Moderator

Manou Aelmans is a Business Developer at Invest International, where she focuses on supporting Dutch start-ups and scale-ups in the Agri-tech domain with their international growth ambitions. She works closely with companies to structure financing solutions suited to early-stage international expansion.

Christian Koolloos is a New Business Leader with extensive experience in scaling operations, driving growth, and leading strategic innovation and business development initiatives. His background spans business development, finance, innovation, and operations across management and founding teams. He has successfully raised more than €30 million in Seed and Series A funding for startups and scaleups. Throughout his […]

Rick Tervoort is a finance professional at Norinchukin Bank Europe, based in Amsterdam, where he focuses on the Food & Agriculture sectors and sustainable finance initiatives. With broad experience across corporate banking, research, and international financial markets, he brings a strong understanding of the evolving global agrifood landscape. Rick is recognized for his work connecting […]

Patricia de Esteban is an Associate on the Investment Team at Cardumen Capital’s Madrid office. Before joining Cardumen, she worked at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in London, managing strategic partnerships with high-potential Climate Tech and Healthcare startups while spearheading the launch of AWS’s first Business Development Startup European team. Further, she also brings entrepreneurial experience as the founder […]

Shivani is an Investment Principal at Synthesis Capital, a venture capital manager focused on Series A & B opportunities in food tech and biotech, currently investing out of its $300M fund. Shivani is excited to support innovative early-stage companies that are seeking to transform our global food system. Shivani has an investment management background; prior […]

As Corporate Partnerships Manager at StartLife, Jorien Hattink plays a key role in supporting StartLife’s Corporate partners in navigating the agrifoodtech startup ecosystem. She builds strategic relationships with leading foodtech multinationals by connecting them with innovations and fosters knowledge exchange across StartLife’s ecosystem. In addition to her current role, she is active as a startup business coach, helping startups define their product market fit and setting up collaborations […]

Ali is an early-stage food, agriculture, and climate tech investor with an operational background. She is a Partner leading early-stage agrifood tech investments in Europe at the intersection of health and nature with Clay Capital. Ali is a Kauffman Fellow, co-founder of the Rising Tide Collective, and mentor with RockStart’s agrifood tech accelerator.

Passionate about financing the transition to sustainable food systems, Laura Thissen is Venture Partner at Grey Silo Ventures, a first check to Series A CVC investor in international f&a startups. Previously Laura served as Managing Director of StartLife, where she led the growth and professionalization of its global food, agri, and biotech ecosystem. She has a strong international track record in agrifood innovation, strategy, and ecosystem building. She also played a key role as part […]

Nadav Berger is a Founding General Partner of PeakBridge. A third-generation food industrialist, he moved from industry into entrepreneurship, building companies across food applications, marketing, and distribution before co-founding FoodLab in 2008 — an innovation hub focused on food systems development. That work led directly to FoodLab Capital, one of the earliest dedicated FoodTech seed […]

Matthias de Kock is a Principal at PeakBridge based in Antwerp. He began his career in investment banking in New York before moving into venture, first at a Belgian family office and then as part of the investment team at EIT Food. He holds degrees from institutions in Australia and China alongside his European education. […]

Rens de Jong is a well-known speaker, event host and moderator in the Dutch business sector. He has the ability to increase the energy and enthusiasm in the room by connecting the audience. People in the audience described him as very energetic, witty and well-prepared.

Adam Anders is a co-founder and managing partner of Anterra Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in agrifood technology. Adam has over 20 years of experience in private equity and venture capital, including serving as a director of Rabo Private Equity (Netherlands) and Ironbridge Capital (Australia). Before this, Adam co-founded a fintech venture and worked […]