Global Food Safety Manager
VP Quality for Operations
Global Food Safety Director
Senior Quality Manager Competence Development and Communication
Quality, Food Safety & Food Integrity Director
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
Gulden Yilmaz is Director at OnePlanet Research Center, leading innovation at the intersection of agri-food, environment, health and digital technologies. Previously, she served as Programme Director Healthy & Safe Food Systems at Wageningen University & Research, and held leadership roles in biorefinery, biobased economy, and strategic business development. With a background in research, management, and strategy, she has extensive experience in building multi-stakeholder partnerships, professionalizing operations, and driving organizational change. She is passionate about leveraging innovation and knowledge management to create sustainable impact for both society and stakeholders.
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 has over 15 years’ experience in compressed air and specializes in advice for the F&B industry. Sara’s marketing background provides her with the ability to make the guidelines understandable and actionable, which makes her a valued partner for the decision makers in the industry, ensuring that traceability and transparency provide the consumer’s trust in the entire production process. Sara speaks regularly at conferences and events and loves to engage in conversation with manufacturers and partners alike
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
Besides beneficial (and) or spoilage microorganisms there is an ever-growing number of potentially pathogenic microorganisms recognized. In addition, known pathogens emerge in new vehicles / products. Furthermore, long supply chains, climate changes cause spoilage or food safety issues. For food manufacturers that presents a challenge to adequately react on those resp. supplies, production and specifications / test approaches. In Codex Alimentarius CAC/GL 21-1997 it is already stated that a microbiological criterium should be established based on scientific information, using a transparent approach and only, where necessary. In practice that is not easy to implement, as the knowledge base is continuously changing and distinction between hazards and risks are not always been made. The presentation is meant to provide guidance and thoughts towards a more risk-based approach thereby contributing to sustainability and food security efforts avoiding food waste and ensuring food safety.
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.Dr. Bruce Urtz
Dr. Bruce Urtz is the Microbiology Director at Sterilex, headquartered in Hunt Valley, MD. The Sterilex Microbiology Lab is focused on evaluating and understanding the efficacy of sanitizers and disinfectants used in food production. In addition to conducting standard test methods used to make regulatory approved claims, the lab is also focused on developing novel test methods that mimic food production environments. Bruce has a Ph.D. in Microbiology from North Carolina St. University. He has been working with antimicrobials and dealing with microbiological problems in various industries for more than 25 years at Nalco, DuPont, Lonza and now Sterilex. He has a successful track record as a microbiology manager providing product testing services, developing microbial control strategies, and supporting all aspects of product development ranging from inception to deployment.
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.Carmela Pennacchia
Carmela Pennacchia is a member of EU Food Safety Team within the Ecolab Food & Beverage Technical Excellence Team. She has a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Naples ‘Federico II’ (Italy) and since 2001 she has worked in the field of Food Safety and Food Microbiology. She has a background in academic research, mainly in the development of molecular methods for bacterial identification, being author of several international publications. Before joining Ecolab in 2023, Carmela worked for the Nestlé Company about 12 years as Food Safety Microbiology Specialist in the Product Technology Center of Konolfingen (CH) and then as the Laboratory Manager of the Italian Confectionery Factory. In her current role Carmela provides technical support to Ecolab customers in Europe with the aim of the continuous improvement in reaching Food Safety objectives related to microbiological contamination issues.
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.Catarina Petisca
With a 5-year graduation in Nutritional Sciences and an European PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Nutrition and Food Chemistry domain from the University of Porto, Catarina made a strategic move into the dynamic realm of the food industry a decade ago. Within this multifaced sector, Catarina has undertaken various pivotal roles, from Quality to Corporate Leadership and Government Affairs. Throughout her diverse career, she consistently focused on the paramount issue of Food Safety. As a staunch advocate for proactive measures, Catarina tirelessly worked to influence the companies she works(ed) for on the approach to Food Safety concerns. Catarina continues to be a driving force in the field, leveraging her wealth of knowledge and experience to champion the cause of Food Safety.
Olga Rivas Castillón
Olga has extensive experience as a technical professional specialising in design, development, implementation, evaluation and training in the field of sustainability, environment and energy, with a particular focus on audit and verification principles.
She has 25 years of experience advising and auditing organisations on environmental, energy and health and safety risks. Olga has contributed significantly to driving cultural change in organisations. She has been involved in sustainability reporting and non-financial data verification projects, including extensive interaction at board level with leading companies on climate change, energy, sustainability verification and certification issues.
Qualifications
Olga has a degree in chemical sciences, engineering and environmental management, and is a recognised sustainability expert. She is a regular participant in sustainability-related certification and accreditation forums. She is also a frequent contributor to global sustainability conference programmes.
Olli Kuismanen
Olli has been responsible for developing Tamturbo Air-as-a-Service business since its inception in 2017. Before embarking on a PhD on the topic of industrial equipment-as-a-Service he was also responsible for Tamturbo global sales. Currently he works to help customers become sustainable by helping modernize compressor rooms with no CAPEX usage – sharing the available energy savings in compressed air electricity and waste heat reuse.
Kimberly Carey Coffin
Kimberly has extensive experience as a technical professional specialising in design, development, implementation, assessment and training within the arena of retail-agrifood risk management systems specifically relating to auditing principles – and more broadly, the control of food safety, product quality, authenticity and legality. Over the past 30 years, Kimberly has worked for and with leading food and beverage manufacturers, leading retailers and associated supply chain organisations across the USA, Latin America, Asia and Australia/New Zealand in various technical management and strategic customer relationship roles.
Nick Bailey
Nick, a veteran of Milliken’s Pursuit of Excellence journey in Operations and Operations support for 30+ years. SPC, Investors in People, TPM, Lean, Business Process Improvement, Activity Based Costing, Loss Analysis. Nick has held operational roles in CI, Maintenance, Site/Manufacturing Management. He has helped deliver Safety, Quality, Deliver and Cost improvements in sites ranging from 100 to 4000 employees. Led client programs across multiple sites and multiple continents involving tens of thousands of people. Worked in a variety of industries, textiles, food, packaging, chemicals, automotive & medical. Having worked globally, US, Europe, Asia; Nick understands the importance of appreciating local culture and how it influences engagement and improvement.
Daniela Fetecauova
With over 23 years in Food Safety and Quality Management Systems, Sally brings extensive experience implementing food safety and quality systems across agriculture, manufacturing, and retail/wholesale. Since joining METRO AG in 2014, Sally has led key initiatives to structure the quality management system in Metro, including the development of three QA IT tools for audit, HACCP, and product quality control—now used across all METRO countries. Currently, as VP of Product and Supplier Management, she oversees quality assurance for METRO’s international suppliers and trading offices. Passionate about global food safety, Sally serves on the Board of Stakeholders for FSSC 22000, where she contributes to the continuous improvement of food safety and quality standards.
Kalliopi Chalkou
Studied Biology at the University of Athens, Greece, holds a PhD in Applied and Environmental Microbiology and has completed a Post Doc study in Microbial Biotechnology. During her PhD study, has been head of the accredited laboratory of University of Athens for GMO detection in foodstuff and completed several projects funded by European Community in cooperation with food and pharmaceutical industries. Worked as Quality Assurance & Quality Control mgr in different sectors of the food industry and joined Coca-Cola Hellenic in 2009 starting as Quality Assurance mgr in different production plants and moving to Group Food Safety and Suppliers Quality manager role in 2017. Today holds the position of Head of Quality, Safety and Governance, is member of Networks of Experts of Coca-Cola Hellenic and The Coca-Cola Company and nominated lecturer at Hellenic Food Authority seminars on Food Safety of Beverage Industry.
Antonio Nespoli
Antonio Nespoli is a Chemical Engineer. He has more than 20 years experience in Food industry both in R&D and Q&FS. He leads a unit covering Q&FS risk assessment and management for 11 plants, 5 mills and 35 Co-manufacturers. Co-author of Chapter 9 of the book Durum Wheat - Chemistry and Technology Minnesota USA September 2012 Author of “An introduction to Pasta Processing and final product characteristics” New Food published in Kent, UK 2009. Currently a Scientific Article reviser for Cereal Chemistry. Former member of Foreign Bodies Working Group of EHEDG. Speaker for Quality and Food safety topics in EU conferences.
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.
Peter Overbosch
Peter 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.
Niall McRory
Niall has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and over 30 years’ experience in a wide variety of roles including: manufacturing, design, technical sales, senior management, and most recently global key account management. Since 2016 Niall has closely worked with global key accounts for the supply of product inspection solutions and services.
Michael Lippens
Michael Lippens is an experienced Account Executive for Europe and the Middle East at TraceGains, specialising in Food Safety, Quality, and navigating regulatory affairs in global markets. With over 15 years of experience across the Food & Beverage industry and international supply chains, Michael has established himself as a trusted partner for brands across Europe and beyond. His profound understanding of the complexities surrounding global market regulations enables him to effectively guide brands through the intricate landscape. Michael is a strong advocate for leveraging technology and data to optimise business operations. He recognises the challenges faced by companies when navigating the intricate regulatory field and firmly believes that technological advancements are instrumental in driving efficiency.
Ryan Marshall
Ryan joined QAD Redzone in 2022 as National Account Director for EMEA, where he works with larger enterprise business leaders to drive transformational productivity improvements through Digital Production Systems and Connected Workforce Solutions. Before joining QAD Redzone, Ryan spent the last decade working with some of the biggest names in Industrial Automation and Digital Transformation in Business Development and Sales Leadership; in roles spanning the full spectrum of Automation & Digitalisation technology from factory floor to enterprise IT solutions.
Canan Mendes Aytekin
Canan works as the Global Food Safety and Compliance Director at LSG Sky Chefs and with over 20 years of experience in food safety and quality management. She has had the opportunity to work in both regional and global roles, developing and implementing standards that drive continuous improvement and operational excellence. Canan graduated from Ege University with a degree in Food Engineering and worked in Food Industry ( Sek Dairy & Kraft Foods) within the Quality Departments. Since 2008, Canan held various leadership positions in airline catering business, including Quality Director for Europe and Turkey, and Global Food Safety Director, all with LSG Sky Chefs. She is passionate about building a strong culture of safety and quality, and works closely with her teams to ensure they are always moving forward, whether it's through continuous improvement projects or transformation initiatives. Throughout her career, she always believed that creating a robust framework for food safety and compliance isn’t just about meeting standards—it's about raising them and ensuring the best outcomes for both the business and the customers they serve.
Nevin Castellucci-Najar
Nevin joined QAD Redzone in 2019 as an Account Executive. He spent his first 4 years working with companies across the US and Canada to help implement and drive sustainable lean manufacturing solutions. Nevin has since relocated from the States and now resides in the UK where he and his team work closely with manufacturers across Europe in demonstrating the impact of a Digital Production System and Connected Workforce Solution. Prior to joining Redzone, Nevin spent multiple years supporting automation needs such vision-guided robotics and defect detection systems across US-based manufacturers.
Bart Bosch
Bart Bosch is a dedicated quality expert with decades of experience in the food industry. He has held senior roles in Quality, Regulatory, and Auditing with renowned brands such as Heinz, Campbell’s Soup, and Puratos. In 2015, Bart founded his own company, focusing on helping businesses achieve sustainable quality management and establish reliable supply chains.
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 on allergen control and responsible for developing policy, strategy 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, FAO/WHO) and has published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals. He was also principal editor for the ‘Handbook of Food Allergen Detection and Control’. He was presented with a technical leadership award in 2014 for contributions to food safety and a SOFHT industry award for the development of RSSL’s practical allergen workshops. He was also awarded ‘Food and Drink Scientist of the Year’ at the FDF awards in 2018. Simon was one of the first to develop a practical methodology for quantitative allergen risk assessment (QRA), which is becoming widely accepted as industry best practice; QRA was recently recommended by The WHO/FAO Ad-Hoc expert group on Food Allergen Risk Assessment for the application of Precautionary Allergen Labelling.
Elza Palenik
Quality Assurance and Sustainability professional with over 15 years of progressive experience. Expertise in developing and implementing global quality assurance strategies, driving sustainability initiatives, and leading cross-functional teams to achieve high level product quality and safety standards. Passion for continuous improvement and a commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Ana Glumpak
Joint in Pan-Pek 2017. Currently working as Head of quality assurance. My past positions within Pan-Pek were Deputy Chief Operations Officer and Quality assurance technologist. As a Head of quality assurance I m leading teams for quality control, laboratory testings, Hygiene and sanitation where we try to ensure food safety and quality along supply chain and manufacturing all the way to consumers. Certified in internal auditing. Have experience in BRC, IFS, HACCP, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, RSPO, VEGAN, EKO and HALAL standards. Responsible for environment protection processes and actively working on sustainable solutions.
Alejandro Rodarte
Alejandro Rodarte is Director of Food Safety at FoodDrinkEurope in Brussels, where he has worked since 2019 with focus in Food Contact Materials, Food contaminants, and Novel Foods. Since April 2025 as department director. He’s a Food Chemist from Mexico City's National University and master in International Agricultural Sciences from the Humboldt University of Berlin. He has worked in food quality and safety in various roles from researcher to scientific project manager, both in Berlin and in Rome. The experiences during several EU funded R&I projects gradually paved the way towards Brussels and the world of regulatory affairs. “No one actively looks to go to Brussels but it happens”. After 8 years in the EU capital, he describes it as “weirdly fantastic”.
Eric Timmermans
Since 2024: TimE Food Solutions: Projects and interim consultancy for the food & beverage industry focussing on quality, food safety & continuous improvement
2019 – 2024: FrieslandCampina Global Quality Director
2015 – 2018: FrieslandCampina Quality Director Asia
2003 - 2015: TimE Food Solutions: see above.
1986 - 2003: Friesland Foods and its predecessors in various technical based roles (Innovation, Business development, Technical Sales, Quality Control, Quality Assurance)
Education:
Agricultural University Wageningen, M.Sc. Food Technology (1979-1986)
Nijenrode University for Management, MBA Food and Agro-Industry (1993-1994)
People manager with a clear strategic view and positive, pragmatic, open mind, analytic, result driven, connecting the dots (& people)
Motto: Today is my favourite day!
Dr. Yvonne Pfeifer
Dr. Yvonne Pfeifer, PhD in food chemistry, has 15+ years’ experience in food safety across public and private sectors, now specializing in compliance and quality in the TIC industry.
Anna Romanova
Anna Romanova, combines a background in food and nutrition field with experience in laboratory chemistry and data engineering, now specializing in food safety as a product manager for the Food Safety Intelligence module at Digicomply.
Florence Postollec
Florence is Director R&D at Corbion. With more than 20 years in tracking food microbiological hazards in food and processes, she leads research and innovation in microbiology to evaluate and predict antimicrobial efficiency of natural ingredient, supporting customers with tailored preservation solutions that balance safety, quality, and sustainability. She works in close collaboration with business development, product development and regulatory teams to deliver impact.
Gabriele Lorenzani
Gabriele Lorenzani is Quality & Food Safety Digital Systems Manager at Barilla, driving the digital transformation of quality and food safety global systems by designing, configuring and enhancing digital solutions and KPIs systems to maximize product safety, quality, and compliance. Passionate about technology and innovation, Gabriele is advancing AI adoption and proactive analytics to strengthen food safety and minimize the supply chain risk.
Carmela Pennacchia
Carmela Pennacchia is a member of EU Food Safety Team within the Ecolab Food & Beverage Technical Excellence Team. She has a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Naples ‘Federico II’ (Italy) and since 2001 she has worked in the field of Food Safety and Food Microbiology. She has a background in academic research, mainly in the development of molecular methods for bacterial identification, being author of several international publications. Before joining Ecolab in 2023, Carmela worked for the Nestlé Company about 12 years as Food Safety Microbiology Specialist in the Product Technology Center of Konolfingen (CH) and then as the Laboratory Manager of the Italian Confectionery Factory. In her current role Carmela provides technical support to Ecolab customers in Europe with the aim of the continuous improvement in reaching Food Safety objectives related to microbiological contamination issues.
Dr. John Hanlin
Dr. John Hanlin is vice president of Global Food Safety for Ecolab’s Food & Beverage division. Dr. Hanlin is a member of Ecolab’s Research, Development and Engineering team focusing on developing innovative new technologies and programs for safe food and water. Dr. Hanlin received his BSc in Biology and Microbiology from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, a MBA in Business Administration from Temple University and a PhD in Biology and Microbiology from Syracuse University. His PhD dissertation was on mechanisms of heat resistance in bacterial spores. Prior to joining Ecolab in 2011, Dr. Hanlin spent more than 20 years in the food manufacturing industry.
Olli Kuismanen
Olli Kuismanen is a clean-industry entrepreneur and Co-founder/Chairman of Upheat Solutions, which builds oil-free high-temperature heat pumps to turn industrial waste heat into valuable process heat and steam at 100-200°C. He previously helped scale Tamturbo globally, serving in partnership and business-development leadership roles at the oil-free compressed-air pioneer. Olli also has a PhD from outcome-based, “as-a-service” models for industrial equipment.
Michael Lippens
Michael Lippens is an Account Executive at TraceGains, where he helps European food and beverage brands navigate digitalisation programmes to strengthen supply chains and compliance. Drawing on experience at leading food and beverage manufacturing companies, he brings practical insight into the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in the industry.
Sara Deckers
With a background in marketing communication and 15 years in the compressed air industry, Sara understands the language of the customers with regards to quality requirements of compressed air. Sara can translate vague guidelines into clear cut advice to help manufacturers understand the risks of compressed air contamination and recognise the possibilities to eliminate those risks. Ultimately, she provides insight on how to protect their production processes, reduce energy costs and CO2-emissions, and increase profitability thanks to more efficient production processes. Working for a company that specialises in compressed air treatment, such as filters, dryers, condensate treatment and measurement technology, and speaking at different events throughout Europe, Sara has become the face of the company for many industries, such as the food & beverage industry, automotive and chemical, and pharmaceutical industry. Sara's facilitating nature, passion on compressed air and natural curiosity provide a basis for knowledge exchange to the benefit of all.
Asli Solmaz-Kaiser
Asli Solmaz-Kaiser is the CEO of iComplai, an early warning system that empowers the food industry to anticipate and prevent risks across global supply chains. With more than 20 years of experience in product safety, Asli has built a career at the intersection of innovation, regulation, and consumer protection. A former member of the German National Product Safety Committee, Asli has contributed to shaping national safety standards and policies. Before founding iComplai, she led global product development and innovation at leading global testing, inspection, and certification companies. Asli holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim.
Almira Lumagbas
A Chemical Engineer by profession, with over 28 years of experience in Quality, Food Safety, Risk Management, and Business Continuity within the food industry. Her career spans leadership roles across diverse sectors—including confectionery, infant milk, medical nutrition, dairy, plant-based products, and wines and spirits where she has led transformative initiatives that safeguard product integrity, consumer trust, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience. Currently serving as Quality & Supply Chain Senior Product Owner, with a strategic focus on system design and compliance, Almira drives the digital transformation of quality processes to further enable operational efficiency, traceability and food safety. She is a passionate advocate for cross-category standardization and continuous improvement. Her unique blend of technical depth and business acumen makes her a strong voice in shaping the future of quality and supply chain excellence.
Ludovica Tucci
Sales Executive at Dassault Systèmes, specialized in supply chain optimization, manufacturing, and digital transformation for the Consumer Packaged Goods & Retail industry. With over a decade of experience across account management, finance, and international business, Ludovica brings a unique perspective on leveraging technology to drive operational efficiency and strategic growth. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Economics from Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II and Université Paris-Sorbonne.
Chris Beddowes
Chris is a Senior Practitioner in Operational Excellence with Performance Solutions by Milliken, focused on supporting global organisations on their OpEx, TPM. Lean, SCX, and EHS Excellence journeys. Working at all levels in a business to deliver 'hands on' & engaging Education, Coaching, and Mentoring. With the outcome of engaging all employees in achieving success by building and applying repeatable processes & systems to build improvement into the culture of the organisation. With more than 20 years’ experience in Operational, Continuous Improvement, and Supply Chain roles in a variety of industries (including but not limited to; Automotive, Packaging, & Agri). I have delivered significant improvements in workplace culture, key business metrics and bottom-line savings through the application of JIPM / TPM Pillars, Continuous Improvement, Lean Deployment and Waste / Loss elimination activities.
Vesela Tzeneva
Vesela Tzeneva is a Global Food Safety Expert at Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), known for her extensive expertise in process validation and aligning operations with international food safety standards. She holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Wageningen University, giving her a strong scientific foundation—particularly in microbiological risk management. Over her career, she has developed and validated new analytical methods and contributed to industry guidelines on food safety validation—including co-authoring a 2024 guideline on thermal process validation in cocoa. Her work, which includes published research on improving Salmonella control, reflects her leadership in establishing best practices across the sector. At ofi, she leads global validation programs focused on thermal process validations as critical kill-steps for internal operations and spearheads vendor qualification efforts, working closely with suppliers to ensure they meet the same rigorous safety and regulatory requirements. Known for a systematic approach and an unwavering commitment to quality, Vesela drives continuous improvement in product safety and ensures the highest standards are upheld across global operations, while fostering a culture of food safety excellence.
Dr. Christian Mahr
Dr. Christian Mahr studied food chemistry in Würzburg and received his doctorate in food chemistry from the Technical University of Munich. He has a career spanning more than 25 years in international companies such as Kraft Jacobs Suchard, Hoechst, Campbell Soup Company, Danone, and apetito AG, where he held positions of steadily increasing responsibility in R&D and Quality & Food Safety. He is currently Head of Food Safety and Quality at the Ferrero Group's largest plant in Stadtallendorf (Hesse). In 2018, he founded the consulting firm Qadcon and advises clients on all aspects of food safety. With his passion for quality and food safety, he was deeply involved in the Global Food Safety Initiative. There he was a member of several technical working groups (Guidance Document, Global Markets Manufacturing, Food Safety Culture) and appeared as a speaker at the Global Food Safety Conference. He has also been a member of the advisory board of the ENFIT International Association Supply Chain Safety and is an active member of the Food Safety Senior Experts.
Erica Fritse
Born and raised in Zwolle the Netherlands, I gained my Master’s Degree in Food Science and Technology at Wageningen Agricultural University. Additional courses were on EU accredited Radiation Protection Expert and Digital Transformation in Practice at IMD. I have lived and worked in the UK, NZ and the Netherlands My career spans primarily the food industry (Cheese, dairy powders, crisps, condiments, cereals, but also OTC topical medical protection (sunscreen) auditing and biosecurity. Additionally, I have 10 years of standardization work with NEN/ISO on laboratory methods and 2 years with our government in charge of crisis management plans for Nuclear Power Plants In my current role I am responsible for the hamonization of all QC methods in the TTHdivision (1700 methods) The implementation of laboratory and other Quality iT and digitalization
