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MEET THE SPEAKERS
Speakers
Antonio Alarcón
Bollo Natural Fruits
Antonio Alarcón is CEO of Bollo Natural Fruits, the leading Spanish supplier of fresh citrus and other fruit. He has a proven track experience on start-ups, M&A, post-acquisition integrations and turnarounds. He was previously president of bottled water and coffee company Eden Springs.
Antonio Medina
Socomo
Antonio Medina His is fruit and vegetable purchasing director at Socomo. He is responsible for sourcing, selection and strategy negotiations for fruit and vegetables. Medina has been working in the agri-food sector for more than 25 years. Prior to joining Socomo he was managing director of Guzman Coffee & Nuts, and sales manager at Archer Daniels Midland Company, one of the largest food companies in the world.
Benito Orihuel
Citrosol
Benito Orihuel is post-harvest advisor at Citrosol. Between 2008 and 2020 he served as CEO and scientific product director of the Potries, Valencia-based company. Prior to that he worked as research and development manager (citrus) for Chiquita Brands International, and was quality department director of Anecoop. Benito has a PhD in Chemistry from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, with a thesis on post-harvest biology and technology of persimmon fruits.
Carlo Maria Magni
Forward Insight & Strategy
Carlo is global consumer insights director of Forward Insight & Strategy. He is passionate about delivering consumer insights and strategic advice on innovation and branding to leading primary sector organisations to build growth, value return, and competitive advantage.
Speakers
Chris Johnston
Tomra Food
Dr Chris Johnston is manager, applications engineering at Tomra Food. He has extensive experience in AgriTech innovation. Since joining Tomra Food in 2014, his expertise in AI-enabled real-time image processing has advanced produce grading, earning him the Citrus Australia Service to Industry Award in 2022.
Clara Montesinos
AgroFresh
Clara Montesinos is global R&D project manager at AgroFresh and a citrus farmer. She has a background in post-harvest research at IVIA (Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research), USDA in California and SARDI in Australia. She has worked in the post-harvest industry for the last 12 years, focused on development of new solutions.
David Alba
Genesis Fresh
As managing director of Genesis Fresh, the varietal development and distribution company that is part of the AMFresh Group, David Alba is an expert in developing and managing new protected fruit varieties. He has 20 years’ experience working in the global citrus industry for AMFresh. Prior to that, he was citrus category technical manager at Tesco.
Elena Guillen Alvarez
Farmable
Elena Guillen is general manager of Farmable España. She is an expert in technological solutions and digitalisation of agriculture. Elena has a degree in Audiovisual Communication and a Business Management. Master in International Commerce.
Speakers
Enrique Gómez
Decco
Enrique Gómez is head of production & supply and Decco Worldwide Postharvest Holdings. His career in post-harvest spans 35 years, including 16 at Decco.
Ernesto Machancoses Labuiga
Citrus Rosso
Ernesto Machancoses is an independent advisor in farming, post-harvest and food safety. He is a consultant on the Citrus Rosso project, which is carrying out clinical trials showing the health benefits of pink-fleshed oranges in overweight children.
Hugo A-Tjak
Olympic Fruit
Hugo A-Tjak is international account manager - retail at Dutch importer Olympic Fruit. As experienced retail professional, he has a keen understanding of the impact of trends such as smaller households, an ageing population, and the increasing snacking habits of Gen Z on fruit consumption.
Jim Jefcoate
Food Experts
Jim Jefcoate is UK director at Food Experts. He has spent 38 years in the produce industry as technical director at Del Monte, IPL and Asda. He previously worked as a senior director at Walmart, an Asda Foundation Trustee, vice chairman of GlobalGAP and as a council member for the UK’s Fresh Produce Consortium. He currently divides his time between FoodExperts, Frupro and Selvador, a rainforest start-up.
Speakers
Jose Cuenca
Agrupación de Viveristas de Agrios (Avasa)
Jose Cuenca is director of Spain’s Agrupación de Viveristas de Agrios (Avasa), a position he has held since 2019. Before that he was a researcher at the Valencian Institute of Agrarian Research (Ivia). He holds a Masters in Plant Breeding, a PhD Plant Biotechnology, and a PostDoc from USDA, Geneva, NY.
José Enrique Sanz
IGP Cítricos Valencianos
José Enrique Sanz is manager of the Cítricos Valencianos PGI. He is an agricultural technical engineer from the Valencia Polytechnic University. Prior to joining the PGI Sanz worked at the Ribarroja Agricultural Cooperative.
Manuel Rey Barrera
Sun World
Manuel Rey is citrus licensing manager at Sun World. He holds a PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology. After a short stint at the university, Dr Rey jumped to the biotech sector in 2001 and joined Biogold (now Sun World) in 2018, taking the position of citrus licensing manager for the Mediterranean Basin.
Marieke Appel
Driscoll’s EMEA
Marieke Appel is strategic communications manager at Driscoll’s Europe, a role she has held since 2010. She is an experienced marketing and communications manager with a passion for natural and healthy food brands. Prior to joining Driscoll’s she worked at Bonduelle Food Service.
Speakers
Maz Abram
Apeel
Maz Abram leads Apeel’s technology division in the EMEA region, whose objectives are to implement and optimise Apeel’s coating technology at packing houses to guarantee optimal performance and quality. He has two engineering degrees from UC Riverside and the University of Alicante and has an intensive background in green engineering.
Miguel Abril
Anecoop
Miguel Abril is commercial director of Anecoop, a position he combines with that of deputy general directorate. Anecoop is Spain’s leading second-tier cooperative, with a turnover of €846.9m in the last financial year. He joined Anecoop’s sales team in 1986, before moving to Anecoop France at the end of the 1990s, and finally becoming Anecoop’s commercial director in 2017.
Nele Moorthamers
Zespri International (Europe)
Nele Moorthamers is the head of Marketing ENA for Zespri International in Europe. She has been with the organisation for almost 24 years in multiple marketing and leadership roles. As a member of the marketing leadership team she has been at the heart of the development of the Zespri brand and the Zespri marketing function.
Olga Dubey
AgroSustain
Olga Dubey is CEO and co-founder of AgroSustain, a company founded in 2018 to reduce food waste and support sustainable food production by developing farm to fork solutions, like natural fungicides and coatings. All the designed products of AgroSustain are patent protected.
Speakers
Paco Borrás
Paco Borrás Consulting
Paco Borrás is senior advisory consultant at Paco Borrás Consulting. Prior to setting up his consultancy, he worked for almost 40 years in a variety of roles at Anecoop, most recently as commercial director and deputy general manager.
Philippe Binard
World Avocado Organisation
Philippe Binard is secretary general of the World Citrus Organisation, the platform set up in 2019 to foster dialogue and action for the global citrus community. He is also general delegate of Freshfel Europe, a position he has held since 1987.
Salvador Martinez
Obeikan MDF
Salvador Martinez is general manager of Obeikan MDF. He has worked extensively on an international level in his professional career, occupying various senior management positions in the automotive, ceramics and packaging sectors, as well as in distribution, retail and service industries. Martinez was previously director of Valencia Football Club since 2015 he has been a patron of the Valencia CF Foundation.
Shelly Vorster
World Avocado Organisation
Shelly Vorster is marketing director, UK & Europe, at the World Avocado Organisation, a multinational non-profit organisation set up to promote the consumption of avocados based on their nutritional value and recognised health benefits. Prior to that she was head of global brands (EMEA) at SV Food Group and head of global brands at UK-based Hain Daniels Group.
Speakers
Stephan Weist
Rewe Group Buying
Stephan Weist is responsible for category management produce and flowers for Europe’s third largest retailer, Rewe in Germany, and brand manager for Rewe Regional, the supermarket’s regional private label. With almost 40 years of experience in the fresh produce industry, at Rewe, Landgard and Chiquita, he has also served as board member and president of Freshfel until 2022.
Tom Hole
Kantar Worldpanel
Tom Hole is strategic insights director at Kantar Worldpanel. He brings with him a decade of experience working across FMCG, with deep industry knowledge of brands within household categories, dairy and wider fresh. He is now a thought leader at Kantar Worldpanel.
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