
The recent Commission’s proposals on corporate sustainability due diligence and deforestation free supply chains are increasing pressure on industries to identify, report and tackle negative externalities from EU production and consumption, which may include human rights issues, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, pollution or ecosystem degradation. Innovation and digital technology can help companies increase traceability and transparency in their supply chains and take action to address potential hotspots. But technology alone is not enough.
How can these practices become mainstream to create a new level playing field where competition does not hamper, but rather promotes the respect of fundamental sustainability requirements?
In this workshop, a panel of 15-20 citizens will engage in solution-oriented conversations with policy-makers, industries, innovators and civil society organizations. Stepping out of their bubble, participants will discuss what is needed from government, industry and consumers to elevate the standards of our production and supply chains.
This workshop is hosted by FoodUnfolded®, a global food information platform established by EIT Food, providing science-based insights about the origins of our food, the broader food system and the latest food and agricultural innovations.
Jane Liu, Editor in Chief, FoodUnfolded Jane is the Editor-in-Chief of FoodUnfolded®, EIT Food’s public facing platform committed to reconnecting people to the origins and future of their food through evidence-based sources and human storytelling. For the last 10 years, she has worked to bridge environmental and social issues with behavioral change through storytelling and science communication. Jane has worked together with local cities, universities, non-profits, media agencies, policymakers, innovators and other food system actors.
Maxine Roper, Co-founder, Connecting Food Maxine Roper is CoFounder of Connecting Food, a French FoodTech scaleup. After 20 years in the food industry Maxine founded Connecting Food with Stefano Volpi, to enable industry players to trace and measure compliancy and sustainability of their food products in real time. Maxine is British and lives in Paris with her French husband and 3 children.
Ruben Brunsveld, Deputy Director EMEA, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Ruben has a background in human rights, multilateral diplomacy and responsible business. He joined the RSPO in August 2021 to lead the market transformation division for Europe, Middle East & Africa. With this region he has both the supply and the demand side of the value chain within his remit as he engages with members, policy makers and other stakeholders to promote sustainable palm production and uptake. He is also a highly experienced moderator and speaker on different sustainability topics.
As a Colombian born, Indonesian bred, Dutchman living in Sweden he has a lot of affinity with both producing and consuming countries. He uses his broad international personal experience and professional background to connect with different stakeholders throughout the palm oil value chain.
Germaine Furaha, East Africa Director, Rikolto International Germaine Furaha has a PhD in agro-economics from the University of Liege. She is the Regional Director of Rikolto in East Africa which promotes inclusive business models in agriculture and food systems. Germaine has almost 10 years of theoretical and practical expertise in developing inclusive business models in agricultural value chains for international and local market. She works a lot on consumers’ needs and their inclusion in the food systems.
Youth find careers in the agrifood sector insufficiently appealing. However, an injection of new talent throughout the value chain will be necessary to drive the transformation of the EU’s food system. Firstly, the ageing EU primary sector requires a generational renewal. Only 11% of farm managers in the EU are under the age of 40. Meanwhile, the food industry also faces an uphill battle in attracting qualified talent. On top of this, as highlighted by the 2018 EU Bioeconomy Strategy, new skills will need to form a new generation of professionals able to address the systemic and cross-cutting nature of new bioeconomy approaches. Finally, it is also necessary to equip a future generation of STEM professionals with both the technical knowledge and the entrepreneurial skills to develop innovative solutions and take them to the marketplace.
This workshop will explore the role of education as a powerful tool in attracting new talent to food careers and contribute to ending skilled labour shortages across these four areas, as well as helping students understand the multitude of opportunities that have arisen in this increasingly dynamic sector.
The workshop will start with a roundtable debate with few opening speakers. After the break, participants will join different breakout groups to zoom in on how education can contribute to attracting talent into specific segments of the food system.
Viktoria Soós, Founder of Climate Smart Elephant & EIT Food Youth Mission Working Group Lead Founder of Climate Smart Elephant communication and education agency. Climate and sustainability communication expert and psychologist, translating the global climate context to local level in diverse topics, from small scale actions to communication campaigns and education materials. Her main focus is urban transformation and learning material development for various stakeholders from schools to municipalities.
Vivien Bodereau , Education Programme Manager, EIT Food Biography to follow
Bent Egberg Mikkelsen, Founder, FoodData4Good & Young Minds Lab Bent is a Professor of Urban Food Systems Transformation at University of Copenhagen. His research is on local community and city/region based green food systems interventions based on citizens and young peoples engagement. Particularly interested in developing better real-time methods based on digital signals and open data as part of the Smart City agenda. Since 2015 he has been working with Big Data for food in the EU Richfields project and is a member of the board in the international Food, Nutrition & Health Research Infrastructure and member of the Danish National Node. Founder of FoodData4 Good and PI of the Donate Your Food Data and the Smart Urban & Regional Fooddata (SURF) projects.
Remigio Berruto, University of Turin Biography to follow shortly.
Carl Edwards, Director, Education and Public Engagement, Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) Carl leads LEAF’s ambitious, industry leading, education and public engagement strategy that is enabling schools to enrich their curriculum and increase public understanding of our modern farming industry and the importance of the agricultural industry. Carl is ensuring that the agricultural industry listens to the voice of young people in shaping how we work with our future generation; being at the forefront of promoting an understanding of the Agricultural industry by teenagers, a long-overlooked audience. He has overseen key areas of development for the industry, including pioneering teenage research; this ultimately led to the National Competition in Food, Farming and Natural
Environment being set up in 2018, with over one-third of young people who have attended the National Competition going on to enter the land-based sector – something unfamiliar to them before this experience. Additionally, working with 16-18 year olds he developed Farming Fortnight, a two-week celebration of farming within schools during June, which sits either side of LEAF Open Farm Sunday. To date over 3.5 million people have now taken part in Farming Fortnight since its inception in 2019. Carl continues to engage with Government on the role that educational access and support for the farming industry has to play in ensuring greater societal engagement and highlighting the agricultural industry. As of 2021 Carl has over seen a rapid growth rate of LEAF Education, with a five-fold increase in the number of young people worked with and on developing far deeper and more meaningful engagement opportunities through partnerships with supermarkets and other industry professionals; this includes wider international partnerships and cooperation. Prior to LEAF, Carl was an Assistant Principal at a central Birmingham school and completed his Master of Education degree at the University of Cambridge in 2014. Carl was made a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts in 2018 in light of his commitment to sustainability and creating opportunities for greater engagement between communities, farming and the countryside.
Enrico Somaglia, Deputy Secretary General, EFFAT Enrico Somaglia is Deputy General Secretary of EFFAT, the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions. EFFAT is the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions, also representing domestic workers. As an European Trade Union Federation with 2.6 million members, representing 120 national trade unions from 35 European countries. EFFAT is a recognized EU Social Partner, a member organisation of the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) and the European regional organisation of the IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations). Enrico coordinates EFFAT work in multinational companies as well as EFFAT political agenda with the European Institutions.
There is a growing recognition that combining novel and traditional protein sources is key to ensuring food security and addressing climate change and sustainability concerns. According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, emerging food technologies such as plant-based (algae and insect) alternatives to animal-based food products, precision fermentation and cultured meat, can bring substantial reduction in direct GHG emissions from food production that weigh up to 30% of global emissions. The European Commission’s flagship Farm to Fork Strategy and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan also acknowledge the importance of increasing the availability of alternative proteins. Moreover, the Ukraine crisis has increased the urgency of tackling EU dependence on feed imports and promote a shift towards more plant-based diets, while ensuring a more resilient and autonomous food system.
This workshop will discuss the potential strategies and initiatives required at EU level to guide the transition to protein diversification, looking at three main questions:
Gerard Klein Essink, Founder and CEO, Bridge2Food Gerard Klein Essink started Bridge2Food in 2002. He worked in the international food industry for more than 25 years after graduating in food chemistry and marketing from Wageningen University. His experience covers both business-to-consumer as well as business-to-business markets. He fulfilled roles as vice-president sales and business development manager for a FMCG company, as general manager at an international food ingredient company, and as a researcher at Wageningen University.
At the Netherlands-based Bridge2Food, he enjoys the independent and entrepreneurial environment. Enabling business growth, innovation and personal development by connecting people and businesses together is one of his main drivers.
Bridge2Food is a global leader in the plant-based foods and alternative proteins sector. Its mission is to advance actions for a better food world and to accelerate the protein transition to make plant-based foods the center of sustainable, accessible and healthy plans good for both people and the planet.
For 20 years Bridge2Food has been working to connect professionals, researchers and industry, to organize summits that grow ideas into actions, to educate in hands-on academy courses, and to develop ecosystems that foster innovation.
Hanna Tuomisto, Associate Professor, Sustainable Food Systems, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science Hanna L. Tuomisto, is an Associate Professor of Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Helsinki and the Natural Resources Institute Finland. Her research interests are focused on estimating the potential of novel food production technologies and dietary change to improve the sustainability of food systems. She has a strong experience in the development and use of environmental sustainability assessment methods, such as life cycle assessment and carbon footprinting. Tuomisto is one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of sustainable food systems and especially environmental sustainability assessment of cell-cultured food production technologies (i.e. cellular agriculture). She started to carry out research about environmental impacts of cultured meat already in 2008 and published the first life cycle assessment of the technology in 2011. Since then, she has co-authored many scientific papers related to environmental and social sustainability of cell-cultured foods and dietary change. Tuomisto is one of the few researchers with over 14 years of experience in the field of cellular agriculture. Currently, Tuomisto leads and is involved in various projects related to sustainability cell-cultured foods and other alternatives to animal source foods.
Tuomisto holds an MSc degree in Agroecology from the University of Helsinki and a doctoral degree from the University of Oxford. In her doctoral degree, she compared environmental impacts of organic, conventional and integrated farming systems. After finishing her doctoral degree, she worked four years as a postdoctoral researcher at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) where she was involved in projects that developed carbon footprint and environmental footprint methods for agriculture and food sector. In 2016-2017, Tuomisto worked as postdoctoral researcher at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) where her work focused on the links between environmental change, nutrition and health.
Damien Jourdan, Open Innovation Director, Danone I/O, Research & Innovation Biography to follow shortly.
Helene Miller, Head of European Affairs, Aleph Farms and Vice-President, Cellular Agriculture Europe Helene Miller is the Head of European Affairs at Aleph Farms and Vice-President of Cellular Agriculture Europe. Prior to Aleph Farms, Helene has worked as a French lawyer and a consultant for about 10 years for major law firms in the regulatory Life Sciences area. Helene is a graduate of the Private Law Master 2 (University La Sorbonne, Paris 1, France) and Bioethics and Health Law Master 2 (University Paris-Est Créteil, Paris 12, France).
Paola Giavedoni, Innovation Director, EIT Food Biography will follow shortly.
Climate change and nature loss significantly stress our agricultural systems, with reduced precipitation and soil degradation leading to declining yields. At the same time, the latest IPCC report emphasises the importance of agriculture as a carbon sink, further highlighting the potential for carbon farming and regenerative agriculture practices to have a positively impact on GHG emissions. Achieving the EU objectives of a climate-neutral land sector by 2035 (and climate-positive thereafter) and of 100% healthy European soils by 2050 will require upscaling the transformation of European agriculture through the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices and solutions. While the toolbox of solutions may vary according to crop, region and farm size, in all cases it will be essential to support and work with farmers in the transition.
According to a recent report by the EU Carbon+ Farming Coalition, Transforming Food Systems with Farmers: A Pathway for the EU, supporting farmers to take climate-smart actions, could reduce the EU’s agricultural GHG emissions by an estimated 6% (approximately equivalent to the carbon absorbed by 1.1 billion trees in a year), restore soil health of over 14% of its total agricultural land, and add between €1.9bn and €9.3 billion annually to farmers’ incomes. However, the transition to climate-smart agricultural practices requires us to both understand and address the barriers that farmers, and the wider agrifood sector, face in making this a reality.
During this session, we will bring farmers and policymakers together to discuss the challenges identified by the report and explore how collaboration with agrifood stakeholders from across the value chain could accelerate the uptake of climate-smart agriculture in Europe.
Barbaros Corekoglu, Advisor to the CEO, EIT Food Barbaros Corekoglu (M) joined EIT Food in 2018 and responsible for establishing strategic partnerships with European and International Organisations, and works across EIT Food’s Innovation, Business Creation, Education and Public Engagement Departments in shaping impactful portfolios for food system transformation. Barbaros has been advising multinational agrifood companies on agriculture, food, health and sustainability policies for over 10 years’. He has been instrumental in the development of private-sector voluntary sustainability certification schemes of agricultural feedstocks, represented agrifood industries as sustainability expert at European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), and serves at various international expert groups on food and environment. He has a MA in European Union, International Relations and Diplomacy from the College of Europe in Bruges.
Tiffanie Stephani, Director of European Government Relations and External Communications, Yara International Tiffanie Stephani is heading the Government Relations and External Communications at Yara Europe (cf. Yara European Footprint | Yara International), the market leader in plant nutrition in Europe. Truly inspired by Yara’s vision of a world without hunger and a planet respected, Tiffanie works actively to promote climate-friendly crop nutrition and zero-emission energy solutions such as green ammonia. She joined Yara Region Europe in January 2021.
Prior to this, Tiffanie has been working as Senior Agriculture and Environment Manager at Fertilizers Europe, representing the interests of the majority of mineral fertilizer manufacturers in the European Union, between March 2016 and December 2020. She started her career in European Government Relations and in the agriculture sector about 15 years ago as policy officer in the European & environmental affairs department of the German Farmers’ Association (Deutscher Bauernverband, DBV) in Brussels. Tiffanie (French native) holds a university degree in political science from “Sciences Po Lille” and a master degree in European public management.
Alfred Grand, Grand Farm Alfred Grand is an organic arable field farmer and entrepreneur from Austria. Alfred is a member of several EIP-Agri, Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe projects. In 2019 he was selected as a member of the Mission Board for Soil Health and Food for developing a mission for Horizon Europe.
GRAND FARM is a 90 hectare research and demonstration farm, focusing on the topics Soil-Health, Agroforestry and Market Gardening. Every year, five to ten different research projects are conducted together with universities and research institutes. GRAND FARM is part of the Global Network of Lighthouse Farms, an initiative from Wageningen University. In 2019 Alfred established GRAND GARTEN, where a team of young university graduates is producing all year round organic vegetable for the regional market and doing research and demonstration activities.
VERMIGRAND Naturprodukte GmbH is producing thermophilic compost, organic fertilizer, soil amendments, compost extracts and peat-free soil substrates with the help of epigeic earthworms. For this purpose, in 2007 the first European commercial continuous flow vermicomposting facility was established, where several million earthworms produce vermicompost. At VERMIGRAND, aside from the commercial activities, regular research and demonstration projects are conducted, also.
Philippe Birker, COO and Co-Founder, Climate Farmers Philippe supports regenerative farmers in Europe in their important work of regenerating our soils through climate farmers. Furthermore, Philippe studies and experiments with regenerative culture and regenerative leadership and is rebuilding an abandoned village in the Portuguese mountain range Serra da Lousa. Before he embarked on the path to regeneration, Philippe worked for 5 years in business and community development for different impact startups. Ranging from the sharing economy with Peerby over electronics with Fairphone, to software with his last employee, Ritual technologies. Since 2009, Philippe is a world record holder in simultaneous fire breathing and he is part of Ashoka’s Changemaker community, Viva con Agua and the Love Foundation, an NGO with 500 members worldwide, that Philippe co-founded in 2013.
Esther Winterhoff, Head of Division for Fundamental Issues regarding the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Common Fisheries Policy and Food and Nutrition Policy, Permanent Representation of Germany to the European Union Since 08/2021 Head of Unit of Food and Agriculture at the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the EU in Brussels / Belgium
08/2016-07/2021 Attaché (Agricultural and Fisheries Policy) to the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the EU in Brussels / Belgium
2002 to 2016 Desk officer (Referentin) at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the areas of market organisations, food policy, EU coordination and Fisheries;
2004-2005 special leave and part-time activity at the State of Queensland/Australia as an integration advisor
1998-2002 Project manager for PHARE and Twinning projects in the field of agricultural policy in the Central and Eastern European countries in preparation for EU accession in 2004 and 2007;
ASA Institute for Sector Analysis and Policy Consulting, Bonn
1997-1998 Journalistic training at a newspaper specialized on Agricultural markets (“Agrarzeitung”), Frankfurt/Germany
1990-1996 Studies in Agricultural Science (focus on agricultural economics) at the Universities in Bonn/Germany and Valencia/Spain; agricultural internships in Argentina and Germany; Masters degree (Dipl.-Ing. Agr.)
1988-1990 Masters studies (Languages and History) at the Universities of Tübingen and Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg / Germany
1988 Graduation from High School in Bavaria / Germany
Philipp Goedecker, Senior Policy Officer International Affairs, Bauernverband Job history:
Senior Policy Officer International Affairs Deutscher Bauernverband e.V
Accredited Parliamentary Assistant at MEP Christine Schneiders Office, Dealing with ENVI policy
Manager EU Digital Economy & Society at ZVEI
Political Advisor European AffairsPolitical Advisor European Affairs Diehl Group
Junior AssistantJunior Assistant, Europäisches Parlament, Elmar Brok MEP
By creating bridges between different backgrounds, cutting across disciplines, and building on participation at all levels, the New European Bauhaus (NEB) inspires a movement to transform societies along three values: sustainability, esthetics and inclusion. It brings together citizens, experts, businesses and institutions to reimagine sustainable living in Europe. New initiatives are flourishing to enhance urban regeneration in less favoured areas and improve the connection between cities and their rural territories, foster circular economy actions to ensure more efficient management of sources, co-design green spaces and natured-based-solutions through public-private partnerships and social participation. The values driving the NEB can inspire new approaches also to the transformation of food systems and to the relationship between cities and their peri-urban environments.
In 2021, EIT Food launched a new programme, funded by the EU, dedicated to the NEB in partnership with other EIT KICs as part of the broader NEB initiatives promoted by the European Commission. This collaboration is bringing a renewed focus on the importance of upholding social inclusion, while working on new solutions to meet the EU’s environmental and climate ambitions. In this session, EIT Food will present some of the citizen engagement projects funded under its NEB programme.
Key questions:
Martine Van Veelen, Director, EIT Food CLC - West Our society is facing massive and complex challenges on several topics such as energy, food, safety and climate, and I believe innovation, entrepreneurship, education and networks are key in solving these issues. My work experience is a mixture of projects for academic institutes, (start-up) companies and network organisations, which makes me familiar with many different types of stakeholders. My knowledge and experience are in the field of project management of sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship within ecosystems of government, business and education.
I have an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, I am a compassionate person and I like working in a professional environment with talented people such as students, start-ups, scientists and intrapreneurs. My passion is innovation.
Stefani Novoa, Sustainability Expert, Basque Culinary Centre Biography to follow shortly.
Anu Seisto, Research Team Leader, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Dr Anu Seisto is the Research Team Leader for Future Customer research at VTT Research Institute in Finland. The team is combining foresight with consumer research to provide human-centric information for strategic decision making. Dr Seisto is especially focusing on consumer attitudes towards new technology and how to support consumers in the green transition and sustainable everyday life.
Ruben Baldomir Martínez, Maître and Sommelier, LABe Restaurant Biography to follow shortly.
The recent Commission’s proposals on corporate sustainability due diligence and deforestation free supply chains are increasing pressure on industries to identify, report and tackle negative externalities from EU production and consumption, which may include human rights issues, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, pollution or ecosystem degradation. Innovation and digital technology can help companies increase traceability and transparency in their supply chains and take action to address potential hotspots. But technology alone is not enough.
How can these practices become mainstream to create a new level playing field where competition does not hamper, but rather promotes the respect of fundamental sustainability requirements?
In this workshop, a panel of 15-20 citizens will engage in solution-oriented conversations with policy-makers, industries, innovators and civil society organizations. Stepping out of their bubble, participants will discuss what is needed from government, industry and consumers to elevate the standards of our production and supply chains.
This workshop is hosted by FoodUnfolded®, a global food information platform established by EIT Food, providing science-based insights about the origins of our food, the broader food system and the latest food and agricultural innovations.
Jane Liu, Editor in Chief, FoodUnfolded Jane is the Editor-in-Chief of FoodUnfolded®, EIT Food’s public facing platform committed to reconnecting people to the origins and future of their food through evidence-based sources and human storytelling. For the last 10 years, she has worked to bridge environmental and social issues with behavioral change through storytelling and science communication. Jane has worked together with local cities, universities, non-profits, media agencies, policymakers, innovators and other food system actors.
Maxine Roper, Co-founder, Connecting Food Maxine Roper is CoFounder of Connecting Food, a French FoodTech scaleup. After 20 years in the food industry Maxine founded Connecting Food with Stefano Volpi, to enable industry players to trace and measure compliancy and sustainability of their food products in real time. Maxine is British and lives in Paris with her French husband and 3 children.
Ruben Brunsveld, Deputy Director EMEA, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Ruben has a background in human rights, multilateral diplomacy and responsible business. He joined the RSPO in August 2021 to lead the market transformation division for Europe, Middle East & Africa. With this region he has both the supply and the demand side of the value chain within his remit as he engages with members, policy makers and other stakeholders to promote sustainable palm production and uptake. He is also a highly experienced moderator and speaker on different sustainability topics.
As a Colombian born, Indonesian bred, Dutchman living in Sweden he has a lot of affinity with both producing and consuming countries. He uses his broad international personal experience and professional background to connect with different stakeholders throughout the palm oil value chain.
Germaine Furaha, East Africa Director, Rikolto International Germaine Furaha has a PhD in agro-economics from the University of Liege. She is the Regional Director of Rikolto in East Africa which promotes inclusive business models in agriculture and food systems. Germaine has almost 10 years of theoretical and practical expertise in developing inclusive business models in agricultural value chains for international and local market. She works a lot on consumers’ needs and their inclusion in the food systems.
Youth find careers in the agrifood sector insufficiently appealing. However, an injection of new talent throughout the value chain will be necessary to drive the transformation of the EU’s food system. Firstly, the ageing EU primary sector requires a generational renewal. Only 11% of farm managers in the EU are under the age of 40. Meanwhile, the food industry also faces an uphill battle in attracting qualified talent. On top of this, as highlighted by the 2018 EU Bioeconomy Strategy, new skills will need to form a new generation of professionals able to address the systemic and cross-cutting nature of new bioeconomy approaches. Finally, it is also necessary to equip a future generation of STEM professionals with both the technical knowledge and the entrepreneurial skills to develop innovative solutions and take them to the marketplace.
This workshop will explore the role of education as a powerful tool in attracting new talent to food careers and contribute to ending skilled labour shortages across these four areas, as well as helping students understand the multitude of opportunities that have arisen in this increasingly dynamic sector.
The workshop will start with a roundtable debate with few opening speakers. After the break, participants will join different breakout groups to zoom in on how education can contribute to attracting talent into specific segments of the food system.
Viktoria Soós, Founder of Climate Smart Elephant & EIT Food Youth Mission Working Group Lead Founder of Climate Smart Elephant communication and education agency. Climate and sustainability communication expert and psychologist, translating the global climate context to local level in diverse topics, from small scale actions to communication campaigns and education materials. Her main focus is urban transformation and learning material development for various stakeholders from schools to municipalities.
Vivien Bodereau , Education Programme Manager, EIT Food Biography to follow
Bent Egberg Mikkelsen, Founder, FoodData4Good & Young Minds Lab Bent is a Professor of Urban Food Systems Transformation at University of Copenhagen. His research is on local community and city/region based green food systems interventions based on citizens and young peoples engagement. Particularly interested in developing better real-time methods based on digital signals and open data as part of the Smart City agenda. Since 2015 he has been working with Big Data for food in the EU Richfields project and is a member of the board in the international Food, Nutrition & Health Research Infrastructure and member of the Danish National Node. Founder of FoodData4 Good and PI of the Donate Your Food Data and the Smart Urban & Regional Fooddata (SURF) projects.
Remigio Berruto, University of Turin Biography to follow shortly.
Carl Edwards, Director, Education and Public Engagement, Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) Carl leads LEAF’s ambitious, industry leading, education and public engagement strategy that is enabling schools to enrich their curriculum and increase public understanding of our modern farming industry and the importance of the agricultural industry. Carl is ensuring that the agricultural industry listens to the voice of young people in shaping how we work with our future generation; being at the forefront of promoting an understanding of the Agricultural industry by teenagers, a long-overlooked audience. He has overseen key areas of development for the industry, including pioneering teenage research; this ultimately led to the National Competition in Food, Farming and Natural
Environment being set up in 2018, with over one-third of young people who have attended the National Competition going on to enter the land-based sector – something unfamiliar to them before this experience. Additionally, working with 16-18 year olds he developed Farming Fortnight, a two-week celebration of farming within schools during June, which sits either side of LEAF Open Farm Sunday. To date over 3.5 million people have now taken part in Farming Fortnight since its inception in 2019. Carl continues to engage with Government on the role that educational access and support for the farming industry has to play in ensuring greater societal engagement and highlighting the agricultural industry. As of 2021 Carl has over seen a rapid growth rate of LEAF Education, with a five-fold increase in the number of young people worked with and on developing far deeper and more meaningful engagement opportunities through partnerships with supermarkets and other industry professionals; this includes wider international partnerships and cooperation. Prior to LEAF, Carl was an Assistant Principal at a central Birmingham school and completed his Master of Education degree at the University of Cambridge in 2014. Carl was made a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts in 2018 in light of his commitment to sustainability and creating opportunities for greater engagement between communities, farming and the countryside.
Enrico Somaglia, Deputy Secretary General, EFFAT Enrico Somaglia is Deputy General Secretary of EFFAT, the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions. EFFAT is the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions, also representing domestic workers. As an European Trade Union Federation with 2.6 million members, representing 120 national trade unions from 35 European countries. EFFAT is a recognized EU Social Partner, a member organisation of the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) and the European regional organisation of the IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations). Enrico coordinates EFFAT work in multinational companies as well as EFFAT political agenda with the European Institutions.
There is a growing recognition that combining novel and traditional protein sources is key to ensuring food security and addressing climate change and sustainability concerns. According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, emerging food technologies such as plant-based (algae and insect) alternatives to animal-based food products, precision fermentation and cultured meat, can bring substantial reduction in direct GHG emissions from food production that weigh up to 30% of global emissions. The European Commission’s flagship Farm to Fork Strategy and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan also acknowledge the importance of increasing the availability of alternative proteins. Moreover, the Ukraine crisis has increased the urgency of tackling EU dependence on feed imports and promote a shift towards more plant-based diets, while ensuring a more resilient and autonomous food system.
This workshop will discuss the potential strategies and initiatives required at EU level to guide the transition to protein diversification, looking at three main questions:
Regenerative agriculture could constitute one of the key solutions to many of the societal and economic challenges that our food systems face and contribute to achieving the targets of the EU’s Soil and Biodiversity Strategies. A set of practices, previously applied by Indigenous peoples and farmers on the fringe of organic farming, is now at the forefront of agronomic and environmental investigation. In response to consumer and investor demand for healthier and more sustainably produced food, policymakers and agrifood businesses are exploring ways to apply more sustainable farming practices on a large scale.
But can regenerative agriculture deliver on its promise to restore our ecosystems and produce healthier food while also allowing farmers to benefit from the food and ecosystem services they provide to society?
EIT Food’s Regenerative Agriculture Revolution project is collecting data and conducting research to answer this question, measuring the benefits that regenerative agriculture has on soil health, nutrition and farmer profitability. In this breakout session, a panel of experts will present the results of the research and discuss pathways to upscale and mainstream regenerative practices in the EU.
Philip Fernandez, Agriculture Project Manager, EIT Food Philip Fernandez is currently Agriculture Project Manager at EIT Food South where he is working on an ambitious project to help European farmers transition to regenerative agriculture and raise awareness among consumers about the environmental and health benefits of sustainably produced food. Though Philip has worked in diverse fields, as a lawyer, a banker, and a conference interpreter, the recurring theme in his professional career has always been business creation. Prior to joining EIT Food, he founded and then managed a company that exported organic produce from Spain to Northern Europe and which later developed into the largest organic food home delivery service in Madrid.
Abby Rose, Co-Founder, Vidacycle Abby Rose is a farmer, physicist and soil health advocate, the co-founder of Vidacycle Tech: making apps that support farmers to take a more regenerative approach to farming.
Abby is also co-creator of Farmerama Radio: an award-winning podcast sharing the voices behind regenerative farming.
Based in London, Abby splits her time between working on her family farm, Vidacycle, in Chile, and visiting farms on multiple continents learning from soils and understanding what it’s going to take to build a more ecological farming future.
Abby was named one of the ‘50 Next’ young people shaping the future of gastronomy by The World’s 50 Best in 2021.
Diogo Pinho, Soil health and microbiome specialist, Food4Sustainability Diogo holds a PhD in microbiology and 10+ years of experience in the plant and soil microbiome industry and research.
He works at the Food4Sustainability CoLab, within the multidisciplinary team operating on sustainable agri-food systems. His leading role focuses on soil health and microbiome in farming systems and promoting sustainable/regenerative practices for better topsoil regeneration with the goal of increasing biodiversity, improving the water and nutrient cycling, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting carbon sequestration and nitrogen fixation, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthen the health and vitality of farm soil.
Up to this time, he was the Head of Laboratory at Biome Makers, a startup born in Silicon Valley focused on soil biological testing to promote global sustainable farming (the USA and Spain, 2019-2021) and a visiting researcher at Forest Research to work on soil properties and microbial communities (the UK, 2016-2019). Diogo was also involved in several soil, plant, and microbiome projects at Biocant (Portugal, 2011-2019). Over these years, he has participated in 11 projects, published 10 scientific papers, and presented 30+ communications related to the soil-plant-microbiome axis.
Ruben Borge, Agronomist, Rockinsoils Rubén (Spain, 1976) has a MSc in International Land and Water management (Wageningen University) and BSc in Agricultural engineering (León University).
For more than ten years he studies, simplifies, and spreads technology to support healthy local food, water and energy systems in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. In 2012, he initiated Rockinsoils a small consultancy in organic farming that gives farming families better access to information and skills to regenerate their farms, soils and hence their communities.
Rockinsoils integrates simple techniques to manage water, nutrients and crops and increase wealth of farming communities. All the techniques are easily accessible to any producer in any country. His trainings focus on the production and use of compost, bio-fertilizers, minerals and plant extracts. He also coaches farmer organizations to record and share their experiences within their own communities and build up local knowledge centers and small businesses.
More info on www.rockinsoils.com
Iain Dykes, Managing Director (Czech Republic), Spearhead International Ltd Born and brought up on a beef and sheep grazing farm in the Scottish lowlands Iain is now managing director of Spearhead Czech s.r.o. a subsidiary of Spearhead International Limited.
Spearhead international farms 80,000ha across UK, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
Regenerative agriculture has been one of the core principles of Spearhead’s farming philosophy for over 10 years.
As climate change threatens food systems around the world with intertwined sustainability challenges, algae could be a great solution to sustainably feed the growing global population and simultaneously contribute to a decarbonisation of the food system. Importantly, algae can provide a source of sustainable animal feed and nutraceuticals, and can be grown independent of arable land, hence reducing the pressure on land use, but also enable production closer to the site of consumption. Its ecosystem service potential as a tool for carbon sequestration is also of high relevance in reaching the targeted 2030 climate goals.
However, only very few of the available micro and macro algae species are currently intensively cultivated. The industry must fill the existing knowledge and technology gaps to profitably scale up algae cultivation and processing, and need to win the support of consumers. Algae based products need to appeal to their taste and be appreciated also for their nutritional and environmental benefits.
The session will therefore seek to address two main questions:
Jayne Brookman, Acting Director, EIT Food CLC North West Jayne Brookman is a biochemist by training with a varied background in the academic, commercial and third sectors including lecturing on biotechnology at the University of Manchester and founding an antifungal drug discovery company, F2G Ltd. Jayne led the AgriFood team at the UK’s Knowledge Transfer Network, working with start-up and established food manufacturing and agriculture businesses, before taking up a role as KTN Lead for the Innovate UK – DFID AgriFood Africa project funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund. In September 2020, she moved to EIT Food as Director of the NW Region to continue her passionate quest to ensure that innovation within the food system is pulled through to the consumer.
Recent work has focussed on an SME engagement strategy for the region, contributing to and publicising EIT Food’s Aquaculture strategy, developing meaningful commercial interventions for childhood obesity and regionally important opportunities such as controlled environment agriculture and measures for reducing livestock emissions.
Felix Leinemann, Head of Unit, Blue Economy Sectors, Aquaculture and Maritime Spatial Planning, European Commission Felix Leinemann is Head of Unit for Blue Economy Sectors, Aquaculture and Maritime Spatial Planning in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. He and his team promote a sustainable blue economy for the benefit of humankind and the oceans.
Mr Leinemann has worked for the European Commission since 2003 in various fields including fisheries and maritime policy, shipping, aviation and urban transport, as well as the EU’s global navigation satellite system Galileo. From 2012 to 2014 he worked as Transport Counselor in the EU Delegation in Washington, DC. Mr Leinemann holds a PhD from the University of Freiburg, Germany, following law studies in Germany and Italy.
David Bassett, Secretary General, European Aquaculture Technology & Innovation Platform (EATiP) Employed by EATiP since 2017, David assumed the role of Secretary General at the beginning of 2021 and is responsible for the day-to-day management and strategic coordination of this European wide multi stakeholder aquaculture ETP.
David has worked within the aquaculture industry since 2005, spending a decade as the Chief Executive of a UK producers association covering all aspects of industry representation and promotion. Through this role he became active in European aquaculture, working with FEAP (Federation of European Aquaculture Producers) where he followed a number of EU FP6 & FP7 projects in addition to participating in meetings of the European Commission ACFA Working Group 2 the precursor to the current Aquaculture Advisory Council. Among other roles, David served for 9 years as a director of the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum, acted as Director & Company Secretary for an independent industry led quality standard/certification scheme for the UK trout farming industry, worked on the steering committee of the WWF Aquaculture Dialogues (Rainbow Trout) and subsequently the Technical Advisory Group of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC TAG) and served as an industry representative on the management committee of the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling (UK).
He currently sits on numerous EU framework project advisory boards including the BlueBio CoFund in addition to representing EATiP within the EC Aquaculture Advisory Committee and EU Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR-Fish) Committee.
He is a graduate of the University of St. Andrews (MA Hons), UK, 1998.
For further information on EATiP please see www.eatip.eu
Sofia Kuhn, Head of Public Engagement, EIT Food Sofia is heading up the Public Engagement Team at EIT Food. Within this context, Sofia is the founder of FoodUnfolded® (www.foodunfolded), EIT Food’s public facing community engaged in dialogue around the origins and future of our food. EIT Food’s work on understanding consumer barriers and drivers in relation to food chain topics and innovations, also falls within Sofia’s remit. Before joining EIT Food, Sofia worked in various science communication and public outreach positions in research performing, funding and science information organisations across Europe. She has a BSc in Biological Sciences from King’s College London and a MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College London.
Vitor Verdelho, General Manager, European Algae Biomass Association (EABA) Vitor Verdelho Vieira is mentor of several companies that he co-founded with partners in different sectors. He started his first microalgae biotech company Necton, SA – www.necton.pt in March 1989, which is now an European leader in the production and sale of traditional sea salt and fleur de sel, as well as the production of microalgae for aquaculture and cosmetics. He is also co-founder and board member of A4F – Algae for Future, SA – www.a4f.pt an international reference company in the sector of macro and microalgae technologies and bioengineering.
He is at present the General Manager of EABA the European Algae Biomass Association, https://eaba-association.org with headquarters in Florence, Italy. EABA represents the sector in Europe and has a wide range of activities for the promotion of the sector. During the years 2019, 2020 and 2011 he organized and managed 22 specific workshops and webinars in topics related with microalgae and seaweed.
He is presently visiting professor in Católica Porto Business School and School of Arts in Catholic University in Porto, Portugal. He is the author with Susana Costa e Silva of the 3 volumes high impact Book: The Business Case Roadmap: https://www.amazon.com/business-case-roadmap.
Between 2000 and 2015 he has been involved in the management of SpinLogic, the entrepreneurship programme and business Incubator from the College of Biotechnology in the Catholic University in Porto, where he followed and supported more than 200 startup projects.
His business experience is wide and ranges from engineering consulting and real estate to biotechnology and medical devices. In the different companies where he has been involved, he was often connected with the innovation and business development. He designed, promoted and participated in more than 60 research and development projects along the last 30 years, since the EU FP4 and interacted with more than 200 different organizations in Europe. He is author and co-author of more than 50 publications in a wide range of topics.
He has a background in Physics from the Porto University Sciences Faculty. He established his biotech and management knowledge through a comprehensive consulting experience and more than a dozen specialized training courses in Portugal and abroad, in the last 30 years, including the Sloan School of Management. His career objectives are to develop global projects, involving technology and innovation in a ‘knowledge management’ challenging framework.
© Copyright Forum Europe. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms and Conditions
Registered in UK | Registered Office: 5 Sovereign Quay, Havannah Street, Cardiff, CF10 5SF
Tel: +44 (0) 2920 783 020 | Email: [email protected]
