Sustainable Food Future Seminar Speakers

Aimee Pink

Scientist - A*STAR

Dr Aimee Pink completed her PhD in Psychology at Swansea University examining the personality traits and psychological factors that influence emotional eating.

Today, Aimee’s research still focuses on the psychosocial influences of food choice and eating behaviours, covering topics such as portion size and food insecurity in addition to emotional eating. Her latest research specifically focuses on child and parent perceptions of novel foods, and she is passionate about understanding how these fit into an individual’s diet, developing ways of educating consumers on their manufacturing process and identifying interventions to increase acceptance by consumers.

Amarjit Sahota

Founder - Ecovia Intelligence

Mr. Sahota is a leading expert in international sustainable product industries. He has been doing research, analysis & consulting on natural cosmetics, organic foods, fair trade products, health & wellness products for almost 30 years.

Mr. Sahota is the Founder and CEO of Ecovia Intelligence, which has been encouraging sustainable development in specialist industries since its formation in 2001. For over two decades, is company has assisted a wide range of clients that range from multinationals, government organisations, to dedicated ethical product companies. The client list of Ecovia Intelligence includes Unilever, Aveda, L’Oreal, Weleda, Arla Foods, Organic Trade Association, CBI (Dutch government), APEX Brasil, Organic Denmark, and the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

Research and analysis of Mr. Sahota has been quoted extensively in the media, including The Financial Times, The Independent, Forbes, Fortune, BBC World Service, The Economist, Food Chemical News, The Straits Times, South China Morning Post, CNBC News, Nordic Business Report and Asian Business.

He regularly delivers papers at international events; recent ones include Cosmoprof Asia (Hong Kong, Nov 23), Sustainable Beauty Awards (Paris, Oct 23), In-Cosmetics Latin America (Sao Paulo, Sep 23), Sustainable Foods Summit (Amsterdam, June 2023), In-Cosmetics Global (Barcelona, April 23), Natural & Organic Products Europe (London, April 23), BioFach (Nuremberg, Feb 23), and Sustainable Foods Summit (San Francisco, Jan 23).

Mr. Sahota has degrees in Applied Chemistry and Management Science, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing. Mr. Sahota has co-authored a number of books on sustainability and organic products. He is a regular contributor to the World of Organic Agriculture (published annually by FiBL and IFOAM). His last publication is called Sustainability: Greening of the Cosmetics Industry (Wiley & Sons).

Andrew Cameron

Founder & CEO - Enzyme Consulting

For over twenty years, Andrew has traversed the diverse landscapes of Food & Beverage, Sustainability, Innovation, and Commercialisation. His journey through the food system has been comprehensive, encompassing R&D, Farm to Table, Circulartiy and leading sustainability projects at country, regional, and global levels. In 2023, he founded Enzyme, an implementation-focused consultancy that champions holistic regeneration across food systems and the tourism industry. At Enzyme, Andrew applies a systems-based, holistic strategy, connecting stakeholders and leveraging his deep industry and consumer insights to maximize end-buyer and consumer engagement, largely working with AgriFoodTech start-ups to navigate the complexities that come with pitching novel products and services.

Andrew’s relationship with edible insects commenced in 2013 following sharing a panel with the Senior Researcher at Nordic Food Lab at Noma in Copenhagen. This experience catalysed his initiative to introduce these sustainable protein sources into restaurants and bars he collaborated with in Australia. His efforts have since sparked vital conversations at food festivals, science events, and regular dining venues, highlighting the significant role of insect-based products in future food strategies, thanks to their nutritional benefits and sustainable footprint. His professional journey with non-edible insects started back to 2005, working on Climate Change Research with the Smithsonian alongside a team of dynamic entomologists, and again working with biopesticides as part of his Honours project while completing his Bachelor of Technology Innovation (Microbiology).

His contributions are now extending into academia, where he serves as a guest lecturer and researcher across Australia, Singapore, and the region on dancing with the complexities within food systems. A sought-after speaker at conferences, he delves into topics like regenerative tourism, supply-chain dynamics, and the future of F&B. His insights, drawn from experiences that include leading procurement at global hotel companies and Michelin-starred restaurants, are pivotal in driving sustainable change that has traction in-market.

With a unique perspective and a thorough understanding of the food and beverage sector's complexities, Andrew is a valued voice in discussions on sustainable food sources, especially within the APAC context. His innovative approach and unwavering commitment to sustainable practices make him a key influencer and leader in the rapidly evolving landscape of food system transformation.

Enzyme is the 2023 Winner of the AustCham Start-up of the Year.

Andrew Powell

Agri-Biotech Knowledge Centre Ltd

Andrew Powell graduated from the University of Edinburgh with honours in Biology and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Calgary, Canada. He has held research and academic positions at the University of Guelph, Canada, the National Institute for Health Sciences in Tokyo, Tsukuba, Japan, and the National University of Singapore.

From 1994 to 2005 he has worked as a consultant assisting a wide range of clients (e.g. Quintiles, Syngenta, Agrium, CIDA, Enterprise Ireland, GTZ, CropLife Asia, Canadian Government) in their activities in biotechnology across East Asia. He founded Asia BioBusiness with Professor Paul Teng in 2005 and continued his consulting activities.

He has considerable experience in stakeholder dialogues, facilitations, and public fora across the region and in Australia and is invited regularly to chair conference sessions at global technology conferences.

Over the last 15 years he has been active in Risk Communication, conducting training and offering advice to both public and private sector clients. He is the co-author with Dr Andrew Roberts of “The Lowdown: Risk Communication, Dodging the Bullet in Controversy and Crisis” published by Creative Content Digital, London and available via iTunes, Audible, and as an eBook (launch September 2010).

Andrew was a member of the Alberta Government’s Research and Innovation Advisory Committee (ARIAC) from 2017 to 2019. He is also on the Advisory Committee of The Scientific American / BioIndustry Organisation Worldview Publication. From 2012 to 2017 he sat on the advisory board for Syngenta’s Rice Bowl Index. Andrew is also a proud member of the Global Scot community (www.globalscot.com) – a worldwide network of entrepreneurial and inspirational business leaders, dedicated to supporting Scotland’s most ambitious companies and supported by Scottish Enterprise.

Andrew Wan

Senior Principal Scientist, Food Process Engineering, Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation - A*STAR

Dr Andrew Wan, Senior Principal Scientist at the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), A*STAR, is a co-I of the `CRISP Meats’ cultivated meat programme, where he leads the effort on edible cell culture supports.

He is a pioneer of the interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation (IPC) fibre technique for scaffold engineering, which has been applied to both biomedical and food areas. This fibre spinning and assembly technique has demonstrated its value in creating 3D-patterned cell constructs for tissue engineering and has been more recently adapted to the structuring of food products with realistic textures and alternating nutrient components. He has been ranked amongst the top 2% of scientists in Biomedical Engineering by single year and career long impact (Ioannidis, 2023).

Bicky Nguyen

Co-Founder & Business Development Director - CricketOne

Bicky Nguyen is the Co-Founder and Business Development Director at CricketOne.

CricketOne is the leading supplier globally of cricket ingredients in the food and beverage industry. Their products are sold to over 25 different countries across four continents.

Her passion is to turn cricket-based products to daily diet to tackle climate change and promote a sustainable culture. Before the journey with CricketOne, she also founded another tech startup that implemented IoTs in agriculture to make it more predictable, increasing yield while optimising the use the natural resources like soil and water.

Being in startup scene trying to introduce innovative approach toward conventional matters for the past seven years, she believes that small change makes big change, and change is not a switch button hence it needs a whole system to play a role relatively together to avoid negative consequences occurred while trying to do good.

Calisa Lim

Project Manager - APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture

Calisa Lim is the Project Manager at the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture. Her area of focus is monitoring and managing regional regulations and policies, alongside key trends that could impact the industry across APAC.

Through relationship building between key stakeholders and the development of science-based reports, advocacy tools and communication materials, she aims to enhance the industry's role as a trusted partner in the development of robust regulatory frameworks and standards to advance the cellular agriculture space. Calisa has experience working in a food industry association and managed the issues of nutrition, fiscal measures, and ultra processed foods etc. She holds a BSocSci in Sociology from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Derrick Ong

Accredited Dietician & Founder - Eat Right Nutrition Consultancy

Mr. Derrick Ong is the Principal Dietitian and Founder of Eat Right Nutrition Consultancy.

Derrick is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) with the Dietitian Association of Australia, an Accredited Dietitian of Singapore (ADS), Past Committee Member of the Singapore Nutrition and Dietetics Association (SNDA) & current Chairman of Sports Nutrition Special Interest Group of SNDA. He is also a past Committee Member of the Sports Medicine Association of Singapore (SMAS).

Derrick is a fervent advocate that empowering oneself with good nutrition knowledge & preventative health education will effectively support transitions in our life stations for example: Pregnancy & Breastfeeding, Pandemic Weight Gain, Anti-Aging and Onset of chronic conditions such as Diabetes, Irritable Bowel Syndrome & Obesity as well as living a better, stronger, and more optimal life. He is also a firm believer that healthy food should also be delicious and culturally localised food.

“Making Nutrition Work” and “Prevention is Better Than Cure” is the driving mission for Derrick Ong in the field of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Florence Leong

Founder & Director - Kosmode Health Singapore Pte Ltd

Florence Leong, a proud NUS Business alumna, spent over 15 years driving business growth, strategy development, organisational restructuring & change management in Big Pharma before transitioning into venture capitalism, consultancy and eventually immersing herself in the startup ecosystem.

Florence is currently the Founder & Director of Kosmode Health Singapore Pte Ltd, a NUS Food Science & Technology spin-off with the mission to expand access to health from nature by repurposing food processing wastes for human nutrition and health.

Foo Maosheng

Entomologist & Cryogenic Curator - Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Maosheng curates both the Entomological and Cryogenic Collections of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (NUS), including the conducting of insect biodiversity surveys across Singapore and South-East Asia. He is also an advocate for entomophagy (Edible Bugs/Insects) as part of food sustainability.

Gianluca Anguzza

Founder & CEO - New Value Group

George Peppou

Founder and CEO, Vow

George Peppou is Founder and CEO of Vow, the leading cultured meat company globally. Vow recently launched their premier brand Forged in Singapore and is rolling out across some of the islands top restaurants. Vow is based in Sydney, Australia and only founded in 2019. George is a meat eater, qualified chef and biochemist bringing together a unique combination of science and culinary experience.

Hansie Conradie

Global Business Development, Sales & Brand Ambassador - PLNT

I joined Future Food Group in my position as Global Business Development, Sales & Brand Ambassador for PLNT, a flagship brand under the Future Food Group headquartered in the Netherlands in 2021. My main focus is introducing great tasting, nutritional plant based products to the markets around the world and showing the consumer that plant based products can be great tasting. With a profound commitment to promoting environmentally conscious practices and healthier lifestyle choices, I spearheads strategic initiatives aimed at expanding PLNT's market presence worldwide.

Through his collaborative efforts with our NPD team, key stakeholders and industry influencers, he cultivates meaningful partnerships to advance the adoption of plant-based alternatives across diverse markets, worldwide. With this visionary leadership, PLNT continues to revolutionize the way the world approaches food consumption, inspiring individuals to embrace a plant-powered future.

Hiew Yuen Sheng

Director & COO - Altimate Nutrition

Hiew Yuen Sheng graduated from Republic Polytechnic with a Diploma of Pharmaceutical Science. Through the Entrepreneurship Immersion Programme (EIP), Yuen Sheng was able to develop a start-up, Altimate Nutrition, to become Singapore’s 1st-ever start-up to create edible food products derived from insects.

Altimate Nutrition was founded with the vision of crafting delicious, nutritious, and sustainable food products using insects. As the Director and COO of Altimate Nutrition, he played a pivotal role in expanding and enhancing the product line. Yuen Sheng’s expertise in insect food products has gained recognition beyond his company he has been invited to share about the prospects of insect-food products, at various schools, corporate events, and prominent media outlets such as MediaCorp, CNA, Straits Times, etc.

Driven by a thirst for knowledge. Yuen sheng fearlessly delves into domains constantly upgrading his skills to provide the best possible service & outcomes. His commitment to personal growth reflects his dedication to delivering excellence in all endeavours.

Islah Ishak

Deputy Director Market Transformation Malaysia Singapore - Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)

Islah comes with over 20 years of experience in Business Development, Sales & Marketing, Branding & Communications within a sustainable business environment. Islah previously worked as a Director of Healthcare and Medical Technology at the Victoria State Government (Australia) Investment and Trade office, as Vice President of Commodity Development at Malaysian BiotechCorp (now BioEconomy Corp) as well as Regional Business Analyst for Middle East and North Africa Regions at the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC).

At RSPO Islah is responsible in ensuring RSPO’s regional direction is aligned with the organization’s global positioning and engages with key stakeholders and policy makers to ensure RSPO achieves its vision to make sustainable palm oil the norm and to catalyze more global partnership to make palm oil sustainable.

Islah is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and can be contacted at [email protected]

Jack Ellis

Lead Analyst, Agriculture & Food - Cleantech Group

Based in Singapore, Jack leads the Agriculture & Food practise at Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and investors engage with climatetech innovation. Previously, he was Research Lead at agrifood-focused venture capital firm AgFunder.

Jonathan Poh

Founder & Managing Director - Otolith Enrichment

Jonathan graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aquaculture and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). His role as the Account Manager (Lead) for the land-based fish farms during his time in the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) had provided him with an in-depth understanding of both the feasibility and viability aspects of farming.

A passionate educator, Jonathan serves as an adjunct/sessional lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic and James Cook University Singapore for courses relating to Aquaculture and believes in aspiring the next generation of agri-technologists in resolving the global food supply issues.

Jonathan specialises in the steering of aqua/agri businesses’ strategy and provides solutions towards sustainable growth. He was involved in the establishment of multiple aquaculture & agriculture projects both locally and overseas. Jonathan is the founder and managing director of Otolith Enrichment - the company behind sustainability initiatives such as “Sustainability @ Tampines Park” and “Community Aquaponics Project @ AMK Industrial Park 2”.

Jonathan Teo

Associate, Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow

Karin del Rey

Program Director - Big Idea Ventures

Karin is the Program Director for Big Idea Ventures accelerator in APAC, based in Singapore. Before joining BIV she helped build Ula, an Indonesian B2B tech start-up with offices in India and Singapore. At Ula Karin was responsible for driving fundraising efforts up to Series B, leading strategy, corporate development, PR and investor relations and building the company's culture.

Previously she was a management consultant at McKinsey, based in South East Asia, South Africa and Europe, and worked as a Capital Markets banker in London across a wide range of debt solutions (bonds, loans, derivatives). Karin grew up in Spain, graduated from ESADE Business School and has an MBA from INSEAD.

Kelvin Ng

Managing Partner - Green Bridge Partners

Kelvin is a business professional with over 25 years’ experience working in multinational blue-chip companies and world-renowned think tanks. TEDx Singapore speaker and a UK trained chartered engineer.

Kelvin has experience in key strategic management positions and has held various Senior management roles in Green Monday, Marine Stewardship Council, SATS, Yum! Brands – KFC, Pizza Hut & Taco Bell, Hewlett Packard, and DHL.

Kelvin is currently the Executive Vice President of Float Foods and is also on the Global Advisory Board of Ecoimpact Capital, MSC’s Asia Board and the managing partner at Green Bridge partners. Kelvin also serves as a consultant to several alternative protein companies in Asia, driving positive social change and improving the lives of people through healthier diets.

Kenneth Goh

Digital & Dining Editor - The Peak

Kenneth is a Digital & Dining Editor at The Peak, a leading business and luxury lifestyle media brand for C-suite executives and entrepreneurs in Singapore.

He helms The Peak’s gourmet section and manages the title’s website and social media platforms. A prolific food editor and journalist, Kenneth has extensively reported and produced multimedia content on the Food & Drink beat for top global names in digital and print media such as The Straits Times, Singapore’s national daily English newspaper, and the Michelin Guide over the past decade.

He relishes digging into stories in the kitchen as much as his favourite cuisines, including Italian, Chinese and Middle Eastern. Connect with him at @Kenneats on Instagram and on LinkedIn.

Kumar Thanabal

Director of Strategy - Meatiply

Kumar is the Director of Strategy at Meatiply, a Singaporean cultivated meat early-stage startup. He sits on the management team and works with the founders on commercial matters including investor relations, marketing & outreach, business development, HR, and organisational development.

He has had experience performing a similar role in a pre-Series A startup and over 10 years of experience in operations, supply chain management, and project management in various industries and leadership capacities. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Social Sciences majoring in Communications and New Media and later obtained an MBA from the University of Manchester.

Li Xu

Senior Principal Scientist II, Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2) - A*STAR

Dr. Li Xu is a Senior Principal Scientist II at Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), A*STAR, where he leads Sustainable Packaging Group dedicated to studying polymer composite for sustainable food packaging. The main research focus of his team is 1) design and synthesis of high-performance polymer materials and functional fillers and 2) incorporation of functional filler into polymer material with controlled filler distribution and tuned interfacial bonding between filler and polymer matrix to produce high performance polymeric materials. As an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology, NUS, his study is on food preservation by using hybrid polymers.

He has successfully developed transparent hierarchical silicate polymer composite with excellent oxygen barrier, oxygen scavenging and antimicrobial performance. The composite also shows very good UV shielding property after further introducing ferric complexes onto silicate sheets. In order to explore these technologies for food packaging application, in 2012, he initiated the Industry Coating and Packaging (ICAP) consortium aiming to advance pre-competitive research in industrial coating and packaging to enable the adoption of these platform technologies through synergistic partnerships.

So far, he has contributed more than 140 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals with H-index of 56. His oxygen barrier and oxygen scavenging technology has been successfully integrated with polyolefin to produce recyclable mono-polyolefin food packaging. He was awarded the Shimadzu-SNIC Industry Award in Applied and Translational Chemistry in 2023.

Lim Ren Jun

Principal - Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow

Ren Jun Lim is a principal with Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow. He represents local and international clients in both contentious and non-contentious intellectual property matters. He also advises on a full range of healthcare, as well as consumer goods-related legal and regulatory issues.

Ren Jun co-leads Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow's Healthcare as well as Consumer Goods & Retail industry groups. He sits on the Law Society of Singapore IP Committee and on the Executive Committee of the Association of Information Security Professionals. He is also a member of the Vaccines Working Group, Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, a member of the International Trademark Association, as well as a member of the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Association.

Lim Zie Hui

Director - Tobe Packaging

I am Zie Hui, passionate about flexible packaging and sustainability | Second-generation visionary at Tobe Packaging since 2019.

🌍 Committed to a Greener Future
As the second generation at Tobe Packaging, I bring a fresh perspective and a strong emphasis on sustainability to our company's vision. Recognizing the urgent need to address plastic pollution, especially as a supplier of plastic packaging, our team embarked on a transformative journey.

💡 Innovation for a Sustainable Tomorrow
Driven by our commitment to the environment, we have developed Ecolefin, an innovative mono-material packaging solution with a superior barrier coating. At Tobe Packaging, we take pride in being the pioneers in Singapore, offering this sustainable alternative.

🌟 Leading the Way in Change
By combining my passion for flexible packaging and my unwavering belief in sustainability, I strive to make a positive impact on the industry. Together with the dedicated team at Tobe Packaging, we are working towards a greener future.

Luca Ferraris

Managing Director, Sacmi Singapore Pte. Ltd

Senior Manager and Director of proven experience in managing and develop the sales in particular in Asia Pacific (China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Australia). Overseas resident for over 25 years, contributing to the opening of new branches and new sales network in several countries. Deep knowledge in the segment of the industrial goods in particular of the plant and machinery for ceramic and packaging industry. Able to build long lasting relationship and trustful at any level, thanks to my mediation and assertiveness capability. Determined, concrete and pragmatic with a strong interest toward the innovation and the Industry 4.0 On board with Sacmi Group since 2000 covering various positions and now Managing Director of Sacmi Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Luke Tay

Founder - Cornucopia FutureScapes

Luke leads a globally oriented foresight and strategy consultancy with a focus on food security, food-energy-water and sustainability, technology, and geopolitics. Working with corporates, institutions, governments, and international organisations, he advises on emerging issues, scenarios, and strategic opportunities, and supports organisational foresight capability development.

Luke is also Resident Futurist at Budding Innovations, and a Singapore Futures Fellow (adjunct) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He speaks and writes about a range of international food, sustainability, and foresight platforms.

A historian and political scientist by training, Luke graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. Before founding Cornucopia, he served for two decades in the agrifood and transport spheres of the Singapore public service in a range of strategy, international, infrastructural, HRD, corporate governance, and foresight roles.

Maggie Lee

Regional Head - World Wide Fund for Nature International

Maggie Lee is currently Regional Head - Asia Pacific, Europe, and North Africa - Impact, Monitoring, and Reporting at WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) International. Maggie has been managing impact-driving projects in the Asia Pacific in her three latest roles at WWF, Verra - environmental standards leader, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Aside from her full-time work in conservation, sustainable business solutions, and environmental standards, Maggie is also an environmental children's book author.

Matthew Tan

Chair for Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Fishery Sectors - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Prof Matthew Tan, an aquaculture veteran and Food Security specialist, is currently Singapore Representative (Private Sector) to APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security and is also the current APEC Chair for Sustainable Development in Agricultural and Fishery sectors (PPFS) where he co-ordinates discussions between senior officials, APEC governments and the private sector on the use of technology and combined resources for Sustainable Development.

In tandem with his current APEC appointment, Prof Tan is also serving as the Chief Executive Officer (Asia) of Assentoft Aqua Asia Pte Ltd.

Muralikrishnan Rangan

Co-Founder & Group CEO - Print Lab, Green Lab

Mr. Muralikrishnan Rangan, widely acknowledged as a media celebrity, is renowned for his sharp business acumen, envisioning significant potential in modernizing the traditional printing industry.

A proud Josephian and an RMIT University graduate, he embarked on his career journey in the print industry as a one-man show in 2007.

Since its inception, Print Lab has experienced remarkable growth, evolving into Singapore’s premier print agency and employing over 160 staff. In 2019, Print Lab celebrated a significant milestone with its merger with Fraser and Neave’s (F&N)’s Times Publishing Group, solidifying its position as part of Southeast Asia’s largest conglomerates.

Much like Print Lab, Mr. Muralikrishnan is not only an innovator but also a revolutionary and disrupter, guiding the industry with his vibrancy, dynamism, creativity, technology, and passion, while consistently challenging the status quo. Under his stewardship, the company has earned numerous awards and accolades.

As a fervent advocate of sustainability, he relentlessly pursues business solutions that empower local and regional businesses to embrace eco-friendly practices. In line with this dedication, he established Green Lab—a 200,000 square feet facility in May 2022, marking Singapore's inaugural eco-solutions manufacturing hub. The inauguration ceremony was graced by then-Senior Minister Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

With his partners, he propels Green Lab to achieve several notable firsts in Singapore:

- Pioneering as the first one-stop eco-solution provider
- Leading as the first sustainable kraft paper bag manufacturer in Singapore
- Spearheading as the first FSSC–certified packaging manufacturer in Singapore


In addition to his professional endeavors, Mr. Muralikrishnan dedicates himself to nurturing aspiring business talents from local schools and organizations, offering mentorship and investment to ideas that resonate with his principles. Currently, he holds positions as a Board Director at SICCI (Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and the SME Centre, actively participating in charitable and social initiatives, embodying his spiritual convictions.

Rachel Tan

Food & Drink Strategist - WGSN

Rachel’s understanding of the food and drink industry and keen insights into the Asian market inform her role at WGSN, where she delivers incisive research and data-led trend forecasts. With bilingual expertise in tracking regional trends and sensitivity to market and cultural nuances, she empowers clients with insight-driven solutions.

With over 10 years’ experience in food and drink publishing, Rachel is a Singapore-based editor who drove digital content for the Michelin Guide in Asia and worked on the editorial teams at BBC GoodFood Asia and Wine & Dine magazine.

René Benguerel

Founder, Owner & Managing Director - Blueyou Group

René Benguerel holds a Master’s in Aquatic Ecology and Fish Biology. Before founding Blueyou Consulting, he worked in the Swiss retail sector where he was appointed Procurement Manager for Sustainable Fish and Seafood for a major Swiss retail company.

He has extensive expertise in consulting industries, financing institutions, and international markets that focus on solutions for more sustainable practises. He has years of experience in developing incentive systems for reform that can be implemented by the industry at the production and processing levels. René leads Blueyou’s aquaculture and fisheries programmes, involves consulting and practical, field-level implementation.

Serynn Guay

Acting Assistant Director - Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH)

Serynn is an experienced professional with a demonstrated ability to drive effective communications strategies and initiatives for FRESH. With over a decade of experience in regional marketing and corporate communications within the media and events sectors, she skilfully leverages her extensive knowledge to develop and execute thought leadership campaigns, engage stakeholders, and effectively utilise social media platforms.

Steven Tan

Chief Operating Officer, Alterpacks

As Chief Operating Officer for Alterpacks, Steven runs the daily operations overseeing manufacturing and new product development for the new materials start-up. He draws on his global expertise of over 30 years in smart cities development, big data analytics and innovation. Prior to joining Alterpacks, Steven was the General Manager (Special Duties) at the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Company (China). During his illustrious career in the Republic of Singapore Navy, he represented the Singapore Ministry of Defence as the Defence Attache in Beijing, chaired a working group at the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, commanded a surface ship and a submarine, and held the appointment of Head Naval Research. He holds an MBA (UK, Distinction), MSc in Strategic Studies (China, Summa Cum Laude), and a Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering (Japan, First Class Honours). Steven speaks and writes fluently in English, Chinese and Japanese.

Tao Zhang

Co-Founder - Dao Foods

A Co-Founder of Dao Foods International, Tao is also Founder and Managing Director of Dao Ventures, a cross-border impact investment, advisory and accelerator group whose China Impact Fund (CIF) was considered China’s first impact fund specializing in supporting environmental SMEs.

Prior to this, he was the Global COO of New Ventures, the center of environmental entrepreneurship at the World Resources Institute, where he led the organization’s office in Washington, D.C. and helped its local centers in Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, and Mexico double their collective investments to nearly $400 million within two years.

Tao also has extensive investment and operational experiences in the telecom and high-tech sector, through roles as assistant president of Asia-Pac at Convergys and leadership roles in strategic venture investments in Asia at Verizon. Tao began his career as a European Union economic affairs correspondent with China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency and also advised Chinese government entities on international economic and commercial policies.

He received a B.A. from Beijing Foreign Studies University, an MBA from Wake Forest University, and an MPA from Harvard University as a Mason Fellow.

Tim Hill

Key Accounts Director, Southeast Asia - GlobalData

In his work with GlobalData, Tim provides economic forecasts, consumer insights, brand share, channel assessments and business trends to F&B companies looking to expand in Asia. Tim has worked in research in Asia since 1992 with organisations such as the Economist Intelligence Unit, Ipsos Business Consulting and Eco-Business.

Recent opinion pieces include “Losing taste for plan-based meats?”, “Will Gen Z disrupt the ASEAN corporate landscape?”, “The market for plant-based milk in Asia”, “Covid 19, a chance for F&B to finally go green”, “The rise of food delivery in ASEAN” and “Winners and losers in post-pandemic Asia Pacific”.

Tim’s work has been published in ASEAN Post, Channel News Asia, Eco-Business, The Business Times and The Straits Times as well as other regional newspapers. He is a regular speaker and conference moderator for industry and client events. Tim has an MBA from Henley Business School in UK.

Weitze Ooi

Managing Director - Dole Sunshine Company

Weitze Ooi is driven by passion to create a circular economy and has 15+ years of experience in the Agriculture and Food Industry, working in the domains of trading, corporate strategy, factory supply chain operation, profit improvement project, innovation, business development and M&A.

Weitze founded Dole Speciality Ingredients (DSI), a new corporate venture focusing in Zero Fruit Waste mission by upcycling fruit side streams and waste streams from farms and manufacturing sites into high value specialty ingredients, e.g. Enzyme, extracts, seed oil, fibre and others. Besides, Weitze also heads the Global B2B business in Dole that manages ingredient business exporting to over 50 markets.

Prior to Dole, Weitze spent several years working as food commodity trader in Itochu Corporation in Japan. When he worked in Itochu Corporation, he was also one of the key members that pursued and completed Dole Business acquisition project ($1.7 Billion) in 2013 and set up the headquarter of Dole in Singapore.

XiuLing Guo

CEO - Nurasa

XiuLing Guo is a distinguished leader in the food industry, with over two decades of experience in the global ingredients and quick service restaurant (QSR) sectors.

She was most recently the Managing Director of Cargill’s Global Edible Oil Solutions Business in Asia, where she oversaw over 55 markets across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Prior to joining Cargill, she served as the Supply Chain Director at Yum!, where she supported the business’ expansion plans in China.

With a passion for creating positive impact, XiuLing currently works with her alma mater, Tongji University, as the Founding Partner and Industry Advisor to its accelerator programme. The programme aims to solve global sustainability challenges by connecting top-tier scientific minds, entrepreneurs, early-stage investors and global corporations.

XiuLing holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tongji University, a master diploma in financial strategy from University of Oxford Said Business School and is certified by INSEAD as an independent board director.