Programme 2023

After graduating in Economics at Università Bocconi and a Master of Science in International Public Policy at UCL (University College London), Matteo joined The Monitor Group, a strategy consulting firm supporting companies' business development in EMEA. He joined Barilla in 2008 and moved from Marketing to Innovation in 2012 to develop and launch CucinaBarilla, which he led as the CucinaBarilla Managing Director. In 2018 he was appointed Global Marketing Director at Barilla, leading the company's most dynamic and vibrating product categories with a global footprint. He is passionate about Food, business modelling, trends and innovation. He will be chairing the Food Innovate Summit for the second time and attending it for the third time.

I am a food scientist, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Functional Foods, and R&D director of Arterra Bioscience. After 20 years of career at the University of Naples as a professor in Biochemistry, Food Chemistry and Functional Foods, in 2013, I became chair of the Food Quality & Design group at Wageningen University.

I published more than 450 publications in indexed journals covering many aspects of Food Science. These papers received more than 20.000 citations.

I work on the modification induced by food processing and, in particular, for the compounds formed through Maillard Reaction in coffee, cocoa, bakery and dairy products. Now, my research focuses on the design of innovative healthy foods adopting a food system perspective and the focus on gastrointestinal health. My challenge is to use a food design approach to tackle the two main issues of the food sector: feeding the planet in 2050 and counteracting obesity.

Stefania De Pascale is a full Professor of Horticulture and Floriculture at the University of Naples Federico II; she is also Vice-president and member of the board of directors of the National Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA, https://www.crea.gov.it/en/centri-di-ricerca). She teaches courses on Crop-physiology, Greenhouse horticulture and Landscaping and supervises BSc, MSc and PhD students. Since joining the Department of Agricultural Sciences in 1993, Stefania has performed numerous research in the field and in the greenhouse to determine the effects of environmental and cultural factors on plant growth and product quality on a wide range of vegetable and ornamental crops. Listed among the World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University, recent research activities include the setup of a Bioregenerative Life Support System based on the use of plants for food production, air regeneration and water purification and the effects of “Space environment” (i.e. microgravity and ionizing radiation) on plants. She is responsible for the Research Laboratory on Crop research for Space, including the PaCMAN Plant Characterization Unit (PCU) conceived as a crop research facility within the MELiSSA project (https://www.melissafoundation.org/), which is a joint long-term effort, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), focused on the development of a regenerative life-support system for air, water and food production in the sight of future long-term manned missions to Moon and Mars.

A Passionate and Entrepreneurial business leader, serving as a corporate visionary to lead, develop, manage, and scale businesses in tech, Food Retail, Media, Entertainment, e-Commerce, and Startups is the hallmark of his 15-year career.

In-depth Marketing, Product & Business building experience for businesses in all 3Cs of the Digital domain(Content, Community and Commerce). Distinguished achievements in Technology utilisation, Digital, Data etc... Having a love for technology and entrepreneurship at the core made me lead innovative & Strategic projects/products ahead of the curve, like using AI, Chatbot, Voicebots, etc.

Built India's first Hyperlocal on-demand Food delivery Digital Commerce Platform and made it into the biggest Food Tech platform, i.e. Domino's India Digital commerce ecosystem.

Consistently acknowledged as a thought leader in marketing, digital, and business growth, receiving the coveted 2022 Geospatial 50 Rising Stars Under 40 & Analytics Insights Magazine Top 10 CDIOs '22 Award and serving as a speaker and advisory board member at multiple conferences organised globally on Future of Digital, eCommerce, Omni-Channel Retail, Voice Bots, Content Marketing, Location Intelligence, Marketing, Retail Tech & Innovation, Leadership, etc.

CHAOS PILOT and Expert at bringing structure, divergent thinking and convergent action to the chaos. An INNOVATIVE and PASSIONATE leader who loves to spend her time using HUMAN INSIGHTS to connect the dots and EXPERIMENT on solutions fit for the FUTURE Superpowers include CURIOSITY, COLLABORATION,  CREATION and a commitment to CONNECTION (people and ideas)
o   EXPERIENCE: Passionate change-maker that thrives on operating on the frontier and pushing the business into new places and spaces.  More than 20 years of experience across Local and Global Sales and Marketing roles.  Recent roles have focused on Human Intelligence and Strategy.   Currently leading a Global Agile Innovation team who are focused on delivering our future innovation pipeline for the next 3-5 years.  My previous role was in our Global Digital Acceleration Team, focused on building digital marketing and commerce capabilities within our markets around the world
o   Previously presented at ESOMAR conferences and Panels on Digital Moments that Matter and Agile research and across many research and digital forums
o   Member of Digital Shelf Institute Executive Forum, Zappi Insights Alliance, Voxpopme Customer Advisory board and Trendhunter Innovator Exchange

I am a food scientist, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Functional Foods, and R&D director of Arterra Bioscience. After 20 years of career at the University of Naples as a professor in Biochemistry, Food Chemistry and Functional Foods, in 2013, I became chair of the Food Quality & Design group at Wageningen University.

I published more than 450 publications in indexed journals covering many aspects of Food Science. These papers received more than 20.000 citations.

I work on the modification induced by food processing and, in particular, for the compounds formed through Maillard Reaction in coffee, cocoa, bakery and dairy products. Now, my research focuses on the design of innovative healthy foods adopting a food system perspective and the focus on gastrointestinal health. My challenge is to use a food design approach to tackle the two main issues of the food sector: feeding the planet in 2050 and counteracting obesity.

Diana Mathew is a Space Applications Engineer within the Telecommunications and Integrated Applications Directorate (TIA-A) at the European Space Agency (ESA) where she works closely with businesses from space and non-space sectors to launch innovative services that make use of space assets. She has broad experience project managing R&D and innovation projects utilising space assets for applications and services for various sectors. She has a background in Telecoms/Satcoms Engineering and has been working mainly in Satellite Broadband and Optical communications areas prior to joining ESA.

Dr. Glenn Mathijssen is the CEO & Co-Founder of Alberts (alberts.be), leading a Belgium-based team focusing on food robotics and AI. The result is Vending 4.0 solutions for personalized fresh smoothies & hot soups and personalized nudging solutions. In the Alberts One stations, a variety of ingredients and brands can be hosted to create perfect blends in under two minutes. In Belgium, Alberts recently partnered with Alpro/Danone to serve blends with coconut and oat drinks to accelerate the advent of plant-based products. Alberts joined EIT Food as a Rising Food Star. Glenn holds a double degree PhD in Electro-Mechanical Engineering with speciality in Robotics and an M.Sc. degree in Management. In 2019, Glenn was chosen as Belgium's FITCE Young ICT Personality.

Dr. Georg Schirrmacher is the Managing Director of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Food Co-Location Center (CLC) Central in Munich/Freising.

EIT Food is the world’s largest and most dynamic agri-food innovation community. We accelerate innovation to build a future-fit agri-food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all. We unlock innovation potential in businesses and universities and create and scale agri-food startups to bring new technologies and products to market. We equip entrepreneurs and professionals with the skills needed to transform the food system and put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food.

Since 2021 Georg Schirrmacher has been a member of the FACCE-JPI Stakeholder Advisory Board (StAB). The FACCE-JPI promotes the integration and alignment of national research resources under a common strategy.
Before joining EIT Food Georg Schirrmacher was Head of Science Network Management at Clariant, a globally leading speciality chemicals company. He was responsible for Clariant's scientific cooperation network, fulfilled the function of a global consultant being the main contact for scientific and technical cooperation and was responsible for public funding.

Until the end of June 2018, Georg Schirrmacher was chairman of the BIC Programming Working Group, an industrial working group about bioeconomy in Brussels. The BIC represents the private part of the public-private partnership "Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU)", which was launched in 2012 together with the EU and is one of the pillars of the European bioeconomy strategy.

 Prior to joining the industry in 2009, he was Manager for Strategy and Industrial Cooperation for the president´s office at Technical University of Munich (TUM).

 Georg Schirrmacher is Dipl.-Ing. agr. (Univ.) and received his doctorate from TUM.

Mark, CEO of Nature Force Technologies AG and Global Sales Director of ViCAP Systems Global AG, with  experience in Israel and internationally, is part of the management board of a joint venture of 2 companies:

Nature Force Technologies AG - R&D of functional ingredients for the beverage industry 
ViCAP Global AG - dispenser cap producer

Mark takes an active role in the joint venture company board to develop and commercialise functional beverages, which include clinically tested functional ingredients, ViCAP dispenser cap and naturally alkaline water because simply quenching thirst or tasting great is no longer enough; a drink must-do something.

David was appointed Senior Vice President, Global Business Development for Ocado Solutions in July 2022. He is responsible for growing and maintaining both current and potential new partner relationships. David joined Ocado in January 2012 as Head of IR and Corporate Finance. In September 2017, he was appointed SVP of North America for Ocado Solutions, where he led corporate partnership development activities in that region. Prior to Ocado, David was an investment banking Managing Director at DC Advisory Partners and Daiwa Capital Markets, advising companies on M&A, financing, strategy and other corporate finance matters. He is a Chartered Accountant, qualifying with Arthur Andersen as part of its Corporate Restructuring group before moving to Brunswick, the corporate communications consultancy.

After graduating in Economics at Università Bocconi and a Master of Science in International Public Policy at UCL (University College London), Matteo joined The Monitor Group, a strategy consulting firm supporting companies' business development in EMEA. He joined Barilla in 2008 and moved from Marketing to Innovation in 2012 to develop and launch CucinaBarilla, which he led as the CucinaBarilla Managing Director. In 2018 he was appointed Global Marketing Director at Barilla, leading the company's most dynamic and vibrating product categories with a global footprint. He is passionate about Food, business modelling, trends and innovation. He will be chairing the Food Innovate Summit for the second time and attending it for the third time.

Experienced FMCG executive with an international track record of leadership in fast-growth companies. Strong marketing background balanced by significant commercial experience in B2B services. An authentic and energetic leader who strives for positive social impact through commercial success.

As the founder of Eatable Adventures back in 2015, José Luis pioneered the nascent Food Entrepreneurship movement in Europe, which resulted in an emerging ecosystem of new companies that are improving the way we eat. He also led the launch of Gastroemprendedores, the largest global network of Food & Beverages Startup founders and entrepreneurs, reaching well over 25.000 individuals; similarly launched Food Business Angels, the first global network of early-stage investors in early stage phases of F&B startups. Before his involvement in the Food Space, he has been active in the innovation and new technologies industry for almost 30 years, working with international corporations like Cisco, Oracle, BBVA and Unisys as EMEA and LATAM new markets and emerging sectors development business directors. Educated as a Computing Engineer at Extremadura University, José Luis completed his tech studies with business and culinary studies at Stanford University —Graduate School of Business Executive Program – Le Cordon Bleu at Francisco de Vitoria University in Madrid — Diplôme de Cuisine – Reims Champagne- Ardennes University – Diplôme Universitaire DUGGAT – and Haas Business School Berkeley University – Venture Capital Executive Program.

With a background in Russian literature, Valeria found an outlet for her love for languages and food in KoRo in 2020, where she translates and coordinates other
translators and personally tests every single new nut butter. She always cared about the environment and the animals more than anything, but until KoRo crossed her path, she never knew how to help make a difference beyond personal life choices and actions.

Alice is currently Country Manager at KoRo Italy, and she is responsible for social media, sponsoring and public relations, besides coordinating the sponsoring activities of other countries. Her journey to this position was unconventional and unpredictable: after attending a journalism school, she graduated in Japanese at the University of Torino, then earned a Master's degree in Sustainability of Food Chains, followed by another Master's degree in startups and entrepreneurship. She sees her job at KoRo as a crossroads of her passion for communication, her interest in the sustainability of the food industry and her love for a challenging environment.

Eda Fetahu studied at the University of Udine Business Management, and then, in 2017, she majored in international business with a specific focus on innovation. Working experiences preceded the path within the Group in Norway concerning the European projects Horizon 2020 and the United States in the Made in Italy wine sector.

Now, she works as an Open Innovation Expert for Amadori, aiming to spread innovation within the company and design and manage internal and external innovation projects. She had previously led projects within the Amadori organisation concerning the Organization and Business Transformation area.

Hélène's journey is a testament to the power of perseverance, innovation, and purpose-driven work. In 2004, she started her career at Adidas in China, where she quickly rose to leadership roles in retail, marketing, and e-commerce. She went on to establish the online business division, a testament to her forward-thinking vision for the company.

Hélène's passion for pushing boundaries led her to accept a challenge from Gucci to set up the very first online luxury store in China, a groundbreaking achievement that demonstrated her pioneering spirit. Her success in this role earned her a senior position at Gucci Headquarters in Italy as digital director, where she continued to make her mark.

One of Hélène's most significant accomplishments was the successful redesign and re-platforming of the new Gucci website, launched in 26 countries, in 10 languages, and with localized operations. Her hard work and dedication were essential to the project's success, cementing her reputation as a skilled innovator in the industry.

But it was after the birth of her children that Hélène realized her true calling. Witnessing the devastating effects of pollution on nature and health during her time in China, she felt a strong desire to focus on sustainable development. Driven by a sense of purpose, Hélène made the brave decision to quit the fashion industry and pursue a postgraduate diploma at Cambridge University, which she successfully completed in 2020.

Today, Hélène is the co-founder of inoqo, a purpose-driven start up that aligns with her values and commitment to making a positive impact on the world. Her journey serves as an inspiration to us all, demonstrating that with hard work, determination, and a strong sense of purpose, we can achieve great things and make a meaningful difference in the world.

Born in Sondrio in 1987, he obtained a degree in Organization and Human Resources from the University of Milan (2010) and an MSc in Management at Bocconi University (2012). During university, he founded his first startup dedicated to the world of events. Just after the master's, he approaches the world of consulting where, inside BTO Spa, he creates and grows his business unit. In 2014, he reached the position of COO but decided to devote himself to a new professional adventure: in 2015, he founded Winelivery, where he currently holds the position of CEO—nominated both in 2020 and 2021 Businessperson of the Year by Fortune Italia and in the Next 40 by Capital Italia. Today he actively collaborates as an advisor for various companies in the startup world, including Venture Box of Gellify. He is always devoted to sharing values and oriented toward growth; he chose in 2021 to publish his first book, "Fare Startup in Italia", which tells the knowledge collected in recent years to support the new generations of Italian entrepreneurs.

Omar Campise has about twenty years of experience as HR manager in Italian multinational food companies, including Barilla. After a Master in general management at INSEAD in Fontainbleau, he founded a premium food delivery start-up and began an entrepreneurial journey. With a strong passion for innovation in food and attracted by the digital world, Omar is also Vice President of Lifelong Learning of the Insead Alumni Association Italy.

A former semi-pro rugby player, I have been in food all my adult life, having previously worked in managing restaurants. I love to eat out in London and try new things. I bring this mindset into my professional life, looking for ways to enhance innovation and solve consumer cravings.

My background has made me a driven and passionate marketer. I have had an eclectic career working on products ranging from artisan chocolate brands at Cocoa Runners to plant-based meats at Nomad Foods and back on snacking at General Mills. I have worked in start-ups and global companies, allowing me a broad perspective on business operations. Among my achievements, I helped to drive reconsideration of the Marmite brand as part of the Gene Campaign team and, through launching Marmite Reduced Salt and Project Managing Marmite Peanut Butter, bring in the next generation of lovers. I also returned Bovril to growth through 'creative nostalgia'. I designed a pack renovation process that allowed me to deliver 1500 artworks in 6 months at Vibrant Foods preventing our products from being delisted across Europe post-Brexit. I have developed the long-term pipeline for several brands with a strategic lens.

Claudia Vasquez is the founder and director of Origenal Story (www.origenalstory.com), which is a European consulting agency combining biodiversity with science, brands, and society.

Claudia is a visionary. Her 20+ years of corporate experience inspired her to connect with her initial profession she left for branding and marketing: agrifood journalism. Claudia is active as an international freelance journalist specialising in food and sustainable development trade publications (off-line and online).

Claudia’s passion for nature and for children led her to create new projects where she could bring a multicultural and multidisciplinary approach.

Founder and CEO of Edible Planet Ventures. G100 Global Chair 4 Food Innovation, Food Tech Junkies Podcast Host, Ecosystem Builder and Community Shaper, Board Member, Mentor and Advisor, TedX Speaker & Expert.

Using her extensive experience in communications and business, Sharon has been at the forefront of building and growing the global food and ag-tech 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.

She 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 endeavour – Edible Planet Ventures, founded in 2021. 

This new project is 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 and the future.

Recognized by Food Tank as one in 14 women to change the future of food, Sharon is active in several other roles. She currently is a Founding Board Member of the AgrifoodTech Italia Association, part of the scientific advisory committee of BAM - Biblioteca degli Alberi, and sits on the Advisory Board of the World Food Programme Italia. She’s also a mentor for both Rockstart Agrifood and the FoodTech Accelerator, on the advisory committee of two funds, part of the United for Regeneration-Now Partners team, and Global Chair for Food Innovation for the G100, a  group of global leaders all joined in a pact of purpose to create massive opportunities for women worldwide. 

Prior to launching her company, Sharon served as the CCO for Seeds&Chips, leading the development, planning, and execution of the signature event in Milan, consulting on high-level corporate strategies and open innovation methodologies, and growing into new markets such as the US and ANZ.