Asiafruit Congress speakers

Anson Bailey

KPMG

Anson joined KPMG in Hong Kong in 1999 and is currently a partner based in the Hong Kong office heading up the Consumer & Retail Practice in the Asia Pacific region. Anson works with a growing number of C-level executives as a trusted advisor in looking at the customer and providing the best in client innovation whilst acting as the lead partner for a number of strategic accounts in both the consumer and tech arena across the Asia Pacific region.

Antony Greenstein

JWM Asia Holdings

Antony Greenstein is CEO of JWM Asia Holdings. During more than 30 years in HongKong’s dynamic horticultural sector, he has advanced through various roles in the company. In 2017, he led a merger with Joy Wing Mau Group and became CEO of its Asia business. He is renowned for his negotiation prowess and strategic insight.

David Yang

Zespri - Greater China

David Yang joined kiwifruit marketer Zespri in 2019, taking charge of long-term and strategic planning for the mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong markets. He has more than 30 years’ experience with FMCG multinationals, in sales and marketing with 3M, Gillette, and Johnson & Johnson. He started in Taiwan, came to China in 2000, and is frequently still amazed by the quick and constant changes in the Chinese market.

Fong Yoon Chyi

DFI Retail Group

Fong Yoon Chyi is produce category director at DFI Retail Group – Singapore Food, where she looks after fruit and vegetables for supermarket brands Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Giant, and Jasons Deli. She previously spent over 15 years in marketing, and played a central role in developing a new store concept for Jasons Deli, rebranding CS Fresh and Giant, and launching the Yuu loyalty programme.

Sam White

T&G Global

Sam White is country manager for Thailand at T&G. He also manages the T&G South East Asia business unit, which imports and distributes the group’s licensed apple varieties Envy and Jazz throughout Thailand. It is also the marketing partner for Zespri in Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Sam has been in the role for three years, prior to which he was an independent consultant to T&G. His first big job in fresh produce was as national operations manager for Zespri in China from 2011 to 2019.

Louise Beard

Forward Insight & Strategy

Louise Beard is the founder of Forward Insight & Strategy, a global market research and strategic planning agency that specialises in the fresh produce sector. With over 25 years’ experience, she has worked with leading brands like Zespri, Dole, and T&G to develop market-aligned growth strategies, successful innovation, and meaningful brands.

Philip Turnbull

Twenty Degrees

Philip Turnbull is group CEO of Twenty Degrees and Apple & Pear Australia, which owns the Pink Lady brand. Philip’s commercial acumen and expertise in IP management come from over a decade working with Pink Lady, and marketing roles held at Pacific Brands Food Group and Nestlé Dairy Products.

Jae Chun

Driscoll’s

Jae Chun is the vice-president and general manager for Driscoll’s of APAC. Jae joined Driscoll’s after having worked as the general manager of Asia for Chiquita Brands International. He has an extensive background in starting up and building branded businesses in China. His previous work experience includes leadership positions with Fresh Express and TransFresh. He also worked in the telecom industry in network and business operations at Vodafone/AirTouch.

Michael Oates

Haygrove Asia

Michael Oates has used his 14 years’ professional experience in China to build Haygrove in Asia. Since 2017, it has gone from a concept into a group of five companies with a team of 70. The group operates 120ha of world-class soft fruit farms, while also developing farming projects for investors and growers everywhere from Azerbaijan to Chile.

Henk Vaandrager

Fall Creek China

Henk Vaandrager is general manager of Fall Creek China. The division brings Fall Creek’s proprietary blueberry varieties and young plants to blueberry growers in the country. With an extensive background in the agricultural business, he says he has always been passionate about matters related to the horticultural and agricultural industry.

Hai Xuan Nguyen

Klever Fruit

Hai Xuan Nguyen is founder and CEO of Klever Fruit. When he opened the first Klever Fruit store in Hanoi in 2009, he brought two new ideas to Vietnamese customers: a store with clear product origin and guaranteed product safety; and premium fruit selected and marketed as luxurious gifts. Klever Fruit imports a wide range of fresh fruit from several countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada, Japan and Korea. The chain now has 50 stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with 300 staff .

Angel Mompo

Fresh Fruit-X

Angel Mompo is product manager for Fresh Fruit-X, where he spearheads the company’s global sourcing strategy. A dedicated fruit industry professional with a passion for market development and customer service, Angel is fostering strong relationships in the Vietnam market.

Danny Guo

JWM Asia

Danny Guo, trade general manager at JWM Asia, has been in the fresh produce industry since 2015. During that time he has advanced through various roles, and garnered extensive experience across Asian markets. Currently, his focus lies in market development and strategic partnerships, where he leverages his valuable insights to drive success across the region.

Akshat Medakker

KeyGene

Akshat Medakker is country head in India for KeyGene, a crop innovation company headquartered in the Netherlands. At KeyGene, he contributes to developing new business alliances. These are focused on strategic research collaborations and projects in the areas of field crops for the seed sector, and development of novel traits in crops associated with sectors of the ingredients, fresh produce, and plantation industries.

David Marguleas

Sun World International

David Marguleas is president and chief executive officer of Sun World International, a global fruit genetics company dedicated to developing and out-licensing new fruit varieties and the intellectual property they comprise. Sun World breeds new fruit varieties and works with a network of licensed growers and marketers in most of the world’s fruit production regions. The California-based company maintains offices in the US, Europe, Australia, South America, Israel, and South Africa.

Mohammed Abbas

Fresh Del Monte

Mohammed Abbas is Fresh Del Monte’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer and has held various important roles at the group during almost two decades with the company. He has more than 20 years’ experience in leadership roles in agriculture, farming, and the fresh produce industry for multinational organisations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Fiachra Moloney

Bloom Fresh

Fiachra Moloney is relatively new to the fruit Industry, having spent the last two decades in marketing and general management roles at some of the world’s leading consumer goods companies – P&G, Kellogg’s, and Unilever. As chief marketing officer at Bloom Fresh, he is passionate about creating more value and more excitement in the table grape, cherry and raisin categories.

Nomi Karniel-Padan

Grapa Varieties

Nomi Karniel-Padan spearheads global marketing and brand development as commercial director at Grapa Varieties. Born into a family of farmers, she grew up immersed in the world of table grape agriculture. With a rich background in international marketing and a deep-rooted passion for the products, Nomi ensures Grapa’s prominent position in the international table grape industry as a leading company in the development and commercialisation of new varieties.

Yoav Yichie

Aerobotics

Yoav Yichie is general manager at Aerobotics Australia/NZ. With more than 15 years’ experience in horticultural agtech, he completed a PhD in Plant Genetics at the University of Sydney. He has introduced intelligent tools to growers across Australia and New Zealand, sharing his deep knowledge of remote sensing technologies, data analytics, and AI.

Paul Slupecki

Tomra Food

Paul Slupecki leads Tomra Food’s APAC team with the aim to strengthen its presence in New Zealand, Australia, India, South-East Asia, and Japan. This local focus enhances customer understanding and enables faster, personalised services, and tailored food sorting and grading solutions.

John Gray

Angus Soft Fruits

John Gray is managing director of Angus Soft Fruits. He leads a team of 90 berry specialists located in the UK, Spain, Morocco and Chile. Angus Soft Fruits breeds, grows, packs and markets berries, supplying retailers in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and South-East Asia.

Bruno Bertheloz

Blue Whale

Bruno Bertheloz has managed SAS Blue Whale since 2019. Born into a family of apple producers in Savoie, he is now a qualified agricultural engineer with an MBA. He is passionate about agriculture and has always had a strong connection with this fruit.

Eu Jin Cheah

Zespri International

With 20 years’ experience in food and beverage sales, innovation, and marketing, Eu Jin leads New Value Opportunities and oversees the ZAG Fund at Zespri International. The focus of his work is on identifying and aligning opportunities with sustainability goals, while fostering global collaborations to drive industry progress.

Duncan Jones

Sinclair

Duncan Jones joined fruit labelling leader Sinclair in 2018. He has helped launch two compostable products, with another on the horizon, as customers and governments push for faster development in alternative packaging. He has a unique understanding of challenges around sustainable product development, legislation, end-of-life performance, material perception, and adoption.

Justin Chan

VX Cold Chain

Justin Chan joined Vanke Logistics in 2017 and established its Cold Chain Logistics division. A year later, he took the lead in completing large-scale M&A projects such as Swire Cold Chain. So far, he has led the team to operate a total of 50 cold chain parks, and has secured in-depth strategic cooperation with many leading companies in the food processing, chain catering, and retail industries.

Rahul Bagde

Zespri International

Rahul Bagde steers Zespri’s supply chain operations in Greater China. His role encompasses the robust management of imports, logistics, distribution, total quality management, and sustainability – all underpinned by a strong foundation in strategy and operations from his MBA. Rahul’s team, with the help of advanced supply chain practices and digital infrastructure, ensures end-to-end quality and efficient customer support across channels in the region.

Ivan Marambio

Frutas de Chile

Ivan Marambio has worked in the fruit industry for more than 25 years, mainly in the private sector. He is a lawyer by profession and became president of national trade association Frutas de Chile in September 2022. Frutas de Chile was established in 1935 and now has more than 200 members, representing 90 per cent of total fresh fruit exports from Chile to the world.

Andriy Yarmak

FAO Investment Centre

Andriy Yarmak is a fresh produce marketing, export development, and innovation expert with almost 30 years’ experience in global agribusiness. He leads several fruit and vegetable-related projects for the Europe, Central Asia and MENA regions at FAO’s Investment Centre.

El Mehdi El Alami

Morocco Foodex

El Mehdi El Alami is director of promotion and development at Morocco Foodex. He is in charge of managing the country’s participation in all events, exhibitions and fairs, with the aim to promote the Moroccan agricultural, agrifood, and seafood products and exports to buyers in foreign markets.

Hajer Magdy

Food and Agriculture Organization

Hajer Magdy is marketing intelligence manager at Egyptian produce supplier Daltex, and export development consultant at FAO. With over eight years’ experience spanning international markets and diverse agribusiness sub-sectors, she has developed expertise in market intelligence, international trade facilitation, and business linkages. Previously, as foreign affairs and market access specialist at the Agricultural Export Council, Hajer helped to develop agricultural exports and market access strategies.

Hesham ElNaggar

Daltex

Hesham ElNaggar has progressed from export manager to vice-chairman of the board of directors during more than 30 years with Daltex Corporation. Throughout, he has played a key role in establishing memberships in several agricultural associations, including the International Technical Institute, the International Fertilizer Association, the Produce Marketing Association, and the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association.

Idriss El Honsali

Morocco Foodex

Idriss El Honsali is head of Morocco Foodex’s commercial regulation department and agreement monitoring. He works on free trade agreements on behalf of the country’s agri-food export business, and has contributed to joint collaboration projects between Morocco Foodex and FAO – including a trade mission in Poland, and a sustainable initiative to promote agricultural products.

Patrick Vizzone

Vertical Oceans

Professor Patrick Vizzone is a global financier, investor, and agri-food tech founder. He is a co-founder and CFO of Vertical Oceans, executive director of DiMuto and founder and managing partner of AgroNovare. Patrick is the incoming chair elect and an executive committee member of the International Fresh Produce Association. With a lifelong experience in the fresh produce industry, Patrick has served as a founder, financier, industry advocate, and academic.

Wayne Prowse

Fresh Intelligence

Wayne Prowse is a leading fresh produce market analyst and director of Fresh Intelligence Consulting. Wayne’s strong statistics and analytic background has earned a powerful reputation for providing clear market analysis of strategic interest for government, industry, and business clients. Wayne compiles the annual Asiafruit Knowledge Centre Statistics Handbook.

Sam Sin

Pagoda Global Fresh

Sam Sin currently works in Chinese fruit export sales, exporting over a thousand containers of high-quality Chinese produce across the world each year. He has more than a decade of import-export experience.

Julio Bellota

DP World

Julio Bellota is responsible for DP World’s commercial logistics operations in South-East Asia, and has a deep understanding of the region’s market outlook, opportunities, and risk factors. His career has taken him to diverse environments in Asia-Pacific, North America, and Latin America. Prior to joining DP World, he was managing director of CNC, part of CMA CGM. His academic credentials include an EMBA from Singapore Management University.