11th - 12th November 2024

Speakers

Daniela Fetecauova

Daniela Fetecauova

Senior Vice President Global Quality Assurance

Dr. Thomas Buehler

Dr. Thomas Buehler

Technical Excellence Specialist, Food Safety

Kris De Smet

Kris De Smet

Head of Team Food Hygiene

Canan Mendes Aytekin

Canan Mendes Aytekin

Head of Global Food Safety

Marina van Cauwenberghe

Marina van Cauwenberghe

Group Quality & Food Safety Director

Dr. Peter Overbosch

Dr. Peter Overbosch

Chair of the GHI working group "Ethics in Food Safety Practices”

Dimitri Tavernarakis

Dimitri Tavernarakis

Global Hygiene Excellence Lead

Kalliopi Chalkou

Kalliopi Chalkou

Head of Quality, Safety and Environment Governance

Antonio Nespoli

Antonio Nespoli

Italy Q&FS Director

Dr. Adeniyi Odugbemi

Dr. Adeniyi Odugbemi

Global Director of Food Safety

Adam Ruskin

Adam Ruskin

Technical Excellence Manager EU

Scott Burnett, PhD

Scott Burnett, PhD

Vice President of Research and Development

Sara Deckers

Sara Deckers

Focus Industry Manager F&B

Speaker Faculty

Gideon Ashworth

Bart Ingredients supply a wide range of ingredients including herbs and spices from origins around the world. These products are widely considered to be at risk from adulteration and contamination. Bart Ingredient’s Food Defence Team focusses on the food safety, quality and authenticity of Ingredients through the global supply chains. Gideon has worked in the UK and overseas in primary food production and technical management for 20 years, with experience of the challenges of emerging ingredients and new technologies.

Kevin Barker

Kevin Barker is the Group Produce SME and Integrity Lead for 2 Sisters Food Group. As Integrity Lead, the focus has been to build and maintain a robust process for food integrity across the business, ensuring confidence in the raw materials and supply chains used.
Kevin has worked in the food industry for over 30 years, and this has included roles within technical and agronomy, covering all stages of the food chain from the farm through to retail. Throughout his career Kevin has focussed on the quality, safety and integrity of the raw materials produced in primary production and across all supply chain touchpoints through to the consumer.
Kevin joined the 2 Sisters Food Group in November 2019 taking responsibility for leading food integrity for the group. Prior to this he has worked for the Coop, Greencore, Bakkavor, HJ Heinz and Ministry Agriculture (DEFRA).

Mark Beaumont, PhD

An internationally leader in the development and implementation of compliance solutions, aimed at embedding best practices, while building and sustaining a culture of excellence.
Mark has a Career path spanning the food, ingredients, and nutritional sectors, serving in senior roles in Compliance and Regulatory. Categories of experience included: dairy, flavors, dietary products, infant nutrition, meat & seafood, and aseptic products. Select specialties include microbiological food safety and quality, Health & Safety Program development and implementation, Integration of enterprise wide KPI’s and systems reporting, Risk assessment, HACCP, New Product design compliance review.
Mark has served as the COVID-19 crisis leader in Glanbia, focused on protection of Glanbia workplace and team members’ safety, while sustaining operational integrity.
With a PhD in Food Science (microbiology focus), he is presently SVP for Quality, Food Safety and H&S at Glanbia.

Marina Van Cauwenberghe

Marina Van Cauwenberghe graduated as Food Technologist (Universidad Argentina de la Empresa) in December 1999 and received a diploma of Quality Engineer in 2005
She started her career in Danone Group Diary division in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she fulfilled several roles in different positions in the Quality Department as Quality Engineer, Laboratory manager and Quality Assurance manager during a period of 9 years
In 2007 she moved to Belgium to continue her career in Danone Belgium as Quality Manager of Co-Manufacturers in the West Northern European Region, and was also responsible for Quality in the Belgian Market
In 2012 she moved from managing quality in FMCG to the B2B becoming the Quality Director for EMEA region for International Flavours and Fragances (IFF) based in the Netherlands
Since 2016 she is the Quality Director of Puratos Group based in Belgium
She has more than 20 years managing quality in the Food Industry in different countries, Markets and Regions

Gilad Garon

Gilad co-founded ASOCS in 2003 and has been spearheading the company as Chief Executive Officer ever since. Bringing with him extensive knowledge in mobile and telecommunications, he holds over 25 years of hands-on experience in international sales, marketing, and product management. Driven by his passion for disruptive technologies and the re-definition of existing markets, Gilad steered ASOCS towards its focus on cellular virtualization and mobile edge clouds.

Gilad holds several patents in the areas of signal processing and communications, while holding an M.B.A. in Marketing and Information Systems and a B.A. in Economics & Business, both from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Josh Giefer

Josh Giefer currently serves as an International Business Manager for Domino’s Pizza in Europe. Growing up in a franchisee family, he has spent most of his life working in the restaurant business and QSR industry, developing a passion for restaurant operations since childhood. He brings over two decades of experience to his current role as a successful and data-driven global business leader, living and working in the USA, Canada and Netherlands. Josh’s unique perspective blended together food safety and restaurant operations in a way that improved food safety performance while making food safety practices easier and more efficient to execute by restaurant employees. At Domino’s, he led the successful launch and implementation of their global restaurant food safety evaluation program and the franchisee food safety culture training program across 18,000+ restaurants in over 90 countries.

Gülden Yılmaz

Dr. Gülden Yılmaz is working currently as director of the Healthy and Safe Food Systems Program in Wageningen University and Research.
She has obtained her engineering degree from Istanbul Technical University in food engineering and her PhD from Utrecht University in polymer technology. Her current responsibilities involve coordination of the strategic development, development initiatives and funds, as well as knowledge management within the field of healthy and safe food systems.
Gulden has over 20 years of experience in applied research in a wide range of areas. She has played a significant role in facilitating regional innovation in the field of Biobased Economy in several positions. Her more recent activities involve program management in the area of biorefinery and Biobased products. In this role her responsibilities have been consisting of coordination of new business initiatives, knowledge management and coordination of ongoing research activities.

Simon Flanagan

Simon is a Research Fellow and food allergen subject matter expert for Mondelez International based in the UK. Since 2005 Simon has been a key advisor to the Cadbury and more latterly Kraft / Mondelēz International business on allergen control and responsible for developing policy and training. In 2016 Simon became an extended member of the Food Safety Team and is currently the Global Lead for Food Allergens and Food Allergy advising the business on both proactive allergen strategy and reactive lead for allergen incidents.
Simon is affiliated with numerous professional bodies, industry groups and technical committees (ILSI Europe, FDF, BRC, EFSA, FSA, FARRP, GMA) and has published several articles in peer reviewed journals. He was also principal editor for the ‘Handbook of Food Allergen Detection and Control’. He is currently chair of the ILSI Europe Food Allergy Task Force.

Dimitri Tavernarakis

Dimitri Tavernarakis has over 20 years of equipment and facility design from which the last 10 exclusively for the food industry. Over the past few years he has been involved with global organizations such as 3-A and EHEDG to raise understanding and usage of HD development tools and methodologies that help businesses raise their food safety standards. Through his current role he is leading the development of global hygienic design programs and corporate standards. Providing expert guidance into key projects and hygienic design reviews, leading hygienic design initiatives, and developing and supporting implementation of hygienic design policies and handbooks. He is also leading training and best practice communication on this topic, building capability and understanding of hygienic design principles. He is the leading research and implementation of digital technologies and automations for sanitary maintenance and hygienic reliability as well as technologies and equipment for extraneous matters control

Hugo Gutierrez

Experienced Vice President Of Quality , Food Safety with a demonstrated history of working in the consumer goods industry. Skilled in International Operations Management systems, Consumer Products, Value Stream Mapping, and Quality Management. Strong operations professional with a Specialization on Top & Global management focused in International Business from Universidad ICESI.

Peter Overbosch

Peter is the Chair of the GHI working group "Ethics in Food Safety Practices”. He worked until 2014 as Vice President of Corporate Quality Assurance, Metro Cash & Carry (Germany) and before that as Senior Director Quality for Kraft Foods (Germany, USA), VP of Quality at Nabisco Inc (USA) and Head of Quality for Unilever Foods worldwide (Netherlands).
He has developed and implemented global quality systems at all these companies, and has driven multi-site ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 certification across Latin America and Europe. Peter was one of the initiators of the BSI PAS 220:2008 Standard for prerequisite programs of food safety for food manufacturing, now being used in the GFSI recognized FSSC 22000 scheme.
Peter is a Netherlands citizen and has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Amsterdam.

Emanuele Pagoni

I'm a food technologist with a significant many years’ experience gained both abroad and in Italy in a number of food and beverage sectors: milk, cheese, meat and coffee. In addition, I also have a considerable know-how about food packaging as I worked for 5 years in a packaging company. I have always been performing key roles - Technical Director, Plant Manager, Quality Manager - in the following departments: Production, Quality Control, Research & Development. Several experiences have allowed me to see different sides of the business process, seeing things from a number of viewpoints appreciating the different faces of the same problem. I think my strength is the ability to learn new things quickly and I am very good at adapting to change in any situation. I believe in Teamwork and the strength it can generate by working for goals. I joined believe in Kaizen's philosophy and believe in continuous improvement through optimizing an organization and processes by eliminating waste. I love analysing problems with numbers and facts because across the Lean six-sigma Black Belt certification I understood the power of statistics. In my opinion, a company that wants to express itself at the highest levels should not only try to increase its margins through cost cutting, but also try to implement strategies that ultimately aim at customer satisfaction by making the right product with the fair price, at the right time. My favourite quote is:
"Impossible is nothing"

Khyati Trivedi

Food safety and quality professional with extensive experience of working with in site technical and central Food safety roles within the Food and Beverage industry. Masters in Microbiology and Lead auditor for FSSC 22000. In current role covers Food safety for Beverage category for PepsiCo across Europe. Leads PepsiCo Europe’s Food fraud prevention program. Represents PepsiCo on ICBA (International Council of Beverages Association). Has strong passion in driving the Sustainable packaging agenda with key focus on Recycled PET. Also active member of PepsiCo’s working group to reduce and re-use water safely using innovative technologies

Sausset Edwige

Edwige has more than 20 years experience in quality management for FMCG. She has worked in international situations, (Romania, Italy, France) in cross-cultural projects. She speaks French, English, Italian.

Specialties: Quality management in food industry (QA/QC, Food safety, audits, vendor management)
Food process : dairy; brewing, bakery; bottling and packaging
Regulatory affairs
Crisis management
Project management (change management, process design, new product introduction, training)

Alejandro Rodarte

Alejandro Rodarte is Senior Food Policy Manager at FoodDrinkEurope. His professional background and interests cover the wider agri-food supply chain.

He is a Food Chemist from Mexico City's National University and studied International Agricultural Sciences at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

Since 2007 he has worked in food quality and safety in various roles from researcher to scientific manager in EU funded projects, both in Berlin and in Rome.

Alejandro joined the Brussels world of regulatory affairs in 2017 representing the savoury snacks and later the horticultural sector. He joined FoodDrinkEurope in 2019 and is responsible for Food Contact Materials, Contaminants, Process Contaminants, and Novel Foods.

He is a passionate biker and supporter of sustainable mobility, loves to learn languages, and of course, all things food related.

Elisa Lehto

Food Scientist with an engineering background. More than 15 years of experience in food sector, comprising food authority, importing, manufacturing processes and quality & food safety management. Past 9 years in different quality & food safety manager positions in Fazer Confectionery. Motivated team leader with excellent collaboration skills between multidisciplinary teams.

Paul van der Aar

Paul brings 32 years of experience in beer & cider production, Food Safety and Quality within Heineken, as one of the 50 Master Brewers of Heineken globally. After finishing his Ph.D. in Yeast Genetics & Physiology in Amsterdam, he started his career in Heineken R&D. He was for years the ‘Yeast doctor’ within Heineken. He gained practical operational experience in breweries as Quality Manager and Head Brewer in Shanghai, Panama and Den Bosch breweries. And he was also for several years technological consultant for Heineken for our breweries in South America, the Caribbean and Europe. In 2013 he became Quality director of Heineken USA, till 2019. Currently he’s senior Global Lead for Licenses & Quality, within Heineken Global Supply Chain team, based in Heineken HQ in the Netherlands.

Sara Deckers

Sara is advisor to food manufacturers, and machinery and equipment suppliers in the food & beverage industry, specialising in regulations and guidelines with respect to the risks of contamination through compressed air. Sara hosts webinars and lectures at conferences throughout Europe providing valuable insights into the application of digital monitoring and standardized as well as tailor-made equipment for high quality and energy efficient compressed air. Furthermore, Sara provides trainings for auditors and certification companies on how to assess installations to support the manufacturer of food products in ensuring that safety regulations are met, maintaining a manufacturer's reputation and quality product at all times.

Dr Thomas Buehler

Dr Thomas Buehler is Technical Excellence Specialist Food Safety at Ecolab Europe. He is a trained Brewer and Engineer in Brewing Technology from TU Munich/ Germany with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Loughborough University/ UK. During his career he held technical and marketing positions in process engineering and hygiene chemical industries. Today Thomas works on hygiene aspects related to food safety, developing and delivering technical expertise in-house and to Ecolab customers.

Hilde Van Gerwen

Experienced Quality Leader with global experience in strategic and operational quality roles. Delivers tangible quality improvements, focusing on right first time for the customer. Drives change in evolving environments, with integrity and focus on results. Agile and cross functional team leader, building strong teams across cultures and organizational levels.

Florent Bouguin

Florent Bouguin is the Chief Technology Officer at OPTEL Group. Florent is a research and development executive with substantive experience in developing new technologies and business solutions that measure and reduce human impacts on our global environment. After graduating from Polytechnique (Orleans, France) and completing graduate studies at Laval University (Quebec, Canada), Florent worked as a System Engineer for ABB in the space industry. Holding several technical and management roles over the course of 15 years, he contributed to developing spaceborne analysers for greenhouse gas observation, weather forecast prediction and ozone measurement. He joined OPTEL group, a BCorp certified organization, in 2016 as Vice President of Engineering and Operations, where he has been participating in the expansion of the business in the life science industry. Currently the Chief Technology Officer, Florent drives the technology and go-to-market strategy of OPTEL group, whose corporate vision is a connected world providing full transparency and optimized performance, encouraging social and environmental responsibility and accountability while earning the trust of consumers. As a member of the Executive Committee, Florent collaborates with the president and Executive Committee to define the vision and set corporate strategy, goals and policies. Father of two kids and ultramarathoner, Florent's motivation is promoting the balance between family life, active life and professional life.

Sandra Saul

Sandra is a Senior Marketing Manager at Ecolab, driving innovative solutions and concepts for the Meat, Poultry, Fish & Seafood, and their Plant-based Alternatives industries. With 21 years professional experience in the Food & Beverage Division, knowing the industries’ challenges and needs, she works closely with customers to provide solutions that help making their hygiene operations more efficient, food safe and sustainable. Most recently Digital solutions for Open Plant Cleaning have added to the program portfolio.

Charles-Emmanuel Frénoy

Charles-Emmanuel Frénoy has an extensive background in bringing value to industrial operations thanks to data analytics in a highly complex international business environment. As the VP Sales, Business Development and Customer Success EMEA at Novolyze, he is responsible for commercial penetration and adoption of the Novolyze platform throughout the EMEA Region. After working with the Energy, Manufacturing, Logistics and Supply Chain verticals, dealing with major production optimization topics across the globe, Charles-Emmanuel is now dedicated to elevating Food Safety and Quality to a new era through digital transformation.

Nevin Rühle

Nevin Rühle – Business Unit Manager SEE
- holds a master in food technology and business administration
- has about 20 years of professional experience in different fields in the international food industry and certification / norming area
- at Eurofins Food Assurance responsible for the strategic market development in SEE

James Flynn

James is a Food Safety Consultant and Software Technologist, specialising in Food Safety Management systems. He has over 25 years’ experience helping food businesses solve key food safety management problems. James is the developer and the architect behind Primority Ltd’s cloud solution 3iVerify. Primority’s goal is to create a comprehensive and affordable food safety and quality management solution which industry can use to reduce supply chain risks and streamline key food safety processes like HACCP, VACCP and TACCP using its Artificial Intelligence driven cloud platform. Companies like Weetabix and Iceland Manufacturing are already using Primority’s 3iVerify solution manage their supply chains and audit processes and benefit from automated supply chain monitoring.

Noeleen Donegan

Noeleen has served in a number of leadership roles throughout her 22-year career with Kerry. Prior to her appointment as Global Vice President of Food Safety, she held the role of RDA Innovation and Regional Vice President for Regulatory for the EMEA region and Vice President of Quality and People Safety in Asia. She is responsible for designing and implementing food safety programmes, including an innovative quality management system across 150 plants and the introduction of a new auditing function in 2020. Prior to joining Kerry, Noeleen worked for five years in quality leadership roles across numerous global pharmaceutical and medical device companies.  She is passionate about reducing food waste through innovation in food processing techniques and improving food safety

Kris De Smet

<pKris De Smet graduated as Belgian veterinarian in 1987. From 1988 to 1992, he was researcher at the University of Ghent (Belgium) in the Faculty of Veterinary Science.
From 1992 until 2001 he was employed at the private sector (feed industry).
Since 2001, he works as official at the European Commission, Health and Food Safety Directorate-General. He was involved in the management of EU legislation on BSE and zoonoses (mainly Salmonella). Since the beginning of 2009, he coordinates the EU legislation on food hygiene, official controls in products of animal origin and on the control of foodborne zoonoses. He also coordinates the EU position at the Codex alimentarius Committee Food Hygiene and is/was (co-)chair in the development of several Codex standards.

Steven Oliver

Steven Oliver is a transformational leader with a broad range of experience across Food Safety, Quality and Operations, gathered over 25 years. Steven is value-driven with a reputation of enabling businesses to delight consumers with trusted brands including Müller, Cadbury Desserts and now PepsiCo’s iconic portfolio…. think Pepsi, 7Up, Lays, Doritos and Quaker to name just a few! Combining technical expertise with a curiosity to find more effective ways to deliver the Food Safety & Quality agenda, Steven has led the introduction of several digital and data-driven tools to simplify and make the delivery of Food Safety & Quality requirements increasingly more efficient and effective. The key to the success of digital tools development and implementation at PepsiCo has been the application of human-centred design thinking which Steven will expand on during his session.

Anett Winkler

Anett Winkler joined Kraft Jacobs Suchard in December 1998 to head up the research microbiology laboratory in Munich. Later on Anett concentrated on chocolate, biscuits and other low moisture foods including supplier developments and approvals. She also consolidated the scientific basis for microbiological process controls in low moisture foods by performing validation studies for nut & cocoa processing. Following a regional role for Microbiology in the Eastern European, Middle East & African Region she was globally designing food safety programs, rolling out training modules related to food safety and further supporting supplier development. Anett was also the global expert for thermal processing within Mondelez International.
In October 2017 Anett moved to a new position as “EMEA Regional Food Microbiologist Lead” at Cargill, where she is supporting all Cargill businesses in that region (Europe / Middle East / Africa) for microbiological / food safety related topics including process validations. Anett is also active in ILSI Europe (Chair of Microbiology Food Safety TF), and a consultant to ICMSF since 2022.

Marta Pałac

Marta has been with the Mondelēz International for over 4 years, driving global food safety programs. She has extensive experience in Manufacturing, Quality and Food Safety in the pharmaceutical and food industry. At Mondelēz, she manages food safety and quality through the End to End process for different categories for internal customers and suppliers in Europe. She acts as an allergen expert in the European region, leading proactive allergen programs to ensure the safety of snacks for allergy consumers. She is involved in the effective management of operational food safety challenges in factories, including risk-based decision making.

Gosia (Malgorzata) Powolny

Gosia is dedicated to ensuring the safety of consumers since 2018, actively engaging in various allergen management projects. Gosia manages allergen-related topics within Mondelez Europe manufacturing, she provides invaluable expertise to internal and external manufacturers. With her strong commitment to food safety, Gosia continues to drive the implementation and execution of allergen management initiatives. She plays a pivotal role in maintaining Mondelez future-focused allergen programs in the supply chain.

Anja Verbiest

Anja Verbiest started working at Kemin Food Technologies EMEA in Herentals, Belgium in 2010 as QA specialist. Where she as food safety team leader obtained the FSSC22000 certificate for the Belgium Food production. In 2013 she became CLS-QA Manager and is responsible for Customer laboratory services, Quality and WFP. She has an extensive experience prolonging shelf-life in all kinds of food applications and is specialized in natural and clean label solutions.

Scott Burnett, PhD

Dr. Scott Burnett is Vice President of Research and Development at Sterilex, headquartered in Hunt Valley, MD. He and his team develop innovative solutions for high-level microbial control in food processing and animal husbandry environments. Previously, Dr. Burnett was a Principal Microbiologist at Post Consumer Brands with responsibility for the company’s environmental hygiene verification programs carried out across its manufacturing plants. Scott earned his Ph.D. at the Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia and holds a B.Sc. in Microbiology and a B.A. in Spanish from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. He has authored or coauthored several peer-reviewed scientific publications, issued patents, and has presented or taught at multiple Food Safety-focused venues around the world. Scott was awarded the International Association for Food Protection’s Sanitarian Award in 2019.

Adeniyi Odugbemi

Dr. Odugbemi is a food scientist with a doctoral specialization in food safety. He has worked in the beverage, bakery, dairy, milling, confectionery, and meat and poultry sectors of food processing. He is a prolific instructor and teaches many food safety, quality control, quality assurance, and continuous improvement classes. He has facilitated food safety classes in almost all continents of the world. As a seasoned food safety auditor, he has audited many food facilities globally. With extensive experience in food safety and quality management systems, Dr. Odugbemi had previously worked for several companies including, Pepsi Bottling, Weston Foods, Kroger Co, and most recently Wayne Farms. He serves on several professional committees and advisory boards. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Osun State University, teaching food safety-related classes. He currently works as the global director of food safety for Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Arne Dübecke

Arne obtained his degree in Environmental Sciences from the Carl-von-Ossietzky- University in Oldenburg, Germany in 2002. He worked at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment and the Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology in the area of biogeochemistry, before changing to the realm of food sciences in 2008, when he joined Quality Services International (QSI) laboratories in Bremen, Germany. In 2017 Arne took the lead of the newly founded Tentamus Center for Food Fraud (TCF²). Since 2022 he has been Managing Director of Tentamus‘ juice lab, Chelab Dr V Ara GmbH & Co. KG, in Hemmingen, Germany. He is also an active member of the AOAC Food Authenticity Methods Group.

Laure Roger

Laure Roger is a Food Safety Manager at Upfield within the R&D department. She obtained her PhD in Microbial Ecology from the University of Reading, UK and has now more than 15 years of experience in the food industry. She currently supports the business with food safety and microbiological risks assessments.

Dr Thomas Buehler

Dr Thomas Buehler is Technical Excellence Specialist Food Safety at Ecolab Europe. He is a trained Brewer and Engineer in Brewing Technology from TU Munich/ Germany with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Loughborough University/ UK. During his career he held technical and marketing positions in process engineering and the hygiene chemical industries. Today Thomas works on food hygiene aspects related to food safety, developing and delivering technical expertise in-house and to Ecolab customers.

Kris De Smet

Kris De Smet graduated as Belgian veterinarian in 1987. From 1988 to 1992, he was researcher at the University of Ghent (Belgium) in the Faculty of Veterinary Science. From 1992 until 2001 he was employed at the private sector (feed industry). Since 2001, he works as official at the European Commission, Health and Food Safety Directorate-General. He was involved in the management of EU legislation on BSE and zoonoses (mainly Salmonella). Since the beginning of 2009, he coordinates the EU legislation on food hygiene, official controls in products of animal origin and on the control of foodborne zoonoses. He also coordinates the EU position at the Codex alimentarius Committee Food Hygiene and is/was (co-)chair in the development of several Codex standards.

Stephanie Haines

Stephanie Haines is the Senior Leader of Subscriber Development at Benchmark Digital Partners. She has worked in the field of EHS and Sustainability for over 10 years. She started her early career as a lobbyist, representing UK industry views on waste policy before focusing on management systems and EHS software over the last few years. She joined Benchmark Digital early in 2019, based in their London office to help grow their subscribers in Europe, as well as enhance their presence as a sustainability software vendor. She runs the Benchmark ESG customer working group to drive their product innovation in sustainability and recently earned a Masters at Cambridge University in Sustainable Business Leadership.

Lalaina Randriamanantsoa

Lalaina Randriamanantsoa is the Senior Technical Manager of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) at The Consumer Goods Forum The Consumer Goods Forum, a global industry network working with its 400+ member companies to support Better Lives Through Better Business. With a focus on consumer protection, Lalaina is responsible for overseeing the Benchmarking operations within GFSI, aiming at driving harmonisation of food safety management across those certification programmes receiving GFSI recognition. Lalaina is bringing her wealth of experience from working at various specifiers of the food industry, throughout the supply chain, including manufacturers, retail and distribution operations, the QSR industry; as well as holding pivotal roles as a food safety auditor, along with Auditor Management and Integrity programmes functions within those organisations enabling the effective delivery of GFSI recognised programmes, such as Certification bodies and Certification Programme Owners.

Erica Sheward

Erica Sheward is the Director of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) at The Consumer Goods Forum, a global industry network working with its 400+ member companies to support Better Lives Through Better Business. Leading the CGF’s work in product safety, Erica is responsible for defining the strategic development roadmap of GFSI, steering Working Groups and Local Groups and overseeing collaborations with key private and public partners. Ultimately, Erica’s vision for GFSI is to further expand and strengthen its ability to lead food safety advancements globally, working towards GFSI’s vision of safe food for consumers everywhere. Erica is an internationally-renowned expert in food safety management. Prior to joining the CGF, she spent 14 years working for a UK food manufacturer, six years in food safety academia as both a lecturer and researcher, and five years in the UK government’s Office for Product Safety & Standards, among other roles.

Rita Iacoviello

Rita is Strategy Director Food & Beverage at Veeva, helping Food & Beverage companies to optimize the product journey across product development, regulatory and quality through modern cloud solutions. Before joining Veeva, Rita has developed her career in the Food industry, with +23 years of international experience in Quality Assurance and R&D roles. Rita has held senior roles at Unilever in the Foods & Refreshment Division. As Quality Manager Rita has had the opportunity to manage all the different aspects of Food Safety, Hygiene and Quality, including being a qualified Auditor. Rita has also covered various R&D roles in Unilever’s Ice Cream category, leading the innovation program and teams for multiple regional and global brands and managing strategic and breakthrough innovation projects.

Adam Ruskin

Adam Ruskin is the Technical Excellence Manager for Food Safety and Food and Protein at Ecolab Europe. He has a Chemical Engineering Degree from Clarkson University, NY, USA. During his career he held many positions related to Quality, Food Safety, Process Engineering and Laboratory management. Today, Adam works on food hygiene aspects related to food safety and supports the EU food and protein Technical Excellence team with the goal of supporting Ecolab’s customers with hygiene solutions and food safety problem solving.

Tomislav Perica

Tomislav is the Product Engineering Manager in Range Area CPG IKEA Food. Focusing on product development, food safety and quality he has been working in different branches in the food industry including production, auditing and retail. Currently focusing on making safe sustainable food available for the many people.

Riccardo Picca

Riccardo Picca is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in driving growth, building capabilities, and leading high-performing teams across global markets. Born in Milan, Italy, he has built a distinguished career in both general management and strategic consulting. Currently, Riccardo serves as the Executive Director of Strategy & Global Business Transformation at Sandvik, where he leads significant business overhaul initiatives. He also holds advisory roles at Microsoft’s Intelligent Manufacturing Board and IRSAP Group. Previously, he held leadership positions at ITT Inc., McKinsey & Co., and KPMG, among others. Riccardo is fluent in Italian, English, French, and Spanish, and has a solid academic foundation with an Executive MBA from SDA Bocconi and M.Sc. in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. His expertise spans strategy, operations, digital transformation, sustainability and M&A, making him an impactful leader in the industrial goods and mobility sectors.