Arnaud Lefebvre
Azura (France-Morocco)
Arnaud Lefebvre is Marketing director at Azura, the French-Moroccan tomato producer. He has a marketing background in major European FMCG companies spending 10 years at McCain Foods Continental Europe. Arnaud is convinced that strong branding and innovation can help to decommoditise the F&V category, creating more value for both customers and consumers.
Cedric Canovas
Source.ag (Netherlands)
Cedric Canovas, vice-president of Data & Plant Science at Source.ag, leads a team of data scientists and plant scientists in developing AI-powered plant models to support commercial greenhouse growers worldwide. With a background in consulting and data science for large businesses, Cedric now combines his expertise in plant science and data science to directly benefit fruit and vegetable growers. He holds MSc degrees in electrical engineering and operations research.
Eva Ketel
Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands)
Eva Ketel has a BSc, MSc and PhD in Nutrition and Health. She is working as a scientific researcher in the Physiology and Product Quality team of the Business Unit Greenhouse Horticulture at Wageningen University & Research. Her work aims to define, measure and predict post-harvest product quality using new techniques such as imaging analysis and non-destructive sensors.
Eytan Heller
Arugga AI Farming (Israel)
Eytan is the co-founder and VP business development at Israel-based Arugga AI Farming. Arugga is bringing robotic solutions to greenhouse farming with a view to automating labour-intensive tasks and optimising yields. Prior to co-founding Arugga, Eytan led European sales efforts at SolarEdge Technologies. Eytan started his career as an economic and trade advisor for the European Commission in Israel and holds an MSc in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics.
Geert Janssen
BASF | Nunhems (Netherlands)
Geert studied plant breeding at Wageningen University in the Netherlands where he also did his PhD on nematode resistance in potatoes. After two years of post-doc work in Wageningen and Norway, he became a sugar beet breeder in Sweden in 1997. In 2012, he joined BASF | Nunhems in Italy as regional head of breeding. After various positions in R&D and moving back to the Netherlands in 2017, he has been crop lead in operations for tomatoes and other vegetable crops since 2024.
Glenn Sebregts
BelOrta (Belgium)
Glenn Sebregts, head of marketing at BelOrta since 2019, is an avid local fruit and vegetable lover and promotor. His mission? Getting the world, starting with Belgium, to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. In his talk, he’ll guide you through the technique of customer centricity and how it will benefit your sales.
Karin Gorree
Normec Foodcare (Netherlands)
Karin is director of quality and business development at Normec Innovative Fresh, formerly Innovative Fresh and now part of Normec Foodcare. She has a background in tropical agriculture and has been working in fruit and vegetables and quality since graduation, covering most product categories including greenhouse vegetables, exotics and berries. At Normec Innovative, Karin monitors product quality, taste, appearance and shelf- life through the eyes of the consumer.
Lambert van Horen
Rabo Research (Netherlands)
Lambert van Horen is Rabo Research’s senior specialist fresh produce. His focus is on greenhouse horticulture, floriculture and mushrooms. He has been with Rabobank since 2000, working in several roles, always related to horticulture. Before joining Rabobank, he worked with Wageningen Economic Research and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture. Lambert holds a master’s degree in horticulture from Wageningen University.
Margriet Looije
Looye Kwekers (Netherlands)
Margriet is the commercial director at Looye Kwekers. She and her sister are the third generation in the company and oversee the daily management. The Looye sisters believe in the power and beauty of the collaboration between humans and nature, and want to enable as many people as possible from all generations to enjoy flavourful tomatoes together.
Martijn van Keulen
RedStar (Netherlands)
Martijn has been working for RedStar for three years, with a clear mission in mind: help RedStar strengthen her tomato focus and embrace a customer focus. Outside in. For this, customer understanding is key: know the customer’s needs, make it easy for them and create joy to get them to come back.
Martin Van Tol
Let’s Grow (Netherlands)
Martin boasts a lifelong commitment to horticulture, starting as a production employee in the Westland area. With a background at an energy and automation company, Martin is now dedicated to guiding growers globally toward data-driven growing practices and is committed to empowering growers with innovative solutions for enhanced cultivation.
Michal Taraska
Hazera (Poland)
Michał Taraska, Hazera’s Global Value Chain Leader, has been in the food market for the last 15 years. Born on a family farm and a fan of healthy living, he champions quality in agriculture. His focus is on introducing new high-quality varieties to retail chains worldwide
Nathalie Schäfer
SanLucar (Spain)
Nathalie Schäfer is product development and innovations manager at SanLucar, a leading multinational company and premium brand in the fruit and vegetables sector. Following a degree in International Business at the University of Trier in Germany, Nathalie has gained an extensive background in the agri-food industry, leading the sales strategy for the wide SanLucar product portfolio over the past 14 years. Her proven track record in branding and market research strategy and her deep knowledge of productive farms define Nathalie’s values as a professional expert in the fruit and vegetables trade.
Nathan Pumplin
Norfolk Healthy Produce (US)
Nathan Pumplin currently serves as CEO of the startup company Norfolk Healthy Produce. Previously, he served in management and business development roles with AgBiome and Joyn Bio, a Bayer Crop Science joint venture. Nathan’s career began 20 years ago in R&D aimed at increasing the sustainability of food production, receiving a PhD in plant genetics from Cornell University and leading research projects at ETH Zurich and UC Davis.
Niels van der Geest
Delphy Digital (Netherlands)
Niels van der Geest has a Master’s in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Wageningen. As a cultivation engineer at Delphy, Niels develops data-driven cultivation management tools that support growers by helping them to optimise their strategic decisions based on data and taking into account the local conditions.
Ronald Hoek
Blue Radix (Netherlands)
Ronald Hoek is CEO and co-founder of Blue Radix, a pioneering company revolutionising horticulture through AI-driven solutions. With a profound commitment to sustainable greenhouse production, Ronald spearheads innovations that optimise crop yields while minimising resource usage. With his team he unlocks the value of autonomous growing for greenhouse companies worldwide.
Sam Gui
Biobest (Belgium)
Sam Gui is a dedicated advocate for sustainability and currently serves as market development manager for high-tech IPM at Biobest Group worldwide. Sam played an integral role in the international technical team at Biobest, where he spearheaded the IPM strategy for tomato crops on a global scale. Collaborating closely with a team of product managers, Sam has played a pivotal role in the successful launch of revolutionary solutions such as Crop-Scanner, Trap-Eye and Entomatic. However, he sees this as just the beginning of a journey marked by continuous innovation and progress.
Stefano Landolfi
Fogliati (Italy)
Stefano Landolfi is supply chain project manager at Italian company Fogliati and will be speaking about the Nama project, a typical Italian variety of salad tomato.
Timo Kleijwegt
Certhon (Netherlands)
Timo Kleijwegt, product and sales manager at Certhon, boasts a career dedicated to the horticulture industry, including ownership of a herb nursery in Ethiopia before joining Certhon. Currently product manager for Certhon’s robotisation branch in collaboration with Japanese partner Denso, Timo leverages his extensive experience to drive innovation and growth in agricultural practices through advanced automation technologies.
Zinaida Kapustina
Azura (France)
Zinaida Kapustina is category insight manager at Azura. With over 10 years’ experience in business analysis, her mission today is to look over tomato markets and to advise the business on emerging trends. Zinaida’s passion is to have a deep dive into consumers’ minds to bring out fresh insights that help to enhance their experience in-store and to encourage tomato consumption.
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