Food for thought on Food for Future – Seeing the bigger picture, stakes and opportunity Jennifer Croes is a Conservation Scientist and Associate Director at Emirates Nature – WWF. She has successfully transitioned and reinvented herself to blend her extensive business strategy and management skills with conservation science and has recently turned her talents to being on-camera, producing and presenting wildlife and eco-tourism documentaries, to raise awareness and make conservation relevant in everyone’s lives.
A nomad, adventurer, and animal crusader, she took a leap of faith in 2005 to follow her passion for conservation and had an epiphany working in the Amazon Basin in Bolivia, rehabilitating wildlife
rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and pet markets. She is particularly interested in looking at the
link between human behaviour and our relationship to nature. She has a Master of Science, (MSc) in
Conservation Science from Imperial College, London and a double degree, Bachelor of Arts and
Commerce. Her conservation portfolio is extensive including, Project manager at an Orangutan
rehabilitation center in Borneo, leading the largest citizen- consultation process for the United
Nations COP 15 to combat Climate change, Earth Hour 2010 National Manager, Biodiversity
conservation consultant at WWF-Australia, working on various species’ rehabilitation and
preservation projects and campaigns.
Relocating to the United Arab Emirates in 2018 to work at Emirates Nature-WWF, she developed and
implemented the innovative Conservation Education and Leadership programme, ‘Connect with
Nature’, in collaboration with the Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi (EAD), to inspire and motivate
youth to be part of the solution for long term, sustainable change.
In 2021, with a sudden diagnosis of breast cancer, she was instrumental in creating an awareness and
support group to support other women and has been vocal in bringing attention to this disease and
speaks of the role Nature and Food plays in recovery and living well. Leveraging of her own experience
and journey, resulted in creating and leading a new campaign, Food for Life, highlighting the need to
transition to healthy diets from sustainable food systems, focusing on personal health and planetary
wellbeing. In collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE), Ministry
of Health & Prevention, (MoHAP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the aim is to
create mass mobilization and support the UAE’s vision towards building a healthy society and
sustainable ecosystems towards a green (and blue) recovery, in a post Covid-19 world.
Jennifer has extensive media and public speaking experience and is invited to speak at numerous
global events and science conferences on various conservation topics and make conservation science
fun and engaging and has presented and spoken at TEDx events. In 2017, she was the first female
granted access in Indonesia, to accompany and set up an Anti-poaching patrol team in Sumatra,
Indonesia. In addition to conservation consulting, she runs her own media production company,
producing documentaries and videos on conservation storytelling and engagement.
She has lived, studied, and worked in several countries in Europe and Southeast Asia, Africa, South
America, China, and New Zealand and has travelled the globe extensively. She is now based in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates and hopes to inspire all to be part of the solution for a sustainable tomorrow.

Food for thought on Food for Future – Seeing the bigger picture, stakes and opportunity H.E. Jeffrey Salim Waheed is a staunch advocate of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and was a key diplomat responsible for realizing several global environmental and sustainable development frameworks. As a diplomat, he leveraged the Maldives’ relatively neutral geopolitical, geostrategic, and development positions to build bridges between nations and their senior representatives to produce consensus-based agreements that empowered and safeguarded the world’s most vulnerable populations. Internationally, he consistently seeks to create sustainable resolutions and promote holistic development solutions in the pursuit of the common good, while advocating for good governance, accountability, cohesion, and transparency at home.
A former Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives, Mr. Waheed also served as his nation’s representative to the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO), United States, Switzerland, Canada, Italy, and Turkey; each for a tenure exceeding three years. Mr. Waheed has served as a Special Advisor to his President, and to several private sector entities as a crisis management specialist. At the UN, he helped Chair the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and led negotiations for both AOSIS and the Group of 77 and China (G77) on their engagement on disaster risk reduction, development financing, development priorities and climate change, representing over one fifth and two thirds of the UN membership respectively. Mr. Waheed currently heads the SEAS Institute, focused on supporting and progressing SIDS.

Food for thought on Food for Future – Seeing the bigger picture, stakes and opportunity

Food for thought on Food for Future – Seeing the bigger picture, stakes and opportunity Henry Gordon-Smith is a sustainability strategist focused on urban agriculture, water issues, and emerging technologies. Henry earned his BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, coursework in Food Security and Urban Agriculture from Ryerson University in Toronto, and an MSc in Sustainability Management from Columbia University. In 2014, Henry responded to a global need for technology-agnostic guidance on urban agriculture by launching the advisory firm Agritecture Consulting which has now consulted on over 150 urban agriculture projects in over 35 countries.  

Super-charging a New Food System with Technology and Innovation: Opportunities at NEOM Dr. Andrew Yip is Senior Manager of Technology and Innovation within the NEOM Food sector, where he oversees key areas including digital infrastructure, data governance, innovation services and ecosystem building. Prior to NEOM, he held consulting roles in the public sector in advanced analytics and data governance, led business and digital curriculum design for regional talent development, and spearheaded technology and social entrepreneurship initiatives in Saudi Arabia. A Ph.D. graduate in Applied Mathematics and Computational Science from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Yip has been a NEOM pioneer since 2019, shaping the future of food through human-centric designs and partnerships.  

Regenerative agriculture – the next stage in sustainable food systems

Contextualised tech solutions in controlled environment agriculture and urban farming ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE AND URBAN FARMING SOLUTIONS IN ACTION

Demonstrated history of working in the information technology and in the horticulture/agriculture industry.

Educated knowledge about greenhouse technologies, indoor farming, food safety and sustainability

Contextualised tech solutions in controlled environment agriculture and urban farming ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE AND URBAN FARMING SOLUTIONS IN ACTION Mr. Sky Kurtz is the Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Pure Harvest Smart Farms and is a pioneer in the Agritech sector. Pure Harvest develops world-leading controlled-environment agriculture technologies to deliver the best quality fresh produce. The Company’s hybrid growing solutions provide precise climate and environmental controls, enabling increased productivity and reduced waste (including water, energy, time, & transport).

Since its inception, the Company has raised more than $270 million making the Company the second most funded startup in the Middle East in 2021, ranked by Forbes Middle East. In March 2021, Pure Harvest secured $60 million in growth funding to support regional expansion in a first-of-its-kind structured Sukuk financing solution.
Pure Harvest currently supplies premium quality, sustainably-grown fresh fruits and vegetables to key retailers and HORECA accounts across the UAE and is now expanding across the Gulf Region. Last year, the Company entered into a first-of-its-kind , multi-year offtake and retailer-integration partnership with The Sultan Centre (TSC) in Kuwait – creating a ‘farm center’ that will include edutainment, a retail farmers’ market, & an integrated café – emblematic of the Company’s innovative approach to delivering food security, water conservation, economic
diversification, and sustainability.

Prior to founding Pure Harvest, Mr. Kurtz Cofounded Vence – a wearable technology solution for animal protein farming that semi-automates rotational grazing, reinventing livestock management. Mr. Kurtz also served as a Senior Executive with Francisco Partners, a $24 billion tech investment firm based in California and an affiliate of Sequoia Capital, a world-leading venture investment firm. Mr. Kurtz invested in and served on the boards of numerous companies across many sectors, with annual turnover ranging from $25 million to $2 billion dollars.

Mr. Kurtz was awarded an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds a B.S. in Finance from the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was named the Turken Family Outstanding Graduating Senior (valedictory honor).

Contextualised tech solutions in controlled environment agriculture and urban farming ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE AND URBAN FARMING SOLUTIONS IN ACTION Nikita is a social entrepreneur at her core. Passionate about microfinance and impact investing at university, she graduated from the Wharton School in 2014. Nikita is the third generation of her UAE-based family business and leads the food distribution vertical. Nikita is the founder of one of the UAE's first indoor hydroponics vertical farms with the purpose of strengthening the UAE's food security capabilities and reducing the country's food mileage and environmental footprint, promoting greater transparency and sustainability in our food systems. In 2019, she founded Oasis Greens which is proudly a UAE-based hydroponics, vertical farm in Dubai where they grow pesticide-free, fresh leafy greens and herbs under their own home-grown fresh produce brand. The company supplies primarily to the HORECA sector in the UAE. Oasis Greens will be diversifying into growing fruiting vegetables. Nikita is always looking for the next problem to solve through creative and impactful business solutions and believes in the power of social enterprise to create lasting positive impact.

Contextualised tech solutions in controlled environment agriculture and urban farming ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE AND URBAN FARMING SOLUTIONS IN ACTION Dennis Levine has been described by many industry insiders as one of the most influential and creative dealmakers of his generation. As a skilled and innovative investment banker for more than 45 years, Dennis advises many institutions and other prominent clients by providing strategic advice on M&A transactions, capital formation, business development and technology commercialization. His unique combination of skills has allowed Dennis to be a trusted confidant to some of the world’s most important C-suite innovators and entrepreneurs. In a world screaming for safer and higher quality grown foods and a stronger food delivery system, Dennis is focused on emerging food, water and agricultural technologies to address global issues of resource scarcity, supply chain logistics, food security, climate change and the deployment of groundbreaking solutions. With every part of the Agri-Food chain in flux, and sustainability and technology convergence as the key drivers, Dennis formed Water Garden Organics to meet the most exacting standards for high quality production and ESG/Impact investing. Dennis blends his deep background in finance and transaction structuring with compelling Controlled Environment Agriculture and AgTech solutions to meet today’s global food production and resource challenges. By creating profitable and safer production facilities in strategic markets, Water Garden is a fusion of Agriculture, Technology, Engineering, Science and Logistics to enhance the supply chain and create long-term value for consumers and investors. Dennis began his career on Wall Street in 1976. While ascending the investment banking ranks at Citibank, Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers, it was at Drexel, Burnham, Lambert where Dennis emerged as one of the industry’s leading dealmakers. He executed everything from intricate multi-billion-dollar mergers to complex financings for Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms and influential family offices, creating innovative business solutions which continue to define the international corporate finance world today. Dennis has chronicled his storied career in the book, Inside Out: An Insiders Account of Wall Street – a defining book about Wall Street during the 1980s. While describing his experiences with many high-profile personalities of the time, Dennis takes an honest and candid approach to the heady deal days of the era. As he reconciles his own mistakes, Dennis describes a powerful morality tale and the redemptive process that has helped to shape his current professional path. Dennis continues to serve as an advisor and strategist to many leading companies and private investors for the past 35 years through his consulting firm, Adasar Group. Dennis works with his network of high-level relationships spanning the global business and financial community from the Far East to the Middle East, relationships that continue to bring value to his companies today. Dennis also continues to share his life experiences to help guide young professionals. He regularly lectures throughout the world at major universities and organizations on a host of contemporary issues from business ethics to entrepreneurship and emerging technology trends. Dennis holds BBA and MBA degrees in Corporate Finance from CUNY’s Baruch School of Business. He has been happily married to his wife for over 40 years, and they have two grown children.

Contextualised tech solutions in controlled environment agriculture and urban farming ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE AND URBAN FARMING SOLUTIONS IN ACTION As urban-gro’s Vice President of Controlled Environment Agriculture, Lucas has over 15 years of crop management experience which allows him to bridge the gap between commercial horticulture and controlled environment agriculture (CEA).

Leading urban-gro’s Cultivation Space Programming, Lucas has worked with hundreds of growers across North America and Europe to develop innovative facility design and operational practices to deliver efficient and profitable cultivation facilities.

Lucas’ diverse background in a variety of crop types makes him an asset to the highly regulated CEA industry. His experience has provided the framework for the development of successful solutions to indoor growing challenges, as well as the ability to integrate best practices from more established and regulated industries into this rapidly evolving market sector.

Lucas has a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on sustainable agriculture from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

Contextualised tech solutions in controlled environment agriculture and urban farming ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE AND URBAN FARMING SOLUTIONS IN ACTION Ken Rutkowski is an acclaimed international speaker who is favored for his ability to accurately predict any industry’s future trend and how to successfully navigate it through communication, technology, and data. Ken customizes content like no other speaker in the world! His custom talks directly impact audiences with current, valuable, and relevant takeaways, lessons, and trends that can immediately affect their businesses. He has spoken to companies and organizations all over the world including the likes of Google, MIPTV, Milken Global Conference, Mobile World Congress, NATPE, NAB and Canada Music Week.

Realising next gen horticulture with robotics and advanced digital solutions Edwin Vanlaerhoven is a senior executive with life-long experience in international hortibusiness. He did several studies in this field and has a masters degree in food management. Currently working as business development director at Certhon where he is building new partnerships, managing the commercial department and taking care of business growth. In the past he had several commercial leading roles in exporting companies of ornamental plants and fruit and vegetables.

Lifelong experience in hortibusiness and food management. Expertise in commercial partnerships and export.

Leveraging frontier technologies and data to enable the digital agriculture revolution Mr. Sky Kurtz is the Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Pure Harvest Smart Farms and is a pioneer in the Agritech sector. Pure Harvest develops world-leading controlled-environment agriculture technologies to deliver the best quality fresh produce. The Company’s hybrid growing solutions provide precise climate and environmental controls, enabling increased productivity and reduced waste (including water, energy, time, & transport).

Since its inception, the Company has raised more than $270 million making the Company the second most funded startup in the Middle East in 2021, ranked by Forbes Middle East. In March 2021, Pure Harvest secured $60 million in growth funding to support regional expansion in a first-of-its-kind structured Sukuk financing solution.
Pure Harvest currently supplies premium quality, sustainably-grown fresh fruits and vegetables to key retailers and HORECA accounts across the UAE and is now expanding across the Gulf Region. Last year, the Company entered into a first-of-its-kind , multi-year offtake and retailer-integration partnership with The Sultan Centre (TSC) in Kuwait – creating a ‘farm center’ that will include edutainment, a retail farmers’ market, & an integrated café – emblematic of the Company’s innovative approach to delivering food security, water conservation, economic
diversification, and sustainability.

Prior to founding Pure Harvest, Mr. Kurtz Cofounded Vence – a wearable technology solution for animal protein farming that semi-automates rotational grazing, reinventing livestock management. Mr. Kurtz also served as a Senior Executive with Francisco Partners, a $24 billion tech investment firm based in California and an affiliate of Sequoia Capital, a world-leading venture investment firm. Mr. Kurtz invested in and served on the boards of numerous companies across many sectors, with annual turnover ranging from $25 million to $2 billion dollars.

Mr. Kurtz was awarded an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds a B.S. in Finance from the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was named the Turken Family Outstanding Graduating Senior (valedictory honor).

Leveraging frontier technologies and data to enable the digital agriculture revolution

Leveraging frontier technologies and data to enable the digital agriculture revolution

Mr. André Laperrière joined the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN)initiative as its first Executive Director, in September 2015. During his career, Mr. Laperrièrehas led/managed numerous projects on behalf of large Private Corporations andsubsequently, within the United Nations and the World Bank. In this context he played asenior role in the design and the implementation of major reforms within a number ofagencies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), the World Health Organization(WHO) and UNICEF. He has extensive work experience in the Americas, Caribbean, Africa,Europe and the Middle East, in particular in developing countries and in conflict/post conflictenvironments.

Before joining GODAN, Mr. Laperrière was Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the GlobalEnvironment Facility (GEF) in Washington DC. Among other positions, he has also been thefirst Executive Director of the Trust Fund for Victims at the International Criminal Court (ICC),Director of the Administration and Finance Division in the World Health Organization (WHO),and Coordinator for reconstruction and rehabilitation activities under the responsibility ofUNICEF in Iraq.

Prior to his career in the UN, Mr. Laperrière was Director in the International Services ofPrice Waterhouse. In this position, he led multiple large scale business evaluations,privatizations, mergers and structural reform projects in Europe, Africa, the Americas andCaribbean. Mr. Laperrière was born in Canada, where he completed postgraduate studies inAdministration and in Industrial Relations. Mr. Laperrière is an expert in internationaldevelopment.

Leveraging frontier technologies and data to enable the digital agriculture revolution Athar Siddiqui is the Executive Vice President Factory Automation & Motion Controls at Siemens LLC. He joined Siemens in 2006, after graduating in industrial electronics at NED University of Engineering and completing his MBA at ZABIST, and held various positions in the automation division in the Middle East and Germany.  

Leveraging frontier technologies and data to enable the digital agriculture revolution Julien is leading our Agriculture Practice in France and part of our EMEA Agriculture leadership team.   Over the past 10 years, Julien has developed sound expertise in a broad range of food & agriculture segments (e.g., milk & dairy, cereals, vegetables, ingredients). He has led a wide range of impact programs, mainly on growth and transformation-related topics (e.g., M&A, post-merger integration, commercial transformations, innovation, sales force effectiveness).   Julien is passionate about technology for Agriculture and particularly keen on appreciating how technology will help Food & Agriculture to accelerate its sustainability transition. Julien co-leads the Agriculture Knowledge development for McKinsey.

Impact and promise of digital solutions for smallholder farmers Vanessa Adams, Vice President Strategic Partnerships at AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), and Chief of Party of the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Innovation in Africa (PIATA) is a proven leader with strong private sector, investment facilitation and project management experience.
Vanessa Adams has over 25 years of professional experience, including with Fortune 500 companies in the US. She has 18 years’ experience working in 28 African countries with governments, businesses and farmer cooperatives to increase productivity, meet buyer specifications, access finance, and compete in international markets. She partners with governments, donors and businesses to develop and implement strategies which increase productivity and international trade, expand investments, improve business environments, access financial services as well as reduce constraints to economic growth.

Previously, Vanessa led $70+ million USD projects with multi-cultural teams, facilitated over $300 million in exports from Africa, and catalyzed over $70 million in investments as well as over $140 million in credit. She contributed to the foundation of three pan-African NGOs including the African Cashew Alliance, Borderless Alliance, and Global Shea Alliance, as well as initiating the Women in Agribusiness Leadership Network in Ethiopia.
She is fluent in English, French and speaks conversational German and Bambara. Vanessa holds an executive MBA from INSEAD.

Impact and promise of digital solutions for smallholder farmers

Fresh On Table founder and CEO Atul Chopra is a serial entrepreneur and recognized game-changer.Starting his professional journey as an Investment Banker he pivoted to become a Tech entrepreneur in early 2000.He went on to create one of India’s early success stories of Telecom product companies which went global.Post that he turned into an active investor, mentoring, and seeding several startups.He founded Fresh On Table in 2019 with a vision is to boost sustainability through food, by cutting the travel times and distance of produce.

From a modest proof of concept in France, his company are among those at the forefront of the UAE’s food security ambitions, which today remains an evolving benchmark for food security in the entire Gulf region.He has teamed up with some of UAE’s most revered hotels and restaurants, opening their eyes to the UAE’s incredible choice of local produce and ingredients

With this comes greater transparency and traceability, improved freshness and taste and reduction of carbon footprint.

Atul is a Chartered Accountant and lawyer by training.

 

Impact and promise of digital solutions for smallholder farmers Laurent Zimmermann is the Founder and CEO of Green Fields LLC, based in Sharjah (UAE). His passion about systems of production, control climate, supply chain led him to set up a mushroom and vegetable farms in 2019 in the United Arab Emirates. It is the concept of vertical farming and hydroponics that has inspired Laurent to take a “leap of faith” and be part in tackling the food security challenge. Today, Green Fields Farms manage about 10 acres of farmland with a special focus on hydroponic systems in order to reduce and save water consumption. We can harvest daily and year-round leafy vegetables and gourmet mushrooms to supply the leading supermarkets and hotels restaurants of the country. Also, the company has recently started to provide agricultural services to help other growers or landscapers to realise their dreams and ambitions such as advising or contracting for greenhouses projects, irrigation systems and other solutions.

Impact and promise of digital solutions for smallholder farmers David was named by Future Agro Challenge (FAC) as Global Agripreneur of the Year 2018 for his work as CEO of AgUnity helping lift low-income farmers out of poverty. AgUnity provides a smartphone and blockchain solution that improves trust and cooperation for smallholder farmers and is also used as a platform for a range of problems including mobile banking for the financially excluded, and data collection for developed world farmers.

The work by David and AgUnity has been globally recognised by the likes of IFC World Bank, Mastercard Foundation, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Oxford University and more.

Previously, David has been the Founder and CEO of several successful FinTech, SaaS, and mobile start-ups and spent over a decade in senior roles at global investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Lehman, Nomura & Standard Chartered Bank.

Impact and promise of digital solutions for smallholder farmers Abdulaziz’s interest in food security began during his time at McKinsey & Co. working extensively with GCC governments addressing a variety of national risk challenges. A serial investor in disruptive technologies (Lyft, Indigo Ag, among others), he is dedicated to addressing the food security challenge. He dedicates time to the region’s food ecosystem as a mentor at Savour Ventures, the Middle East’s first accelerator focused on food. Previously a banker with HSBC, Abdulaziz holds a BA from University of Pennsylvania and MBA from Wharton.  

Impact and promise of digital solutions for smallholder farmers

Raman Saxena is the Director of Digital Products for Cargill in Asia Pacific and founder of Digital Saathi. This digital solution—built for smallholder farmers—improves direct access to markets and supports farmer livelihood and mutual stability across the agri-value chain. Raman has more than twenty-four years of experience in information technology. In his 20-year background with Cargill, he has been instrumental in building IT capabilities across the Asia Pacific region. He has been part of major IT transformation strategies and executed them with excellence. In his last role as IT leader for Food Ingredients and Animal Nutrition business in Cargill’s Asia Pacific region, he led the Process Data Technology strategy, driving digital innovations and major IT investments and solutions for the enterprise.

His stints before Cargill include four years with Philips India as part of corporate IT. Raman has a post graduate degree in Business Administration and graduate degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering.

Raman is married with two children and lives in Delhi, India. Outside work he likes traveling, spending time with family and friends and watching sports.  

Beyond technology – Best practices in sustainable and organic farming in harsh conditions

Beyond technology – Best practices in sustainable and organic farming in harsh conditions Michael has been the General Manager of Ripe Organic since 2018 where he has overseen the expansion of the company’s organic fruit and vegetable import and distribution business.   Ripe Organic has an extensive network of farming partnerships both in the United Arab Emirates and overseas to ensure the consistent supply of premium quality organic F&V through retail distribution in the UAE and Bahrain.     Ripe Organic plays a core role in the coordination of imported organic F&V in UAE through direct partnering with international certified organic farmers to plan production and consolidate import to market where growing conditions do not permit farming production in the UAE.       

Waterworks: New practices and solutions to protect and utilize our most precious resource Mark Tester is professor of plant science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Associate Director of the Center for Desert Agriculture and co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Red Sea Farms LLC. In 2019, he was Head of the Food Sector at NEOM. Prior to joining KAUST in February 2013, he was an ARC Federation Fellow and professor of plant physiology at the University of Adelaide, where he established The Plant Accelerator. Previously, he was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, where he also received his PhD in 1988. Mark is now enjoying developing saltwater-based agricultural systems, to improve sustainability of food production.

How to responsibly balance marine exploitation and conservation

How to responsibly balance marine exploitation and conservation

Rumaitha Al Busaidi is an Omani marine scientist and environmental activist actively working on implementing sustainable solutions to battle against climate change. Back in May 2021, Rumaitha debuted her TED talk garnering over a million views worldwide where she looks at women as the key to our climate future.

Rumaitha currently serves as Group Manager for Business Development and Sustainability for Oman’s fisheries investment arm, Fisheries Development Oman. Recently named member of the Arab Youth Council on Climate Change, Rumaitha has previously worked with the Omani government on implementing sustainable diversification strategies in food production, and internationally advised the Biden administration on developing a climate resilience standard for US foreign aid focusing on empowering women as a form of climate mitigation. Rumaitha holds multiple Masters degrees from Utrecht University and Harvard University. 

How to responsibly balance marine exploitation and conservation Ken Rutkowski is an acclaimed international speaker who is favored for his ability to accurately predict any industry’s future trend and how to successfully navigate it through communication, technology, and data. Ken customizes content like no other speaker in the world! His custom talks directly impact audiences with current, valuable, and relevant takeaways, lessons, and trends that can immediately affect their businesses. He has spoken to companies and organizations all over the world including the likes of Google, MIPTV, Milken Global Conference, Mobile World Congress, NATPE, NAB and Canada Music Week.

Doing more with less – minimizing irrigation, maximizing quality and yield Dr. Badawi, is the General Manager of Emirates Biofertilizers factory, Al Ain UAE. Dr Badawi is a professor of soil science in Soils, Water and Environment Research institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
Dr. Badawi, obtained his B.S. (Soil Science) College of Agriculture, Ain- Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, 1978, with final grade excellent. And Ph.D in 1992 from USA on Controlled Landfilling of Combined Village Wastes to produce Biogas and Compost. In 2005, he became a Professor in Soil Science, and presently the General Manager for Emirates Environmental Solutions (Mualaja) Holding Company, and Emirates Bio Fertilizer Factory.
Dr Badawi Participated in several national and international conferences in the areas of applied microbiology, waste management, bioenergy, Biotechnology and Organic Agriculture.
Experience in the Industry

In UAE, Dr Badawi obtained managerial positions for the Research and Studies Department of Dubai Composting Plant from 1996-1999; and became Manager of Production, Development and Quality Control for EBFF from 1999 to 2007 and later became the General Manager until today.

EBFF is successfully leading the business of organic fertilizers because of Dr. Badawi’s introduction of Value-added products for organic farming and inputs for Hydroponic Agriculture. Dr Badawi introduced several biofertilizers and natural products to UAE and Arab market e.g. Slow release fertilizers, Magic fertilizers, Liquid Biofertilizers, “Vermicomposting” technology and natural water saving products which can save 50% of irrigation water.
1. Dr Badawi is a member of the Editorial Board of Agriculture, Food and Development Journal.
2. Dr Badawi participated in the exams of Msc and PhD graduate students among the committee for graduate students in several universities in UAE and other countries
3. Dr.Badawi conducted training sessions for UAE University students, Agriculture Engineers from ADFSA, MOCCW and farmers.
4. Member of ENARP (Egyptian National Agricultural Research Project). (1989-1992).
5. Member of European Commission Project "Rural Development Through Integrated Waste Management, project". (1995-1996).
6. Member of IAEA/FAO project for Evaluation of organic manuring & Sandy soil reclamation.
7. Principal investigator of Organic Farming EBFF, (2000-Now).
8. Co-Investigator of UAE University Res. Project (Env. Dpt., College of Eng.: Leachability of heavy metals from fertilizers applied to agric. Land. (2001/2002).
9. Co-Investigator of UAE University Res. Project (Evaluation of Biofertilizer Under UAE Soils. (College of Science, Biology Department, (2002/2003).
10.Co-investigator (Agriculture Department) Evaluation of some vegetables production under UAE Conditions using organic farming systems since 2001).
11.Co-investigator (Agriculture Department) Evaluation of Dates production under UAE Conditions using organic farming systems since 2001 till now).
12. Principal Investigator, Evaluation of water saving products under UAE conditions. (2004-Now).
PUBLICATIONS:
Dr Badawi published more than 45 papers and book chapters in national and international publications and journals.

Doing more with less – minimizing irrigation, maximizing quality and yield Rabie Shawwa is the owner and Managing Director of Xpitrade, the Middle East and Africa representative for EPIC Total Water Solutions LLC (www.epictws.com).

Rabie has 18 years of experience in Procurement and Supply Chain and co-founded and built Spree Trading (www.spreetrading.com) into a well-known international multidisciplinary procurement and project supplies company that has done significant business with global EPC players and the US Government.

Rabie also co-founded two water investment ventures, Global Resources Investments Holding Ltd (UK) and Mai Resources International AG (Switzerland), which have since merged to form International Water Bank, a first-of-its-kind bank dedicated to financing water projects worldwide.

Doing more with less – minimizing irrigation, maximizing quality and yield Mark Tester is professor of plant science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Associate Director of the Center for Desert Agriculture and co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Red Sea Farms LLC. In 2019, he was Head of the Food Sector at NEOM. Prior to joining KAUST in February 2013, he was an ARC Federation Fellow and professor of plant physiology at the University of Adelaide, where he established The Plant Accelerator. Previously, he was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, where he also received his PhD in 1988. Mark is now enjoying developing saltwater-based agricultural systems, to improve sustainability of food production.

Doing more with less – minimizing irrigation, maximizing quality and yield Dr. Khalil Ammar has a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Utah State University, USA, and MSc in Water Resources Management from IHE-Delft, Institute of Water Education, the Netherlands, and BSc in Civil Engineering from An-Najah National University, Palestine. Dr. Ammar has 24 years of experience in water resources management. He is working as Program Lead, Sustainable Natural Resources Management, and a Principal Scientist in hydrology at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in Dubai. Since he joined ICBA in the year 2009, he has led several research for development works such as: 1) “Collaboration Program Euphrates and Tigris”, a five-years Sida funded program to support collaboration between the riparian countries of the Euphrates and Tigris basin. The program helped in providing a scientific platform to exchange knowledge and understanding about important water issues and the way forward to improve water management and agricultural water productivity in the basin; 2) United Arab Emirates Agricultural Strategy which included matching the best crops to be grown in different land and water zones according to groundwater quantity and quality and soil suitability; 3) United Arab Emirates Water Conservation Strategy”; 4) Developing Federal Environmental Standards to Manage Discharges to the Marine from Desalination Plants” for the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates; and 5) Oman Salinity Strategy. His contribution to different national strategies and plans helped the decision-makers take the right decisions that brought change in water and agricultural sectors. Before joining ICBA, he worked for the Palestinian Water Authority as Head of Planning Department where he contributed to several national and sectoral plans that helped the establishment of a reliable water sector in Palestine.

Doing more with less – minimizing irrigation, maximizing quality and yield Ken Rutkowski is an acclaimed international speaker who is favored for his ability to accurately predict any industry’s future trend and how to successfully navigate it through communication, technology, and data. Ken customizes content like no other speaker in the world! His custom talks directly impact audiences with current, valuable, and relevant takeaways, lessons, and trends that can immediately affect their businesses. He has spoken to companies and organizations all over the world including the likes of Google, MIPTV, Milken Global Conference, Mobile World Congress, NATPE, NAB and Canada Music Week.

Paul Newnham is the Director of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 Advocacy Hub, a secretariat catalysing, convening, and connecting NGOs, advocacy groups, civil society, the private sector and UN agencies to coordinate global campaigning and advocacy to achieve food systems transformation.

To this end, the SDG2 Hub facilitates a network of 1000+ chefs from over 90 countries to support chef action on the SDGs. Chefs are equipped with a simple set of actions called the Chefs' Manifesto, to drive progress to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The Hub also lead the development of the Good Food For All Campaign that has been taken on by the UN Food System Summit to drive Public
Engagement.

Paul is a strategic innovator and executive leader with demonstrated expertise in driving teams, connecting people, sustainability and development, and delivering impressive global solutions to complex community challenges. He is a passionate and dynamic leader with twenty five [25]+ years of proven expertise in Sustainability, Food Systems, Non-Profit Management, Communications, Campaigning and Advocacy, delivered through consistent and competitive methodologies, strong network development, superior client service and executive presence.

His extensive knowledge of the Not-for-profit sector and vast experience in managing complex stakeholder relationships is complemented by his work with communities in Africa, Asia, The Middle East, Europe and The Americas. A skilled communicator, with a narrative that entices people to get on board, Paul starts movements that make global impact and change. He possesses strong business
acumen, and exceptional advocacy skills, with the ability to build deeply engaging relationships and influence decision makers, improve practices, drive change, and deliver impactful solutions to complex problems alongside communities around the world.

Balancing sustainability and viability across food production and distribution Dennis Levine has been described by many industry insiders as one of the most influential and creative dealmakers of his generation. As a skilled and innovative investment banker for more than 45 years, Dennis advises many institutions and other prominent clients by providing strategic advice on M&A transactions, capital formation, business development and technology commercialization. His unique combination of skills has allowed Dennis to be a trusted confidant to some of the world’s most important C-suite innovators and entrepreneurs. In a world screaming for safer and higher quality grown foods and a stronger food delivery system, Dennis is focused on emerging food, water and agricultural technologies to address global issues of resource scarcity, supply chain logistics, food security, climate change and the deployment of groundbreaking solutions. With every part of the Agri-Food chain in flux, and sustainability and technology convergence as the key drivers, Dennis formed Water Garden Organics to meet the most exacting standards for high quality production and ESG/Impact investing. Dennis blends his deep background in finance and transaction structuring with compelling Controlled Environment Agriculture and AgTech solutions to meet today’s global food production and resource challenges. By creating profitable and safer production facilities in strategic markets, Water Garden is a fusion of Agriculture, Technology, Engineering, Science and Logistics to enhance the supply chain and create long-term value for consumers and investors. Dennis began his career on Wall Street in 1976. While ascending the investment banking ranks at Citibank, Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers, it was at Drexel, Burnham, Lambert where Dennis emerged as one of the industry’s leading dealmakers. He executed everything from intricate multi-billion-dollar mergers to complex financings for Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms and influential family offices, creating innovative business solutions which continue to define the international corporate finance world today. Dennis has chronicled his storied career in the book, Inside Out: An Insiders Account of Wall Street – a defining book about Wall Street during the 1980s. While describing his experiences with many high-profile personalities of the time, Dennis takes an honest and candid approach to the heady deal days of the era. As he reconciles his own mistakes, Dennis describes a powerful morality tale and the redemptive process that has helped to shape his current professional path. Dennis continues to serve as an advisor and strategist to many leading companies and private investors for the past 35 years through his consulting firm, Adasar Group. Dennis works with his network of high-level relationships spanning the global business and financial community from the Far East to the Middle East, relationships that continue to bring value to his companies today. Dennis also continues to share his life experiences to help guide young professionals. He regularly lectures throughout the world at major universities and organizations on a host of contemporary issues from business ethics to entrepreneurship and emerging technology trends. Dennis holds BBA and MBA degrees in Corporate Finance from CUNY’s Baruch School of Business. He has been happily married to his wife for over 40 years, and they have two grown children.

Business model reboot for resilient livelihoods and affordable quality food Eric Egberts is an experienced director and entrepreneur in the agricultural an horticultural sector and has worked for several high class companies in this field. He has been CEO of Dutch Greenhouse Delta since 1 November 2018 (www.dutchgreenhousedelta.com). Dutch Greenhouse Delta aims to contribute to the provision of sufficiently healthy, affordable, nutritious and safe food, produced sustainably and locally. We promote the Dutch horticultural sector worldwide. Dutch Greenhouse Delta is the one-stop shop for complex, large-scale projects concerning food and floriculture issues in growing megacities. By working together with Dutch state-of-the-art partners in horticulture, we bring an integrated Fork2Farm solution that offers a complete ecosystem consisting of science, enterprise, education, and the government.

In the first phase of his career, Eric Egberts worked at various international breeding companies in the flower and plant sector, including Ball Seeds from Chicago. From 2004 he fulfilled the role as Sales Lead North Europe for De Ruiter Seeds / Monsanto. In 2012, Eric completed an Executive MBA in the field of Food & Finance at the Nyenrode Business University.

In 2011 Eric Egberts founded E Two Consultancy and advised various flower trading companies, breeding companies and vegetable trading companies. In 2015 he founded BloomyPro together with the VANAD GROUP. BloomyPro develops SAAS software solutions for the agro sector. Worldwide, flower trading companies and their suppliers are currently using BloomyPro software.

Business model reboot for resilient livelihoods and affordable quality food Sharon has been at the forefront of building and growing the global food and agtech 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.

Cittone 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 endevour. In 2021 Sharon founded Edible Planet Ventures, 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.

Sharon is active in several other roles. She currently sits on the Advisory Board of the WFP Italia, is Founding Board Member of the AgrifoodTech Italia Association, is an Advisor to two funds and is a Mentor for both Rockstart Agrifood and the FoodTech Accelerator. Furthermore, she is also Global Chair for Food Innovation for the G100, the eminent and empowered group of global leaders all joined in a pact of purpose to create massive opportunities for women worldwide.

Business model reboot for resilient livelihoods and affordable quality food Jennifer is the acting managing director AGRF and Head of Partnerships AGRA. She is an experienced professional in the development and facilitation of international Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), with a particular focus on agriculture. Prior to joining AGRA, Jennifer was the Deputy CEO of the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor (SAGCOT) Centre Ltd in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The SAGCOT Public Private Partnership has over 100 partners who pledged more than USD 1 billion in inclusive public and private investments in Tanzanian’s Southern Corridor. At the SAGCOT Centre Ltd, she was responsible for communication, operation & events, and the management & facilitation of SAGCOT Partners.
Before joining SAGCOT, Jennifer was an Associate Director at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva, Switzerland, where she helped develop the WEF’s New Vision for Agriculture initiative. Jennifer spent several years in financial services at Rabobank International, identifying growth opportunities in food and agribusiness and developing key insights into the agricultural sector worldwide.
Jennifer holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management, The Netherlands.
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Business model reboot for resilient livelihoods and affordable quality food Love has a diverse network of industry contacts and investors across the UAE and is an accomplished restaurant developer, operator, and business manager with over 15 years of hospitality experience. His hospitality experience spans globally across the US, Australia, France, Germany, Spain and the UK. He boasts deep technical knowledge under his belt and has a natural entrepreneurial spirit. His solid hospitality training, exposure to technology, extensive experience with start-ups, and creative flare combined has helped him create and launch several fantastic F&B concepts across the MENA region. Through the course of the pandemic, Love has gained hands on experience in last mile logistics with a focus on maintaining cold chain for perishable items. He plays a senior role in growth and automation through digital transformation, implementation of processes, and the strategy side of the logistics business. As Product Owner at Gourmet Hub, he is responsible for the product vision, strategy, logistics, design, research and development.

Business model reboot for resilient livelihoods and affordable quality food

Why investing food security and innovation make financial sense Holding a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies from King’s College London, Greg Ohannessian has dedicated his career to developing policy and strategy at the intersection of the public and private sectors. Delivering projects in coordination with the UN, DP World, the UAE Ministry of Defense, MoCCaE, and Dubai Government, and AgriTech projects focused on market-entry analysis in the UAE for a leading global CEA company as well as conducting investor due diligence for a UAE-based CEA incumbent, Greg has over a decade of experience and is committed to long-term sustainable growth in the region. Greg is a founding partner of SOMA MATER.

Why investing food security and innovation make financial sense Erich has 18 years of experience as a Partner with Nestlé’s strategic venture fund manager. Formerly, Erich was an executive at Nestlé, the World Economic Forum, and the German Finance Ministry. Erich holds a B.A. in business, economics, and law from HSG University of St Gallen, Switzerland, a tri-lingual MBA of EAP-ESCP (Paris-Oxford-Berlin), and an L.LM. in financial law from Geneva University, Switzerland.

Why investing food security and innovation make financial sense Prasad Gopalan is the Global Sector Manager of Agribusiness and Forestry for IFC. He has been with IFC for more than 20 years and is currently based in Washington D.C. Prasad has worked on client engagements across various sectors and over the past 15 years has focused on the Agribusiness and Forestry sector. Prior to IFC, Prasad worked as a process engineer/infrastructure consultant in the U.S. and Europe. He has graduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering as well as a Masters degree in Public Policy from Harvard University.

Why investing food security and innovation make financial sense Lola is an Investment Associate at VentureSouq, working on the Conscious Collective thesis investing in early-stage technology companies in Food&AgTech, ClimateTech, Financial Inclusion and HealthTech. Prior to VentureSouq, Lola has worked in banking, consulting and foundations. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Finance from New York University Abu Dhabi. 

Why investing food security and innovation make financial sense

Protein possibilities and promises - consumer trends & commercial outlooks Sharon has been at the forefront of building and growing the global food and agtech 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.

Cittone 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 endevour. In 2021 Sharon founded Edible Planet Ventures, 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.

Sharon is active in several other roles. She currently sits on the Advisory Board of the WFP Italia, is Founding Board Member of the AgrifoodTech Italia Association, is an Advisor to two funds and is a Mentor for both Rockstart Agrifood and the FoodTech Accelerator. Furthermore, she is also Global Chair for Food Innovation for the G100, the eminent and empowered group of global leaders all joined in a pact of purpose to create massive opportunities for women worldwide.

Protein possibilities and promises - consumer trends & commercial outlooks A serial entrepreneur, Ramie Murray started his career when he founded a property marketing design agency, "The Big Picture FZ" in 2005, following his studies in Industrial and Product Design from the London South Bank University. He later co-founded the Oman-based renewable energy company "Mahd Energy". While working in Oman, he realized how untapped the Eastern coastline of Fujairah and Oman was, despite pristine and nutrient rich waters. Coming from Scotland, where salmon farming is king, and growing up in the UAE, with it's rich seafood heritage, Ramie always had his eye on aquaculture. He first attempted lobster farming, then realised that the conditions were better for producing oysters. After a successful pilot study, he established Dibba Bay oysters, perfecting the best gourmet oyster possible, and pioneering the pivot from the traditional Arabian pearl oyster industry to the farming of an edible oyster species in the region. Since its inception in 2016, Dibba Bay has grown tremendously, producing over 200,000 oysters a month with a projected growth to 600,000 oysters a month, harvesting throughout the entire year, with an expanding presence in the UAE and beyond.

Protein possibilities and promises - consumer trends & commercial outlooks

Protein possibilities and promises - consumer trends & commercial outlooks

Protein possibilities and promises - consumer trends & commercial outlooks Food lover and passionate entrepreneur, Alvyn decided to launch a company aiming to have a positive impact on the food industry. Alvyn is leading the development of the company in France and in the USA. Drawing on culinary savoir-faire and biotech, Algama is designing great-tasting food products enhanced with algae that meet consumers’ needs and respect the environment.  

Meat and the Middle East – why livestock farming is a key part of food for future

Meat and the Middle East – why livestock farming is a key part of food for future Mansour Memarian, an Iranian chef with German origins who has 25 years industry experience, has had stints at some of the world’s best restaurants, and he has held executive positions at many luxury brands including the Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi, as well as the award-winning Chedi Andermatt in Switzerland. Before this, he was the Chef de Cuisine at the Burj Al Arab’s signature restaurant, Al Mahara.
Before arriving in the United Arab Emirates in 2010, Memarian, the first Iranian Michelin starred chef, rose steadily up the ranks working in some of the most prestigious hotels and dining establishments in Europe. He earned his first Michelin star in 2006, at Jagdhof Glashütte in Germany, in just eight months as Head Chef. After this successful story, Memarian moved to Innsbruck, Austria, to open Pavillon restaurant and shortly he added the second Michelin star to his culinary career.
In 2008, he was named the “Best International Chef” in Austria and his cookbook “Gourmet Raffinessen” was voted Best Cookbook in the same country.

Chef Mansour Memarian has brought extensive experience and a wealth of talent to Palazzo Versace Dubai, where he oversees the five-star hotel’s culinary and F&B operations including its six restaurants and two bars, as well as the catering services. In his role as Hotel Manager, Memarian heads all dining operations, leading the culinary team in enhancing Palazzo Versace Dubai’s reputation for world-class, curated dining.




In the past year, Mansour and the team focused on elevating the F&B concepts at Palazzo Versace Dubai to increase the revenue, yet adhering to the COVID-19 restrictions and rules.
All the offerings have been revised and revamped to cater to the COVID-19 guests - cautious to go out, yet very keen on experiencing new things.
Hence, new concepts have been added to Palazzo Versace Dubai's portfolio of offerings - Prusiana Brunch at Enigma (Friday evening brunch concept showcasing the best of Iranian and Peruvian cuisines), Into the Jungle brunch at Giardino (a no-fuss family Friday brunch focusing on entertainment for the little ones) and Dubai's first opera brunch at Vanitas.
By implementing these new concepts, Mansour and the team have managed to double the revenue compared to 2020 (the pandemic year) and increase it by 40% compared to 2019.
In the past year, Mansour and the culinary team started a management plan which gives preference to sustainable, local, fair-trade and environmentally friendly goods. Local farms and local suppliers have been prioritised when it came to sourcing ingredients and produce. The hotel also has a waste management plan to minimize disposal to landfill and food waste, recycling and encourage reused material. Effective training strategy for the team has been implemented to learn more about sustainability.

Positive nutrition – a game changer Prof. Ayesha Al Dhaheri is currently the Associate Provost for Students Affairs at United Arab Emirates University. She served as Vice Dean of Health Sciences for the College of Medicine and Health Sciences and for the College of Food and Agriculture from 2017-2020. Prof. Al Dhaheri is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the UCL Division of Medicine by the University College London (UCL), the Coordinator for MEFOODS and GULFOODS for FAO-Rome, and the President of Emirates Nutrition Association. Prof. Al Dhaheri also served as the Chairperson for the Nutrition and Health Department at UAEU from 2012-2017 and served as the Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre in Nutrition from 2012-2015, where she worked to promote greater awareness in the prevention and treatment of nutrition related diseases. Prof. Al Dhaheri has conducted significant research in nutrition and has experience as a consultant in major research/projects in her field with national and international agencies such as MOH, HAAD, WHO, FAO, ICCIDD. As well as, she has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a Regional Facilitator for the introduction and dissemination of the WHO growth curves since February 2007. Prof. Ayesha is currently involved in supervising PhD students in the Nutritional Sciences PhD Program and Master Degree students from UAE University and other international universities.  

Positive nutrition – a game changer

Sarah Kanaan is the Head of NHW at Nestlé Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which owns and operates eighteen factories. Nestlé MENA provides direct employment to over 13,000 people and indirect employment to several thousand more.

Sarah started her career at Nestlé Middle East as a Market Nutritionist in 2013, then became NHW Manager in 2016 and is currently holding the position of Head of Nutrition, Health and Wellness for Nestlé Middle East and North Africa. In her role, Sarah is responsible to strengthen Nestlé’s NHW drive across all business categories such as Dairy, Food, Coffee, Nestlé Breakfast cereals, Nestlé Nutrition, Confectionery and Nestlé Health sciences; focusing on Innovation &Renovation for tastier and healthier products portfolio while ensuring responsible brand NHW communication and compliance to marketing to children policy.

Prior to joining Nestlé Middle East, Kanaan worked at the National Defense of Canada, managing health promotion programs, and at Dairy Farmers of Canada, overseeing early childhood programmes. She has also worked as an instructor at the Nutrition and Food Sciences Faculty at the American University of Beirut, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in infant and adult nutrition. She also served as a Clinical Dietitian specializing in diabetes at Dubai Health Authority.

Kanaan is a regular spokesperson on nutrition and has contributed a wide range of articles to a number of international magazines on hygiene, food safety, HACCP, nutrition during pregnancy, infant nutrition and other areas of public health.

Kanaan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics from the American University of Beirut and a Master’s Degree in Nutrition & Food Sciences from the University of Montreal, Canada.

Digitalization journey of food safety and nutrition in Dubai

Preserving food en route, saving dollars and reducing waste

Preserving food en route, saving dollars and reducing waste Robert Di Franco is an American Entrepreneur with over 15 years experience in F&B, Real Estate Development,  Chief Executive Officer of Leonardo's Coal Fired Pizza Company that has set its sights on expanding their business in The Middle East and Partnering with Thumam Investment, LLC in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and SAVRPak, USA to set their sights on revolutionizing the food delivery and agtech market segments.  

Changing consumer habits for a zero food waste economy Jennifer Croes is a Conservation Scientist and Associate Director at Emirates Nature – WWF. She has successfully transitioned and reinvented herself to blend her extensive business strategy and management skills with conservation science and has recently turned her talents to being on-camera, producing and presenting wildlife and eco-tourism documentaries, to raise awareness and make conservation relevant in everyone’s lives.
A nomad, adventurer, and animal crusader, she took a leap of faith in 2005 to follow her passion for conservation and had an epiphany working in the Amazon Basin in Bolivia, rehabilitating wildlife
rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and pet markets. She is particularly interested in looking at the
link between human behaviour and our relationship to nature. She has a Master of Science, (MSc) in
Conservation Science from Imperial College, London and a double degree, Bachelor of Arts and
Commerce. Her conservation portfolio is extensive including, Project manager at an Orangutan
rehabilitation center in Borneo, leading the largest citizen- consultation process for the United
Nations COP 15 to combat Climate change, Earth Hour 2010 National Manager, Biodiversity
conservation consultant at WWF-Australia, working on various species’ rehabilitation and
preservation projects and campaigns.
Relocating to the United Arab Emirates in 2018 to work at Emirates Nature-WWF, she developed and
implemented the innovative Conservation Education and Leadership programme, ‘Connect with
Nature’, in collaboration with the Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi (EAD), to inspire and motivate
youth to be part of the solution for long term, sustainable change.
In 2021, with a sudden diagnosis of breast cancer, she was instrumental in creating an awareness and
support group to support other women and has been vocal in bringing attention to this disease and
speaks of the role Nature and Food plays in recovery and living well. Leveraging of her own experience
and journey, resulted in creating and leading a new campaign, Food for Life, highlighting the need to
transition to healthy diets from sustainable food systems, focusing on personal health and planetary
wellbeing. In collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE), Ministry
of Health & Prevention, (MoHAP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the aim is to
create mass mobilization and support the UAE’s vision towards building a healthy society and
sustainable ecosystems towards a green (and blue) recovery, in a post Covid-19 world.
Jennifer has extensive media and public speaking experience and is invited to speak at numerous
global events and science conferences on various conservation topics and make conservation science
fun and engaging and has presented and spoken at TEDx events. In 2017, she was the first female
granted access in Indonesia, to accompany and set up an Anti-poaching patrol team in Sumatra,
Indonesia. In addition to conservation consulting, she runs her own media production company,
producing documentaries and videos on conservation storytelling and engagement.
She has lived, studied, and worked in several countries in Europe and Southeast Asia, Africa, South
America, China, and New Zealand and has travelled the globe extensively. She is now based in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates and hopes to inspire all to be part of the solution for a sustainable tomorrow.

Changing consumer habits for a zero food waste economy

Tatiana Antonelli Abella is the Founder and Managing Director of Goumbook, a Social Enterprise dedicated to raising awareness among the local community on Sustainability and Green Living: launched in 2009 it was the first green information resource for the MENA region.

Goumbook is one of the oldest Social Enterprises in the UAE and today it manages different projects such as Sustainable Mena, a business directory dedicated to promoting sustainable products and services in the region; the Give a Ghaf Tree Planting Program, the only tree planting initiative of the GCC with over 95,000 seeds planted in the past 10 years, and the Drop It - Rethink Plastic campaign to help businesses and individuals stop using single use plastic.

Tatiana sits on the Engage Committee, under Dubai Chamber of Commerce·V umbrella and has been nominated Environmental Ambassador for the Middle East Youth Expo. She also acts as an advisor to events such as Art Dubai or the Emirates Literature Festival to help them be more sustainable. Since 2012 she has been proud to be a judge of the Gulf Capital SME Awards fRU Whe ¶MRVW SXVWainable BXVineVV Rf Whe YeaU·. In 2020 Tatiana also joined the Advisory Board of the Gulf Sustainability Awards.

In April 2019 Tatiana started Forward Talks, a weekly podcast highlighting leaders and professionals who, through their work, entrepreneurship and commitment promote positive impact and sustainability in the UAE and beyond.

During her 16 years in the UAE, Tatiana has garnered a strong reputation and she is actively involved in the green arena: considered one of UAE's top environmental influencers, she contributes regularly to media and at conferences in her role as a green business leader in the country

Changing consumer habits for a zero food waste economy

Changing consumer habits for a zero food waste economy

Changing consumer habits for a zero food waste economy Sarah Asmar is a trilingual Marketing Specialist with a motivation for challenges and a firm belief in the importance of more green and sustainable practices. Sarah has a Bachelors in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut (2013) and a specialized Masters in communications & marketing from INSEEC Paris (2015). For the past 6 years, she has been working at Lebanese international company as Marketing Director focusing on product sustainability. During this period, Sarah was able to work with different departments and thus develop skills in: Marketing and Social Media Platform development, Workshops & Training and Communication. Sarah launched a Sustainable Academy in 2018 to be the first of its kind within the field, which allowed her division to partner with the EU Program “Minjara” in Tripoli. Sarah joined the United Nations Environment Program West Asia office as sustainable lifestyle expert for the past 6 months. During that period Sarah launched the Recipe of Change campaign that focuses on raising awareness and shifting behavioral change at the consumer level, also within the field of sustainable fashion she has developed the West Asia Sustainable Fashion Academy with a particular focus on advancing the sustainable fashion program.

Changing consumer habits for a zero food waste economy Emma Sawko is a French serial entrepreneur and a pioneer in vegan territories. In the past decade, this cosmopolitan has built a reputation as a global tastemaker in Paris, Dubai, New York and Amsterdam.

She began her journey into health and wellness in the region back in 2012, with the true passion to introduce the first real "healthy" cafe in Dubai, renowned concept store Comptoir 102. Three years later, considering the potential and warm welcome of her first venture, Emma opened Wild & The Moon in 2015, before making her way to Paris in 2016. The multi-award-winning concept, including Leading Cafe and Best Vegan-friendly Restaurant in the region, is based on the simple belief that food should be good for you, good for the planet, and delicious !

Born in New York, Emma Sawko was raised in the bounds of a truly holistic, plant-based lifestyle. Her passion for sustainable living is most evident in all her ventures, particularly Wild & The Moon, which is all about planet Earth, recycling, and minimising wastage while giving back to where it all began. Her one true vision with Wild & The Moon is born on the belief that there is no better business than a business that does good. Wild & The Moon has been created to add a bit of nature to our busy lives through real organic, seasonal, and ethically sourced ingredients.

Last mile responsibilities - retail and hospitality in food security

Meghna is a Serial Entrepreneur with fifteen years of global experience in various industries. Her ambition is to create a positive impact by providing sustainable solutions lead her to creating three start-ups in sustainability, filling a necessary market gap from consultancy to sustainable products (One Modern World) and a sustainability app, (Optas). 

Having lived and worked in various countries gave her a better understanding of different cultures, industry trends, and market practices. 

She turned her passion for sustainability into reality thanks to persistence and dedication. Prior to launching sustainable business concepts, she achieved significant corporate knowledge in business development, with expertise in international business expansion and growth in new markets. 

She aims at creating, living, and breathing the start-up cultures, values, and behaviour. Setting strategy and directions, implementing short and long-term plans without never losing faith and confidence in what she does.  

Last mile responsibilities - retail and hospitality in food security Based in Hilton’s MEA Regional Office in Dubai, Sebastian oversees culinary offerings in EMEA. He is responsible for identifying new trends, implementing campaigns and ensuring culinary excellence across Hilton’s portfolio.
Sebastian started his career in his native Germany, quickly progressing to a Senior Sous Chef role at a Michelin star restaurant in London. In 2004, he moved to Dubai where he joined the Burj Al Arab in Dubai as Chef de Cuisine. Sebastian then took on an Executive Sous Chef role at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, and later moved to the US to serve as Executive Chef at the Fontainebleau Hotel Miami Beach.
Sebastian moved back to the UAE in 2009, eventually becoming Resort Executive Chef at Madinat Jumeirah, responsible for the 25 restaurants that the resort had at the time. In 2013, he became Director of Culinary at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai and later his remit was expanded to include an additional property. Sebastian joined Hilton in January 2020.
Sebastian’s talent has been recognized with several accolades. He has been awarded a place in Hotelier Middle East’s Power 50 list five times and has also won the MEA Hotelier Magazine Executive Chef of the Year in 2013. In 2018, he was awarded the Time Out Middle East Special Contribution Award.

Last mile responsibilities - retail and hospitality in food security Presently a specialist in Food and Beverage Supply Chain Management and Procurement, Kunal heads the Global Supply Chain for Bateel Group (based out of Dubai) that has operations in over 11 countries from US to Middle East to South East Asia.
He has been instrumental in opening and managing over 200 F&B outlets during his F&B Supply Chain tenure. Major brand names include Bateel café’s and boutiques, Godiva Café’s , Tim Hortons, Coldstone Creamery and Sbarro Pizza.
Awarded as ‘Emerging Leader in Supply Chain Management – Middle East’ by Institute of Supply Chain Management, ISCM in Dec, 2018.
Travel and food continue to be his passion that gets him going every morning.

Last mile responsibilities - retail and hospitality in food security

Last mile responsibilities - retail and hospitality in food security Winnow builds artificial intelligence tools to help chefs run their kitchens more efficiently focusing on helping them understand and prevent food waste. Since launch, Winnow has been deployed in 40 countries and has saved its customers over $40m by reducing food waste. Clients include global brands but not limited to IKEA, Compass Group, AccorHotels, Marriott, Hilton and IHG.
Kamran comes from a family business in the hospitality sector, supplying hotels and caterers in the UAE with seafood and other foodstuff. By combining Kamran’s family business background, growing up with the importance of food and his interest in start-ups and technology, Kamran now helps Winnow grow its presence in the region, building relationships with hotel chains, restaurants and caterers.