Featured Speakers 2023

Roberto holds a PhD in Chemistry and Food Technology from Parma University. He started his career with Barilla in 1992 and has over 25 years' experience in R&D, innovation and food processing. Roberto has held several Research and Development management positions at European and Glbal level within Barilla Group, such as RD&Q Director in Kamps/Lieken in Germany until 2008, Vice President Product Development Bakery at Group level until 2014, Vice President R&D Region Italy and VP for the Center of Expertise Bakery at Global level until 2017. Roberto is currently Vice President Global Quality and Food Safety for the Barilla Group.

Deni currently works as the global director of food safety for one of the largest Agricultural and food commodity companies in the world (Archer Daniels Midland Co). In this role, he oversees human and animal food safety, with a global value chain that includes approximately 450 crop procurement locations, more than 330 food/feed ingredient manufacturing facilities, 62 innovation centers, and the world’s premier crop transportation network. ADM was named the world’s most-admired food-production company by Fortune magazine for three consecutive years: 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Dr. Odugbemi is a food scientist with a doctoral specialization in food safety . He has worked  in the beverage, bakery, dairy, milling, confectionery, as well as the meat and poultry sectors of food processing.  Dr Odugbemi is a prolific instructor and teaches many food safety, quality control, quality assurance, and continuous improvement classes. He has facilitated and instructed food safety  classes in almost all continents of the world. As a seasoned food safety auditor, he has audited many food facilities globally.

With extensive experience in food safety and quality management systems, Dr Odugbemi had previously worked for several companies including, Pepsi bottling, Weston Foods, the Kroger Co and most recently Wayne farms. Dr Odugbemi serves on several professional committees and advisory boards. He is also currently an adjunct faculty at Osun State University, where he teaches food safety-related classes.

Alexandra is the Global Lead for Culture at Kerry. She is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Global culture strategic programmes and supporting with Regional deployment.  Alexandra has 16 years of technical experience in the food industry. Prior to this role she has held various regional roles in Food Safety and Quality within Kerry, across different technologies. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Newcastle and then went on to complete a Master’s in Human Nutrition from the University of Glasgow.

Based in the Netherlands, Anton is the Global Lead for Bunge Loders Croklaan for Quality and Food safety and member of Bunge’s Global QFS leadership team.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Analytical Chemistry. He started his career in Unilever in 1990 and has over 32 years’ experience in the analytical development, quality, and food safety management. Anton is specialized in specialty oils and fats and nutrition products working always close together with suppliers, internal stakeholders and customers.  For IOI Loders Croklaan he build a Global QFS organization for the oil processing operations with the integration of quality from the mills working on continuous improvement. QFS culture and training where imbedded in the program. Both Quality and Food Safety are a high priority and Food Safety is non-negotiable.  The intended use of our portfolio is linked to specialty oils, infant oils, and nutritional products. Sind 2008 Anton spend significant time to work with suppliers in the origins to build reliable supply chains and to improve local process and control quality and food safety risks as early as possible.

Dr. Atanasios Moschos is a Quality and Food Safety professional with nearly 25 years of experience. He studied chemistry at Brussels University (ULB) and obtained his PhD in physical chemistry. He is also graduate in Occupational Safety and Hygiene and in Innovation Management. He was expert at the European Commission where he worked for 3 years. Since 1995, he works for Leonidas Confectionery, one of the larger “pralines” manufacturers in Belgium. As head of the Quality Department, he has a global and integrated vision of quality and safety. He participated in the Belgian association of biscuits, confectioneries and chocolate manufacturers (Choprabisco), in the verification of the official self-checking guide of the sector. He is also a member of the Regulatory and Scientific committee and the Hygiene Group of Caobisco, the European association of biscuit, chocolate and confectionery industries

Claudia Vasquez is the founder and director of Origenal Story (www.origenalstory.com), which is a European consulting agency combining biodiversity with science, brands, and society.

Claudia is a visionary. Her 20+ years of corporate experience inspired her to connect with her initial profession she left for branding and marketing: agrifood journalism. Claudia is active as an international freelance journalist specialising in food and sustainable development trade publications (off-line and online).

Claudia’s passion for nature and for children led her to create new projects where she could bring a multicultural and multidisciplinary approach.

Gary graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a BSc Hons in Applied Microbiology before continuing his studies at the University resulting in being awarded a PhD in Food Microbiology through the investigation of biofilms containing Listeria monocytogenes.

Gary has over 30 years’ experience working in Moy Park within the Group Laboratories plus the site focussed Technical & Quality Management functions, both at site and Group level as part of the Senior Leadership Team.  During this time he has gained extensive experience of working with the major UK & Ireland Retailers and European Brands.  He has also undertaken project management of grant-funded projects with GB & NI universities and more recently as a supporting team member of a multi-country EU-funded project.

Gary is currently Company Microbiologist for Moy Park with responsibility for the 3 Group Laboratories in GB and NI, including a brand new £1M facility in GB, plus the Group Consumer Relations team.

He is a Director of Chilled Foods Association and Chairman of the Executive Committee and an active member of the Campden BRI Member Interest & Project Working Groups

He has previously spoken at UK and European Food Safety Conferences and was the winner of the NIFDA 2022 Food Safety Champion Award

Eda Fetahu studied at the University of Udine Business Management, and then, in 2017, she majored in international business with a specific focus on innovation. Working experiences preceded the path within the Group in Norway concerning the European projects Horizon 2020 and the United States in the Made in Italy wine sector.

Now, she works as an Open Innovation Expert for Amadori, aiming to spread innovation within the company and design and manage internal and external innovation projects. She had previously led projects within the Amadori organisation concerning the Organization and Business Transformation area.

Graduated in Food Science and Technology at Parma University. 

In 2002 she joint Barilla G.R. Fratelli, managing the Food Safety Management System in Quality Department. Currently she is responsible for the Food Safety Risk Assessment and Management at global level, she is Technical Ladder for Food Safety and coordinator of the Barilla Food Safety Emerging risks and Food Frauds program.

Eva Kläning worked with whey protein from a scientific perspective, specializing in biophysics and protein chemistry. Eva joined Arla Foods Ingredients in 2017, transferring from the scientific community to a role close to the discovery, production and sales of specialized whey ingredients. Last year, Eva moved to Global Quality, Environment, Health and Safety, promoting the continued development of the strong Quality and Food Safety foundation necessary to cater to sensitive consumers.

Gary Nowacki is the CEO of TraceGains, which was launched in 2008. Prior to TraceGains, Gary spent 13 years in a variety of software industry executive positions in the ERP (enterprise resource planning), supply chain management, and quality space for food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, and other process industries. Gary has also held management and individual contributor positions in programming, implementation services, and sales in the ERP software business. Gary’s prior work experience includes serving in senior management roles at CDC Software – Ross Systems, a leading ERP supplier to the food industry.

Geert joined Veeva Systems in 2021 and is currently, as Head of Food & Beverage Strategy, the market owner of this industry.

After receiving his PhD in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology, he joined Unilever R&D in 1998. Over 23 years at Unilever, he developed experience in Foods, R&D, Innovation, Food Safety, Quality and Quality systems.

Geert has spent most of his career working for Unilever’s Spreads Division, developing expertise in oils & fats as well as product & processing technologies. He published his work in peer-reviewed publications and holds several patents.

From 2011-2014, Geert led the Spreads R&D group for Africa & Asia, based in South Africa. In 2015, he joined Unilever’s global Foods Quality group, during which he led the development of several GMPs, and supported Engineering in various factory design projects. From 2017, Geert became responsible for various of Unilever’s quality systems, including supplier and manufacturing quality systems, and led Unilever’s global digital quality transformation project, introducing Veeva QualityOne.

I have been with Mondelēz International for more than 5 years leading the Global Food Safety Programs and Strategy.

I have strong experience in Manufacturing , Quality, Food Safety, R&D and crisis / risk management and my background is in Microbiology. Started my career in the dairy industry based in UK & western Europe, responsible for Micro lab management, Food Safety Management, Company microbiologist for the corporate followed by regional cross category microbiologist & Food Safety business partner for PepsiCo in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Since last 10 years I am part of the corporate organization leading Food Safety & Quality for R&D and manufacturing globally.

My passion is to do what’s right in continuously delivering safe and quality product keeping consumer in mind. Protecting consumer and brand is always at the forefront. The effort can never stop to continuously learn and improve systems and programs.

Jacek Czarnecki is an expert in the field of food law, food safety and quality, and consumer communication.

At Nestlé Polska, he is responsible for the scope of food legislation and scientific contacts. He also manages the area of master data quality and completeness in the processes of developing recipes, creating labels and communicating technical information about products.

He is the vice-president of the Polish Federation of Food Industry, where he chairs the Committee for Food Legislation and Safety. He is also the vice-president of the Polish Association of Food Industry Employers in the Employers Confederation and a participant in the works of the Advertising Council and Food Sector Council for Competencies.

Associated with the Faculty of Human Nutrition of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, where he graduated, obtained a doctoral degree and with whom he actively cooperates, among others. as a co-author of the publications and a member of the Faculty's Curriculum Council.

Passionate about helping global food businesses understand, manage and mitigate the risks to their products and brands; Kimberly’s reputation as a thought leader in food safety/supply chain risk and deep domain food sector expertise has been built through +30 years working for and with leading global food companies and associated service organizations across major world markets.

Kimberly has extensive experience as a technical professional specializing in design, development, implementation, assessment and training within the arena of retail agrifood risk management systems specifically relating to auditing principles and more broadly the control of food safety, product quality, authenticity and legality

Laure Roger is a Food Safety Manager at Upfield within the R&D department. She obtained her PhD in Microbial Ecology from the University of Reading, UK and has now more than 15 years of experience in the food industry. She currently supports food safety and microbiological risks linked to innovations.

Linda is an experienced Senior Corporate Leader with 30 years in industry and over 15 years’ experience of leadership and consultancy with International Safety and Quality Management
Systems, Manufacturing and Retail and more recently sustainability being her specialist areas.

Having worked in the industry in various roles and with retail, manufacturing, food service across the spectrum of size and demographics, she has a rich mix of experiences to tap into.
She is currently Head of Technical and Food Safety at Harrods leveraging her additional extensive experience in Strategy, Change Management, Global Leadership, and Business Analysis
in the company and supply base.

Linda clearly understands the importance of management leading on Food Safety Culture and also the link between that and risk management particularly within the context of TACCP and VACCP.

As a leader, she is an advocate of performance through people and believes in investing and working together with People to find long lasting solutions. This goes straight to the heart of
maintaining a good culture.

Responsible for the development of the new business of Dassault Systemes Italia.

For more than 10 years, he has been helping companies embark on their digital transformation journey. He has gained knowledge of various industrial sectors: both continuous and discrete, both large multinationals and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Dr. Matilda Freund holds a PhD in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Florida. In 1990, she joined Kraft General Foods (now Mondelez) as a microbiologist in Tarrytown, NY. During her 32 year career at Mondelez, she held a variety of positions across a number of areas including; product development, production management, sanitation, quality, and food safety. Her most recent role was Vice President, Global Food Safety before she retired last October. Matilda has a passion for food safety and she continues to engage in the industry as Treasurer and Foundation Board member of the European Hygienic Design and Engineering Group (EHEDG) and Ambassador Director and Board Member of the Global Harmonization Initiative (GHI).

After graduation at Law School and a Diploma and University Master in Advanced European Studies, Michele started his career as a lawyer in international law firms with a specific focus on competition law, consumer protection and food law. During this activity he had supported many clients active in the food sector in relation to product compliance, advertisement, food safety, crisis management and trade issues.

After these experiences, Michele joined Perfetti Van Melle, a global leading company in the manufacture and trade of confectionery products very well-known among consumers thanks to its famous brands.

As Group Regulatory and External Affairs Senior Manager, he has an extensive knowledge in the food law and regulatory area and in his role Michele has achieved a significant experience in managing multi-jurisdiction projects and product launches, helping the company in developing safe and compliance products and mitigating possible risks as well as dealing with trade associations, authorities and regulatory bodies.

Michele also has in-depth knowledge of Codex Alimentarius and he follows the relevant of the Committees on behalf of his Company.

Operative Quality Director for Importaco with more than 20 years of experience in the Quality and Food Safety management. Member of International Life Sciences Institute Contaminants Taskforce. Her education includes an analytical chemistry  Ph D (Pharmaceutics & drug design), from the university of Valencia, a lean Six sigma Black Belt, Department of applied statistics in UPV and a scrum master certificate. In addition, with a multicultural team formed by more than 60 people, under her leadership the Department is developing projects about Horizon scanning, workforce engagement and Culture Excellence.

A passionate entrepreneur in the Digital Industry, through various systems and solutions he helped hundreds of food companies all over the world transform their processes to deliver better and safer products to the market.  In 2016 funded C-LABS in Lugano, Ticino to deliver innovation to the food industry’s digitalisation challenges, now being part of SGS group. He is leading SGS DIGICOMPLY, an artificial Intelligence based platform supporting the food industry in managing food safety and ensuring compliance.

Helping businesses to improve food safety, build resilience, and implement cultural excellence throughout their operations and supply chains, Nicolas is well known for both his ability to build relationships with stakeholders as well as his food industry knowledge and certification expertise. Nicolas began his career in China with Casino Group Ltd, gaining unparalleled experience in retail operations, while also establishing himself as a respected food expert. In charge of the supplier approval product development and quality control before shipment, Nicolas visited more than 200 factories in Asia Pacific before opening a food testing laboratory in Hong Kong. Nicolas joined BSI in 2015 based in Sydney to manage the Food business before entering the role of Director of Food & Retail – Asia Pacific in 2019. Recently returning to Europe, Nicolas now supports BSI as the Director Food & Retail for Continental Europe where he oversees the food business, while also being heavily involved in people development and global key account management.

CHAOS PILOT and Expert at bringing structure, divergent thinking and convergent action to the chaos. An INNOVATIVE and PASSIONATE leader who loves to spend her time using HUMAN INSIGHTS to connect the dots and EXPERIMENT on solutions fit for the FUTURE Superpowers include CURIOSITY, COLLABORATION,  CREATION and a commitment to CONNECTION (people and ideas)

• EXPERIENCE: Passionate change-maker that thrives on operating on the frontier and pushing the business into new places and spaces.  More than 20 years of experience across Local and Global Sales and Marketing roles.  Recent roles have focused on Human Intelligence and Strategy.   Currently leading a Global Agile Innovation team who are focused on delivering our future innovation pipeline for the next 3-5 years.  My previous role was in our Global Digital Acceleration Team, focused on building digital marketing and commerce capabilities within our markets around the world
• Previously presented at ESOMAR conferences and Panels on Digital Moments that Matter and Agile research and across many research and digital forums
• Member of Digital Shelf Institute Executive Forum, Zappi Insights Alliance, Voxpopme Customer Advisory board and Trendhunter Innovator Exchange

Kraft Heinz’s vision is: Sustainably grow by delighting more consumers globally! Rachid is accountable for External Manufacturing & Supply Chain and with a senior professional team distributed across the globe to mitigate Food Safety & Quality risks, lead various improvement initiatives, govern various global processes, manage change and trouble shoot where required cross functionally and creates real long-lasting partnership wherever he goes.

As some of you may already know, Rachid is very skilled at making events he chairs interactive while working closely with the audience to stimulate conversation and enhance learnings.
We look forward to having Rachid back with us. Get ready for some exciting conference days!

As a software engineer, Richard started his career developing solutions to create better jobs for frontline workers across the supply chain. Through this work he saw first hand the challenges that the growing skills gap in heavy industry is having on the workers which are critical to our economy. This led him to drop-out of university to start Zaptic. 

Passionate about people, Richard has created a people-first culture in Zaptic. Embodying the core company values of Transparency, Autonomy, Continuous Improvement, Simplicity and Efficiency, in all that he does. 

Zaptic is helping leading manufacturers digitise daily operations, achieve operational excellence and empower frontline workers to drive continuous improvement.

Over 30 years experience at the highest levels in blue chip companies , regulators, universities and NGOs

leading on food and consumer safety from program, policy and product design to verification of system effectiveness and enterprise risk management

leader of the mondelez food safety team that was recognized in 2021 with the iafp black pearl award

Currently co-chair of the global food safety initiative   and dedicated to developing thinking on the future of food safety management and helping organizations effectively manage their food safety risk

A Food professional with a proven track record of 16 Years of management and technical experience in the Wholesale/retail and food industry, especially in the areas of quality management, product development, supplier development, food safety systems and standards. Responsible for Quality assurance function throughout professional career while working with Wholesale/retail and FMCG. An innovative leader and passionate professional who thrives on the challenge of change and maximizing available resources to develop and achieve strategic, long-term objectives. Attributed with the key strength of Global food safety management system implementation, Compliance & Governance, Supplier Management & product development.

Sara’s knowledge and experience thanks to 13 years’ in the compressed air industry has helped many manufacturers improve the quality of the compressed air and reduce risks of contamination. With her hands-on approach, and her ability to translate the regulations and guidelines into solid numbers, she guides the manufacturers in their decision-making process and helps them understand how to reduce the risks for their products and their processes. Sara’s goal is to trigger manufacturers into taking a critical look at their processes and become aware of the potential risks when the compressed air comes into contact with the product. Sara is a firm believer in the personal touch and enjoys good conversations in which everybody comes out with more knowledge and a smile.

Founder and CEO of Edible Planet Ventures. G100 Global Chair 4 Food Innovation, Food Tech Junkies Podcast Host, Ecosystem Builder and Community Shaper, Board Member, Mentor and Advisor, TedX Speaker & Expert.

Using her extensive experience in communications and business, Sharon has been at the forefront of building and growing the global food and ag-tech ecosystem for the better part of a decade. Her work with start-ups, corporations, investors, policymakers, institutions, and youth landed her the title of one of Forbes’ most powerful women shaping the future of food.

She believes in connecting the dots, creating opportunities for others, and facilitating the collaboration that will lead to systemic change within the food system. This dedication to finding collaborative solutions and engaging the next generation has become the backbone of her new endeavour – Edible Planet Ventures, founded in 2021. 

This new project is a systemic platform that aims to reshape our food system by convening leading voices and visionaries to collaborate and innovate around the most pressing challenges of today and the future.

Recognized by Food Tank as one in 14 women to change the future of food, Sharon is active in several other roles. She currently is a Founding Board Member of the AgrifoodTech Italia Association, part of the scientific advisory committee of BAM - Biblioteca degli Alberi, and sits on the Advisory Board of the World Food Programme Italia. She’s also a mentor for both Rockstart Agrifood and the FoodTech Accelerator, on the advisory committee of two funds, part of the United for Regeneration-Now Partners team, and Global Chair for Food Innovation for the G100, a  group of global leaders all joined in a pact of purpose to create massive opportunities for women worldwide. 

Prior to launching her company, Sharon served as the CCO for Seeds&Chips, leading the development, planning, and execution of the signature event in Milan, consulting on high-level corporate strategies and open innovation methodologies, and growing into new markets such as the US and ANZ.

Simon is a Research Fellow and food allergen subject matter expert for Mondelez International based in the UK. Since 2005 Simon has been a key advisor to the Cadbury and more latterly Kraft / Mondelēz International business on allergen control and responsible for developing policy and training. In 2016 Simon became an extended member of the Food Safety Team and is currently the Global Lead for Food Allergens and Food Allergy advising the business on both proactive allergen strategy and reactive lead for allergen incidents.   

Simon is affiliated with numerous professional bodies, industry groups and technical committees (ILSI Europe, FDF, BRC, EFSA, FSA, FARRP, GMA) and has published several articles in peer reviewed journals.  He was also principal editor for the ‘Handbook of Food Allergen Detection and Control’. He is currently chair of the ILSI Europe Food Allergy Task Force.

Stefania Cesarano is a Swiss Food Safety Expert with over 35 years of experience in the industry. From her early days as a Biomedical Technician at the University of Zurich to her current role as a Key Account Manager at NEMIS Technologies, Stefania has proven to be a true innovator in the field.

With a passion for bacteria, Stefania's career has taken her through a diverse range of roles in the food sector. From analyzing water systems and controlling biofilms and corrosions as a Lab Manager Biology at the Water Supply Zurich, to optimizing and centralizing all Migros productions labs at the laboratory SQTS, Stefania has continuously proven her ability to drive change and efficiency.

In 2007, she joined the world of chocolate as lab manager of microbiology at Lindt & Sprüngli, where she gained valuable experience analyzing and monitoring the environment before assuming the same role at Micarna (Migros) ten years later with a focus on meat, fish, and vegan products. It was here that Stefania implemented the qPCR for pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Listeria spp, Salmonella spp, Vibrio spp, and STEC. Stefania was always looking for rapid microbiology tests at Micarna, which is why in 2018, she came to take part in a field study with NEMIS, where she discovered the N-LightTM system's simplicity and time-to-results.

In 2022, Stefania then entered the startup world by joining 1LIMS, a laboratory and quality digitalization solution, as  the Head of Lab Performance and supported laboratories to digitize and optimize their processes.

Now, as a Key Account Manager at NEMIS, Stefania is dedicated to helping food production companies enhance their food safety practices and embrace new technologies like N-LightTM. With her practical experience and deep understanding of the industry, Stefania is the perfect partner for any company looking to take their food safety to the next level.

Work experience of 20 years in leading positions in quality assurance, quality control and system management in the food and beverage and retail sector.
Experience and knowledge of HACCP, IFS, BRC, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, KOSHER, and HALAL Standards, In-depth understanding of GFSI standards and legal regulations.
I am the Director of Internal Audit for Food Safety in the Fortenova Group in Croatia.
Fortenova Group is Food and Beverage Company with over 50,000 employees. It operates in three core divisions: agriculture, retail and food, and non-core operations in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia.

I am responsible for auditing the implementation of all legal requirements and internal standards related to food safety, quality control, consumer protection and the establishment of good laboratory and manufacturing practices within our manufacturing companies and retail business within our Group.

I am a Certified Internal Auditor, a Specialist in the area of the economy, an Internal Auditor for Quality Systems Management, Laboratory Management System NLP practitioner trainer.

Also, I am an Executive Business Coach and NLP practitioner.