Speakers

As Managing Director of Oost NL and Chair of ROM-Nederland, Wendy de Jong is driven by a clear mission: to work alongside innovative entrepreneurs, from startups and scale-ups to established SMEs, toward a future-proof Netherlands, ensuring that solutions to major societal challenges successfully reach the market, ranging from smart, sustainable energy and digitalization to accessible healthcare and a […]

With over four years of experience as Managing Director at TUM Venture Labs and more than seven years as a research associate at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Roman Bosl Werner brings a strong foundation in AgriFood innovation, spanning process engineering, biotechnology, digitalization, artificial intelligence, and innovation management. Werner’s expertise lies in the development of advanced food and beverage processing technologies, the […]

Emanuele Pizzigalli is Chief Research & Innovation Officer at Nexture Group, where he leads the innovation agenda within the rapidly evolving food ecosystem. Through a distinctive open innovation approach, he brings together internal expertise and global collaborations to identify emerging trends and translate them into forward-thinking solutions. His work focuses on developing ingredients and concepts that not only meet current market demands but […]

Nikita Sajeev is an impact-driven professional dedicated to bridging the gap between scientific innovations and real-world applications. With 8+ years in the green biotechnology space, she has developed a strong ability to connect diverse stakeholders; scientists, policymakers and industry leaders to drive meaningful change. She thrives on turning ideas into action through effective communication, strategic leadership, and the ability to inspire […]

Nicoline van Gerrevink is the Lead Global Food System Transition team at Rabobank. Nicoline started at Rabobank in 2012 and has an extensive background in structuring “out of the box” financial solutions. Her current focus is on advocating Regenerative Agriculture both inside Rabobank as well as by building partnerships with wholesale clients that are committing to Regenerative […]

Kim de Boer is passionate and driven to enable, accelerate and support purpose driven businesses with visionary and entrepreneurial teams that contribute to a resilient and net positive agrifood system for next generations. She is Founding Partner of Rooted, pioneering a better way of investing for healthy soil and regenerative food ecosystems. Rooted exists to […]

Gianpiero Menza is an International Development Professional with expertise in scoping and building science-based innovations and strategic partnerships with both private and public sector to support the transition to sustainable development. He has extensive expertise in business strategy, and management, development finance/impact investing, venture capital, stakeholder engagement and resource mobilization strategies. Gianpiero is driven to leverage impactful solutions and innovative financing mechanisms to address complex […]

Maha Tahiri is an independent board advisor, successful entrepreneur and food industry thought leader best known for developing game-changing strategies that translate science and technology into business opportunities. With deep knowledge of the global regulatory landscape, she anticipates and mitigates risk and creates competitive advantage to accelerate growth. Maha is an internationally recognized expert in […]

Gali Artzi holds a PhD in cell immunology and biology and brings with her a rare combination of scientific knowledge, innovation leadership in both corporates and startups, and business experience in food ingredients and nutrition. From Enzymotec, to Frutarom and IFF, she’s held senior leadership roles and has a deep background scouting technologies, guiding product development, managing innovation and commercialization, and […]

Since the summer of 2023, Michiel Scheffer has served as President of the Board of the European Innovation Council, having been appointed by the European Commission. He is dedicated to technological progress and believes in its transformative power for a better society and for future generations. He is committed to scaling up innovation, while also […]

Dr Anna El Tahchy is a key innovator in Agriculture and Food, experienced in lipid engineering with a background in food chemistry. During her time at CSIRO, Anna demonstrated success in leading complex and commercially driven R&D and creating new concepts for novel food ingredients engineering and production. This includes managing multimillion and multisite projects […]

Stern explores how innovation and entrepreneurship differ from more traditional economic activities, and the consequences of these differences for strategy and policy. His research in the economics of innovation and entrepreneurship focuses on entrepreneurial strategy, innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems, and innovation policy and management. Recent studies include the impact of university research on both the quantity and quality of entrepreneurship, the drivers […]

Eva de Mol is the co-founder of CapitalT, an early stage venture capital fund investing in software technology companies in Europe. CapitalT invests in EdTech, Digital Health, Climate Tech, Future of Work and Future of Social. Eva has a background as a scientist – a PhD in from VU University and Berkeley and she spent over a decade studying the effects of entrepreneurial team composition […]

As the Managing Director of StartLife, Dr Nicola Harrison leads the charge in advancing AgriFoodTech innovation with a global vision for sustainability. Originally from the United Kingdom, Nicola (Nikki) brings over two decades of expertise in cluster development, multi stakeholder program management and business development within the agrifood and horticulture sectors. She most recently served as Director […]

Francisco Jardim is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SP Ventures (SPV), Latin America’s leading venture capital firm dedicated to agri-food, climate, and life-science technologies. He leads the firm’s investment strategy and currently works alongside some of the most dynamic founders shaping the digital and biological transformation of global agribusiness. SP Ventures is now investing from […]

Rik Pantjes is Team Lead Agrifood Business Development at Invest-NL, where he focuses on strengthening and scaling impactful innovations within the agrifood sector. Driven by a results-oriented mindset, he thrives in complex and rapidly changing environments. He believes that today’s challenges require a practical approach, combining clear focus on outcomes with strong analytical capabilities. By doing so, […]

Ryan Rapp is a plant enthusiast operating at the intersection of biotechnology and people. His career has been centered around two core passions: advancing plant biotech and working closely with people to drive innovation and impact. In his role as CEO of Terrana Biosciences, RNA Technology for plant health, he combines scientific vision with leadership, focusing on translating breakthroughs in plant science into […]

Vijay Chauhan has over 19 years of experience as a CEO, with a strong focus on entrepreneurship and business development within the Life Sciences sector, including Ag Biotech, Medical Devices, and Functional Foods/Consumer Nutrition. In addition, he brings 12 years of experience in management consulting, contributing to a broad strategic perspective on organizational development and […]

Passionate about biology in the broadest sence. After starting her career as an academic scientist, she became an innovator with lots of energy to turn science into impact. Over the past 30 years, she has focused on the interphase between research and business in the food sector; developing and introducing radically new products to the market, building high performance teams, and nowadays building an […]

In the Netherlands Richard Harrison is a member of the Top Team Tuinbouw en Uitgangsmaterialen, as well as providing strategic oversight of several programme boards for large regional and national initiatives on behalf of Wageningen U&R. Dr Harrison has a PhD in evolutionary systems biology. His research has always focussed at the intersection of molecular biology, statistical genetics and modelling. Outputs have included scientific knowledge, tools, techniques and products […]

Dr. Martijn Bekker is currently an Expertise Leader at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, overseeing projects to optimize microbial protein production processes. Throughout his career, he has held various roles as a Scientist and Team Lead at organizations such as The Coca-Cola Company, the contract research organization NIZO, and the biotechnology start-up Photanol, where he […]

Daan Wilms van Kersbergen is an investor at Yield Lab Europe, where he leads the Dutch office’s investment efforts. With a strong background in venture capital, having previously worked at Eneco Ventures, and experience in strategy consulting at McKinsey & Company, Daan brings deep expertise in scaling startups and driving innovation. Based in the Netherlands, […]

Sebastiaan Berendse, Director of Value Creation & Impact at Wageningen University & Research, is a dynamic connector in knowledge-driven organizations. With experience in academia, consulting, and government, he specializes in knowledge transfer, startup coaching, and public-private partnerships that drive innovation. Passionate about leveraging research for real-world impact, he excels in business management, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and […]

Alex Datema serves as the Director of Food & Agri Netherlands at Rabobank, where he spearheads the bank’s agrifood vision. His role involves collaborating with Food & Agri sector networks to promote sustainability in the industry, partnering with agricultural organizations, provincial authorities, government entities, and value chain stakeholders. Alex is also a member of the […]

At Wageningen Economic Research, Willem manages the ‘Sustainability Management in Agri & Food’ program. He has 12 years of experience in running sustainability assessments in the private sector. In these years, he ran several complex, informal project structures and guided researchers and consultants in projects with among others within farm inputs, agri commodity trade, food […]

Nicolas Weber pursued his education in Lausanne, Hong Kong and London, earning a Bachelor’s degree from HEC Lausanne (2013) and a Master’s in Management and Strategy from the London School of Economics (2015). He honed his expertise in sustainability and entrepreneurship during his tenure as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (2016-2022), where he […]

Feike Sijbesma, is a top business executive, one of the most influential Dutchmen and often described as a sustainability trailblazer. Under his leadership, Royal DSM transformed from a producer of bulk chemicals to a provider of healthy food ingredients for people and animals and specialist (green) materials, with sustainability and innovation as the main drivers.