Mr. Patrick Pagani is Italian and studied European Law at the University of Rome. After early experiences in the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and DG Agriculture of the European Commission he has worked for several years in the European sugar beet sector on sustainability, agriculture and innovation matters in close link with the farming community. 

Mr. Patrick Pagani is currently Deputy Secretary General of Copa and Cogeca from 1st of February 2024.  He is responsible for its office leadership and giving direction and clarity to its strategic and policy development.
Previously, as Lead Coordinator, he was responsible for policy coordination within Copa-Cogeca. Among other files he has been developing the organization stance on Farm to Fork, Fit for 55 and food security. He is also in charge of the Agriculture Technology work with the Secretariat aiming to make the farming sector one of the frontrunners in the data-driven economy and in developing new technologies for better resource efficiency, improving, and modernising the agriculture sector in the path towards more sustainability. 
 

Marco Rosso is Global Head Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Biologicals and Seedcare, Syngenta Biologicals and Seedcare. Thanks to a long professional path in the agriculture sector, Marco gained international experience that combines deep scientific and regulatory know-how with expertise in the field of communication in agriculture. He has a degree in Agriculture, to address the Technical –Economic with a thesis in Agricultural, a post-graduate qualification as a Doctor of Agronomy and he is registered to the Association of Doctors of Agronomy and Doctors of Forestry.

Antonis is a holder of a M.Sc. Degree in Agricultural Science with specialization in Soil Science and has over 20 years of experience in the agriculture working in various technical and commercial positions in crop nutrition, biologicals & plant protection industry. Currently he holds the position of Director for Biostimulants in Yara International and he is the Co-Chair of EBIC’s Mid-Term Strategy Steering Committee.

Natasha is a freelance journalist, podcaster and moderator specialising in EU agrifood policy. She previously worked as an agrifood journalist with the EU media EURACTIV, and before that spent several years working on farms around Europe to learn more about the realities for farmers on the ground. Natasha holds a Master’s degree in Environment, Development and Policy with distinction from the University of Sussex, where she worked on food issues and alternative approaches to food production.

Glauco Bertoldo is Agricultural Attaché at the Brazilian Mission to the European Union in Brussels. He is an agronomist with a postgraduate degree in fertilizer technology and data science with over 20 years' experience in the field. In his role for the Ministry of Agriculture, Glauco covers a variety of areas such as plant inspection, agricultural inputs, plant defense and international surveillance. Previously, he has held positions as Head of Service, Federal Superintendent and Director of the Department for the Inspection of Products of Plant Origin.

Glauco has served a Brazilian delegate to the International Wine Organization (OIV) and one of the Brazilian delegates to the OECD's Fruit and Vegetables Group. He is a member of the CCFICS of the Codex Alimentarius and expert of the Brazilian delegation to UN/CEFACT. He has also worked as coordinator of the working group on electronic wine certification.

Mark is the Co-Leader of EBICs Agronomy Project Team, which is focussed on creating guidelines on how to use plant biostimulants for nutrient use efficiency, and ensuring that plant biostimulant use cases for the four claims are ready for advocacy. He started his career as an agronomist before moving into a technical role with a major agronomy business, with an emphasis on analysis and interpretation of trials information. This led to a position developing a portfolio of adjuvants, foliar nutrition and bioscience products and an international business development remit. Mark is now Managing Director at IntraCrop and has been instrumental in developing its science-led approach to biostimulants and adjuvants, working with universities and distribution partners to create a range of high quality, innovative products. He gained his PhD in plant physiology at Bangor University.

Beyond technical issues, the transition to more sustainable agrifood systems is about collaboration, co-creating solutions, change management and culture. Christine Tacon CBE has decades of experience as a leader and advocate for the British food and farming industry and with an extensive background in change management, regulation and the foodchain. She has worked closely with grocery retailers and their suppliers, both as a regulator and as a representative of the food industry to effect real changes in agrifood practices.Based on her experiences as the Chair of Assured Food Standards, which operates the well-known Red Tractor Assurance scheme, and as in her previous role as the UK’s Groceries Code Adjudicator, Christine will share real-world examples of change.

Since the summer of 2006, Marc Billiet has lead EU Goods Transport at IRU’s Permanent Delegation to the EU in Brussels. IRU shapes global mobility of goods and people, develops knowledge, builds networks, conducts advocacy and delivers services, bringing together operators, associations, industry suppliers and stakeholders in more than 100 countries. Prior to his current position, Mr Billiet was Head of EU Passenger Transport at IRU. Before joining IRU in 1995, he was Secretary to the European Commission Committee of Enquiry on "Road Freight Transport in the Single European Market". He holds a Masters in oriental languages and in international relations.

Deirdre Wall is Marketing Manager at Brandon Bioscience. Before joining Brandon, Deirdre worked in a number of marketing roles within the agri and retail sectors in Ireland. Deirdre joined Brandon Bioscience in May 2022. Brandon Bioscience is a progressive, research based Irish marine biotechnology company focussed on developing innovative crop performance products from marine biomolecules. Founded in 1998 in Kerry, Brandon is a founding member of EBIC.

Mr Chris Hegadorn is an international consultant focused on global food security and sustainable development.  A retired U.S. diplomat with over three decades of relevant international policy experience, he recently served as Executive Secretary of the UN’s Committee on World Food Security (CFS) from March 2019 to November 2022.  Along with teaching graduate courses on global food politics, he is a Consulting Fellow for the Chatham House Royal Institute in London and designs and implements food crisis simulation exercises.  During his distinguished diplomatic career, Mr Hegadorn served tours in China, Africa, Europe and the Middle East earning numerous honors for his accomplishments.  He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Bryant University and advanced degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and the U.S. National Defense University. His academic work inspired 'Food Alert', which brings together a range of agrifood organisations to run crisis simulations on the food chain. He currently lives and works in Paris, France.

Mr.Jelte Wiersma has been the Secretary General of CEMA–the European Association representing the Agricultural Machinery manufacturers in Europe since 2022. Before joining CEMA Mr. Wiersma, a Dutch national, worked as EU-correspondent for the leading Dutch weekly, covering European affairs, including agriculture and agri-food-related issues. He is one of the founding members of the Holland House in Brussels.

Yves is an agronomist and economist. He has been president of the European think tank FARM EUROPE since 2015. Previously, he was senior advisor to the European Commissioner for agriculture and rural development during the 2013 reform. Before that Yves was the French negotiator for EU agri-food affairs in Brussels, advised food companies and governments in London, Brussels, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia and worked in the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Paris. He has an in-depth knowledge of international negotiations, agriculture and food policies.

Katharine oversees ABF Sugar’s global advocacy and sustainability strategy. She is responsible for ABF Sugar’s global outreach on energy, trade, sugar & health and regulatory affairs.  In 2018, Katharine launched ABF Sugar’s new sustainability approach, Global Mind, Local Champions with ambitious 2030 Commitments that reflect what customers and communities care about in the end to end sugar supply chain.

Katharine has worked in both the private sector and non-governmental sector. She started her career at Dennis Publishing working in sales and strategy for the IT Group, later joining Reed Elsevier and ExCeL London in the travel industry, finally ahead of joining ABF Sugar she worked for Christian Aid. In this role she lead the policy and advocacy strategy on themes such as climate change, tax, ethical sourcing, human rights and the role the private sector plays in development globally.

Bachelor in Economics, Master in Digital Business. Speaks fluently 3 languages (English, Spanish and German). Is father of 3 children. 

He has experience in business development, international sales, public relations, media management, e-commerce, biotechnology and agriculture.  He was Project Director for the leading U.S. newspaper (“USA Today”), elaborating socio-economic and investment reports on emerging economies in Latin America, published in the U.S. 

He was Country Manager of Zalando, the largest European e-shop and fastest growing company to reach 1 bn revenues, where he was responsible for Zalando’s successful business expansion to the Spanish and Portuguese markets.  In January 2013 he joined AlgaEnergy, company that he now serves as Managing Director. AlgaEnergy is a world reference in the field of microalgae biotechnology, consolidating 5 decades of knowledge in this science and collaborating with over 150 top-level companies and research centers across the globe. It has developed and protected its own pioneering technologies, and counts with more than 4 million satisfied farmers all over the world, served by a network of 10 subsidiaries. 

He is actively involved in promoting a biobased innovative economy through different associations, in example as Vicepresident of EBIC, Member of the Executive Committee of BioVegen (the Plant Biotechnology Platform in Spain), Coordinator of the Industrial Transformation Commission of AseBio (Spanish Association of Bioenterprises), and Member of the Industrial Committee of EABA (European Algae Biomass Association), among others.

Agro-economist and political scientist by training, Fabien Santini has worked in various DGs of the European Commission (AGRI, INTPA, JRC) over the last 25 years. He is currently acting head of unit for the governance of agri food markets in DG AGRI.

Louis took over Doriane with Marine in July 2022. He now serves as a Co-Managing Director. 

Doriane is one of the world's leading software for research and experimentation in agronomy. Doriane serves the actors of innovations in the sector: seed companies, food brands, technical institutes, biosolution producers and cooperatives. The key value of Doriane is being able to collect, organize and valorize data from the field.

Louis has a background in software management and digital transformation. He is particularly involved in the biocontrol and biostimulant industry. Louis is part of the board of the French “association biocontrôle et biostimulation pour l’agroécologie”, a non-profit organization with more than 130 members from all the value chain to foster the deployment of biosolutions. Louis is also in charge of the Intelligent Green Symbiosa project, which aims to give farmers clear insights into the conditions of success of bioproducts

Eduardo Cuoco is the director of IFOAM Organics Europe, the European Federation representing the organic supply chain actors. He has been involved in organic farming since 1998 and collaborated with organizations and public institutions working for the development of agri-food policies, He is a recognized expert in Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System and in strategies to revitalize rural areas.  
 

César is Spanish and studied agricultural engineering at the Technical Universities of Catalonia and Madrid. He started his career as researcher on crop sustainability at ETSIA Madrid and, since then, he has been involved in agricultural and rural development policies at Spanish and European level. Before joining Euroseeds, César was Senior Policy Advisor on phytosanitary questions at the organisation representing European farmers and agri-cooperatives.

César joined Euroseeds in September 2018 and is responsible for developing and implementing outreach and advocacy strategies on seed industry related policy and regulatory issues, specifically towards the EU institutions and key agri-food chain organisations. He also works on organics and is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors in the ‘Plants for the Future’ technology platform.

Moshi is the CEO of NETAFIM^TM FRANCE – a global leader in smart irrigation solutions. In his current role he is responsible for the expansion and development of precise irrigation solutions across the French market and he is involved in various water-sustainability projects in the EU.

As a Franco-Israeli, he started working in Netafim^TM Israel in 2008 and moved with his family to live and work in Southern France in 2013. Moshi graduated from the Israeli Technological institute TECHNION with a degree in Economics cum laude and from Tel Aviv University with MSc. in Operations-Research. Prior to joining Netafim, he held several senior positions in the fields of Finance and management in the Israeli market.

For the past 8 years, Moshi has participated in the activities of the European Irrigation Association, promoting the voice of sustainable irrigation in Europe. Since 2020, he has been serving as the Association's President, leading its activities to raise awareness of water use and irrigation efficiency across the continent and within the European Commission.  

Ana Rocha currently leads the Policy team at the ELO and follows policies affecting agriculture and forestry in Europe. She holds a degree in agricultural engineering, having studied in Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands. She has consolidated professional experience in EU lobbying, representing the interests of European landowners and land managers for more than ten years, in Brussels and in London. She remains involved in a small family farm in Portugal.

Pascal Forrer has been President of the AIAG (International Association of Agricultural Production Insurers) since October 2019.

He was CEO of the crop insurance company Schweizer Hagel from 2006 to mid-2022 and CFO from 1993 to 2005. Prior to that, he held positions as Controller, Project Manager and Management Accountant in a variety of international companies.

He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Lausanne and a Master's degree in Advanced European and International Studies.

Mr. Forrer is currently crop insurance consultant, a member of the Board of two Swiss insurance companies and President of the Board of a Swiss pension fund.

Will is Deputy Director General and Director of Strategic Communications, Public Affairs and ESG at FoodDrinkEurope. Will began his professional career in the European Parliament before working as a journalist. He has since worked as a communications and public affairs expert at the UK National Farmers Union and CropLife International where issues such as food security, climate change, biodiversity loss and diet have been a common thread. Will has worked professionally in London, Buenos Aires and Uganda and has been based in Brussels since 2011.

Bill Wirtz is the senior policy analyst for the Consumer Choice Center. He focuses specifically on evidence-based policy-making, agricultural and trade policy, as well as lifestyle choice.

Jesse Schevel (25) is a young dairy farmer from the far north of the Netherlands, Friesland, and heads the office of the Dutch Organisation for Greenhouse Horticulture in Brussels. He obtained a double degree in International and European Union Law from Erasmus University Rotterdam and Engineering and Policy Analysis from Delft University of Technology before entering into public affairs. After early experiences in the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality and the Dutch Organisation for Agriculture and Horticulture, he moved to the greenhouse horticulture sector. Specialising in sustainability, horticulture, and innovation, Schevel spearheads European policy coordination in the Dutch Organisation for Greenhouse Horticulture. He leads the organisation’s stance on key European issues like climate action, plant health, water management, environmental preservation, circular economy, and labour. Additionally, he oversees the international portfolio, aiming to position controlled environment agriculture (CEA) as a global leader in contributing to food sovereignty, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and public health in the most sustainable manner. Being a farmer himself, Schevel brings practical experiences from his farm to Brussels to shape EU policies and make them work at farm level.