Patrik Hansson (1967)

Nationality: Swedish Position: CMO, Executive Vice President Marketing and Innovation Experience: Patrik has 28 years of international commercial roles in consumer goods companies in finance, marketing, sales and general management. Patrik worked for 13 years in Procter and Gamble, mainly in marketing, before he joined Arla Foods in October 2011 as VP Marketing and Sales in Sweden. In 2015 he moved to Malaysia to start up Arla’s regional headquarter in South East Asia. He then returned back to Europe in 2016 and then held the roles of Group Vice President in Sweden, and later in Germany, before taking up the current role as CMO in 2022. Education: Master degree in Engineering Physics from Chalmers and a Master Degree from Gothenburg University.

Johan Garssen is Professor of Immunopharmacology at Utrecht University, where he’s also Head of the Division Pharmacology at the Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences. At Danone Nutricia Research, after several functions as from 2002, Johan is currently Chief Scientific Advisor.

He studied medicine and biology at the Free University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He specialized in immunology, pharmacology and biochemistry and finished both studies in 1987 cum laude. He is registered as immunologist and pharmacologists. He finished his PhD thesis at the University of Utrecht in 1991 on the role of T cells in respiratory allergy, an immunopharmacological approach. This PhD programme and a postdoc period was partly performed at Yale University, New Haven, USA. Since 2022 he heading the Future Food Research Hub at the Utrecht university.

After the postdoc period he became senior scientist and head immunobiology at the National Institute of Public Health in the Netherlands. There he coached many research projects, both preclinical as well as clinical research, in the field of immunomodulation induced by a.o. nutritional ingredients, drugs and environmental agents.

Johan Garssen published over 900 peer reviewed papers in the field of “immunomodulation”. He is editorial board member for several journals and has contributed to various grants, a.o. NWO, EU, NIH, STW, Bill Gates, EDB, RAAK-PRO, children hospital innovation grants.

His major research field is translational research (from use-inspired fundamental research towards proof of concept clinical trials) aimed at prevention and/or management of immune related disorders with a strong focus on allergy/tolerance and inflammation management.

Dr. Stephan Peters
Nutrition, sustainability and health
Dutch Dairy Association
The Hague, The Netherlands

Dr. Stephan Peters is nutrition science manager at the Dutch Dairy Organization (NZO) since 2015. In this function he coordinates and carries out research on healthy and sustainable diets. Before, Dr. Peters worked at the Netherlands Nutrition Center as science and quality manager and participated in the Dutch food dietary guidelines. Dr. Peters also was a product developer in clinical nutrition at Danone Research, the Netherlands, and at TNO Pharma, the Netherlands. Dr. Peters’ PhD was on the topic of nutrition in involuntary weight loss (cancer cachexia).

CEO at NATURLI’ and true believer in a plantbased diet. NATURLI’ makes change easy by producing vegan noncompromising products in dairy, meat and ice cream – one-stop shopping with benefits for the planet and you!

Ilse Siekkinen is General Manager Nordics at Oatly, the world’s first and largest oat drink company from Sweden, where she is leading the company’s business in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. Prior to joining Oatly, Ilse has spent almost 20 years working within the FMCG sector.

Oatly is originating from visionary food scientists at Lund University who invented the world’s first oat drink. Since then, Oatly has been pioneering the shift to a more plant-based food system by offering great tasting oat-based products to make it easier for people to make food choices that are good for both people and the planet.

Thijs has been working as a sector economist for ING’s economic research department since 2012 after three years at Rabobank.

His work involves writing publications for ING’s economic research platform THINK, sharing those insights with clients during presentations and speaking to media. As a researcher he is covering short term production trends in food manufacturing, wholesale and retail as well as thematic sector topics such as sustainability and automation. The main purpose of his work is to help people at Wholesale and Retail Banking clients to make better informed financial decisions. Besides his work as an economist he is also heading a team of sector economists.

Thijs holds a degree in Economic Geography from Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

Mark brings over 20 years experience in the foodservice, retail and FMCG sectors to GlobalData.  Mark joined the GlobalData team in 2017 following 5 years living in Canada where he was an insights leader for PepsiCo and strategy consulting leader for the NPD group.   In his role at GlobalData, Mark brings bold thought-leadership to global partners across the manufacturer, retailer and distributor segments; always striving to find new ways to create growth by positively influencing shopper behaviour.

Mark brings significant FMCG knowledge and expertise to the conference having led research around the world on topics from shopper segmentation, to category market sizing to innovation planning and the study of global best practices.

Mark will be chairing the conference whilst sharing his views on the changing nature of next generation product offerings, the demands and expectations of today’s consumer, and the innovations and trends that will shape the future…

Delphine Forejt, Category Development Manager at Tate & Lyle, is responsible for Dairy and Baby Food category strategy and business development in Europe.

Delphine has over 20 years of experience in business development, marketing, commercialization of innovation and strategy. With a strong business acumen and outside-in mindset, she is passionate about identifying the latest evolution of market trends and developing valuable partnership with food companies resulting in sustainable innovative growth opportunities across the food value chain.

Marietta Sayegh, MSc, PhD is the Nutrition Business Partner for Europe at Tate & Lyle. In her current role, Marietta supports the EU region by sharing the latest scientific evidence related to various Tate & Lyle ingredient solutions with internal and external audiences and customers. Moreover, Marietta contributes to the development of science-based communication materials targeted at nutrition, health, and wellness audiences.
Marietta holds a PhD in Human Nutrition from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, UK, on inter-individual variation in glucose responses in women. Prior to joining Tate & Lyle, Marietta worked as a postdoc research fellow at the University of Aberdeen, where she led projects focusing on nutrition sustainability and food security within Scotland.

Meleknurs’ Food Engineering degree in 2008 equipped her with deep knowledge of food science and processing, laying the foundation for her future in the food production industry expertise. This foundation was furthered by a 2018 Executive-MBA from Istanbul Technical University, equipping her with a strategic understanding of the business landscape.

Meleknur has spent over 14 years deeply immersed in the (Plant-based) Dairy and Cheese world, specializing in solutions like flavours, fruit preparations, and pre-mixes. The past 9 years at Avebe, provided Meleknur with a deep understanding of innovative texturizing solutions, proteins, and starches, in diverse cheese and dairy projects (both traditional and plant-based). This unique blend of expertise empowers her as a Global Segment Manager, to connect clients with Avebe's innovative texturizing solutions, proteins, and starches.

Mark Kalhøj Andersen is a leader with extensive experience in technology and commerce. With a foundation in Chemistry and Environmental Engineering from Aalborg University, blended with strategic business education of a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (GDBA) in Organization and Leadership, focusing on Marketing Management.

April 2024, Mark has taken a new role as CEO of Lyras A/S, with a continued focused effort on driving growth, improving order intake, and boosting revenue.
• Our mission is to serve customers around the world in the food, beverage, dairy processing, and fermentation industries to enable energy and water reduction.
• Value creation at our customers is key and our systems will secure profitability and short return on investment alongside the positive sustainability impact.
• Our strategy for the next three years is based on strengthening our position in key industries while focusing on elements to accelerate growth, profitability and serve our clients.

Since 2022, Mark has been leading commercial operations at Lyras A/S, serving as the Chief Commercial Officer actively generating a comprehensive global sales and marketing strategy. Mark's responsibilities extended across the establishment and management of global sales offices, the creation and maintenance of distributor networks, and fostering productive relationships with engineering and OEM partners.

Previously Mark worked as the Technical Director at DESMI Ocean Guard A/S. There, he led the commercial and technical sides of the business, overseeing technical functions, managing customer projects, and steering organizational development. His role prior to that as Technical Manager highlighted his capabilities in project preparation, product development, and managing critical customer projects. Mark's career trajectory is characterized by a blend of technical depth and commercial insight, positioning him as a key figure in shaping the future of the current organization and the industry.

Davy Rosseel is Global Key Account Manager at Resilux Group and experienced in business development PET preforms and bottles. With his strong focus in Dairy and Plant Based Drinks Resilux can offer true sustainable packaging solutions for valuable and innovative food and drinks opportunities.

Meet Anna Ranki, a dynamic figure in dairy industry. Her diverse background brings a fresh perspective to the dairy industry, infusing it with new sustainability-focused ideas and methodologies. Her commitment to environmentally friendly practices and efficiency has enabled her to develop strategies that not only benefit the bottom line but also contribute to the broader goal of creating a more sustainable future. As we delve into the discussions at the Dairy Innovations Congress, Anna's insights promise to inspire new perspectives and contribute to the ongoing dialogue about the future of dairy.

Owner and Founder of UK-based natural flavour manufacturer, I.T.S. Mike is an experienced flavour innovator who has spent over 25 years in the food and beverage industry. With a background in science and food ingredients, he then founded I.T.S. in 2009. Building it up from his kitchen table to the international flavour business it is today. Mike remains proudly independent and always passionate about creating market-leading natural flavours for the food and beverage market. Mike spends his days exploring the food and drink industry, playing rugby and brewing beer.

Niall English as a professor in Chemical Engineering at University College Dublin, as well as an inventor, chartered chemical engineer a spin-out/start-up entrepreneur. Many of his interests lie in how external fields affect the ordering and behaviour of systems at the nanoscale - such as those composed of water, water-gas and proteins. In particular, he is fascinated how protein assemblies respond to fields - and typically in industrial situations, such a milk processing.

Aqua-B’s disruptive innovation in low-energy, ultra-dense nanobubble (UD-NB) generation in water, and other solvents, stems from its breakthrough discovery of electrostriction-based nano-phase generation. Without any moving parts, these solid-state nanobubble generators can be deployed and retro-fitted for ultra-efficient performance – even Off-Grid (e.g., solar means) to revolutionise water aeration, e.g., for activated-sludge and dissolved-air flotation – slashing OPEX.

Patrik Hansson, CMO, Executive Vice President for Marketing & Innovation, Arla Foods
Lena Lölfing, Sustainability Manager Nordics, Oatly
Mustan Lalani serves as Sustainability Director, North Europe & East Europe for the Tetra Pak Group, based in Brussels, Belgium. In this role, Mustan leads the implementation and operations of Tetra Pak's sustainability strategy across 27 markets in North Europe and East Europe. He is responsible for directing investments in recycling technologies as well as partnering with key stakeholders in the food and beverage value chain to drive action towards more sustainable and equitable food systems. Mustan has previously held roles in Tetra Pak’s Corporate Affairs team, where he led global stakeholder engagement and advocacy in public policy. His focus areas include climate action, nature protection, and circular economy.

Mustan has represented Tetra Pak in several multi-stakeholder platforms and trade associations, including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the World Economic Forum, the Consumer Goods Forum, The Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance and the European Association for Packaging and the Environment.
Prior to joining Tetra Pak, Mustan worked for a strategy consulting firm headquartered in Toronto, Canada where he managed several client engagements with multinational companies on ESG, sustainability and go to market strategies.
Mustan holds an MBA from INSEAD and a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science and statistics from the University of Toronto.

Marcel Koks is the Industry & Solution Strategy Director for food and beverage at Infor. Marcel has more than 30 years of experience, during that time, he has helped many dairy processors by defining and implementing fit-for-purpose solutions. Today he’s responsible for the vision and strategic direction for the food and beverage industry at Infor.

Biography of prof. dr. Geert F. Houben

Geert Houben (Biologist, Board Certified Toxicologist) is Principal Scientist Food Allergy and Immunotoxicology at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO and Full Professor Food-borne Risk Factors for Allergic and Inflammatory Diseases at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) and the Faculty of Medicine of the Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He is or was a member of tens of expert groups, advisory boards and committees in the area of (risk assessment in) toxicology, food safety, immunotoxicology and food allergy. Among others, he was a member of the WHO/IPCS Expert Group for the Harmonized Guidance Development for Immunotoxicity Risk Assessment, the Ad hoc Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Risk Assessment of Food Allergens, and several Health Council committees of the Netherlands.
Prior to his current positions, he has had various research and management positions at TNO and various research positions at the Utrecht University and the UMC Utrecht. Geert has had the managerial and scientific responsibility for the TNO Food Safety research and services for many years prior to choosing to focus on his scientific career since 2014.

Biography of Marie Meima

Marie Meima studied at the Utrecht University and obtained a master degree in Toxicology and Environmental Health. She is working as a Research Scientist at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO and as a Visiting Scientist at the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands. Past and current research topics include risk assessment of occupational exposure, emergency risk assessment of food contamination, and food allergen risk assessment and risk management. During the past years, she focuses more on the effects of food on immune health and leads a major research program targeting at the development and application of advanced data science approaches to identify food compounds modulating (the risk) of inflammatory diseases, a collaboration between TNO and the University Medical Center Utrecht.

Maik is the inventor of the methane inhibitor 3-NOP (Bovaer®) and heading the R&D program for the project “Clean Cow” at DSM. At the same time, he is responsible for technology scouting for the business unit in close interaction with the group of dsm-firmenich Venturing.

As chemist by training with a background in molecular biology he is working with his team to bring cutting edge technology into the animal nutrition and health sector with a special focus on sustainability topics.

Bringing an entrepreneurial spirit as a co-founder of a biotech company in Switzerland, he also worked as a Senior Scientist at Sanofi-Aventis (structural biology) prior to join DSM and project “Clean-Cow”. He holds a PhD in Chemistry and a post-doctoral degree from the EPFL Lausanne (CH) in chemical biology.

Over 25 years' experience in packaging solutions. Starting with packaging design, then equipment training, then project management of special machines such as beverage or aseptic combis, and finally product and market management for sensitive products. All this in two major companies, Sidel and Serac. I'm the father of two children (aged 21 and 11) and have been a crossfit enthusiast for over 20 years.

Mads Bjerre Andersen has dedicated nearly 20 years of his career to advancing membrane filtration technology, with experience spanning across renowned companies such as Tetra Pak, SPX FLOW, and currently GEA. Holding a Master's degree in Dairy Science and Technology from the Royal Agricultural and Veterinarian University of Denmark, his expertise lies at the intersection of innovation and dairy production. Since completing his studies in 1992, Mads has not only contributed to the membrane filtration field but has also delved into sales of turnkey dairy projects and UHT lines. Additionally, he has been actively involved in product and packaging development within the cheese industry, showcasing his versatile skill set and comprehensive understanding of the dairy sector.

Thomas Ryan is Head of Agri-Sustainability and Customer Engagement at Tirlán, where with colleagues and our farmer owners he has co-designed our sustainability strategy called Living Proof. The five core pillars of our Co-op wide Living Proof sustainability strategy are: carbon reduction, regenerative agriculture, natural nutrition, circular economy and growing together.

Sustainability is an integral part of all we do in Tirlán, where our farm families’ focus on a better future is supported by our c.€18m annually Sustainability Action Payment that incentivises positive on-farm actions that enhance economic, environmental and social sustainability in the areas of carbon reduction, improving air quality, biodiversity, soil health, water protection, animal health and welfare and reducing fossil fuel use.

Thomas is a member of the Irish Environmental Law Association, Agricultural Science Association and an inaugural recipient of Royal Dublin Society’s Talamh sustainability award.

Robbie has worked directly for several large commodity companies including Fonterra (NZ) as well as consulted in the field of commodity risk management and supply chain planning.

Experienced leader in SaaS, commodity markets, portfolio optimisation, price risk management, and qualitative and quantitative economic analysis.

Proven track record of delivering results through client and stakeholder engagement, tenacity, and thought leading analysis.

Holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Auckland, lectured Economics at the Auckland University of Technology, and served as an auditor for the Foundations of Commodities course at the JP Morgan Business School at the University of Colorado, Denver.

Dr. Harry Kamilaris’ expertise is in sustainable food production and innovation. With a scientific background in animal science, whole farm emissions, and soil carbon, Harry is dedicated to advancing resilient agricultural systems. His background includes carbon accounting and modelling food production systems. At Agricarbon, Harry continues to impact the sector by supporting the dairy industry in quantifying their soil carbon stocks.   

Bio: 25+ Years in the food and ingredient industry, including R&D, technical sales, within oils & fats, bakery and plant-based products.

Marianthi has a real zest for whey proteins and has been contributing significantly to Volac's success over the past 15 years. Her efforts have been central to the expansion of multiple plants, always ensuring on maintaining excellent standards of quality and performance in the products offered. What sparks her interest is tuning into the ever-changing customer preferences and trends in the Performance and Active Nutrition market and translating these needs into effective ingredients.

Over the last three years, Marianthi has taken the role of Innovation Ambassador at Volac, steering the company's strategic direction towards new horizons through innovation. She's particularly captivated by the challenge of using raw materials sustainably while still producing nutritional products that remain competitive in the unpredictable whey market.

Outside of her professional life, Marianthi enjoys spending time in Greece with her family, where she appreciates the sunshine and explores the local culinary offerings. This break allows her to recharge and seek new inspiration.

Marika Knorr has been in charge of Sustainability and Communication at CCL Label since April 2020 and is dedicated to grow the “Sustainable Product Family” while driving CCL’s Sustainability roadmap. Marika holds a Master‘s Degree in Art from Cologne University and Arizona State University and started her career as a newspaper and magazine writer before moving into Corporate Communications at international companies including TÜV Rheinland, LANXESS AG and Constantia Flexibles. She has held varied and senior positions in marketing and communications and has extensive experience in our industry focusing on sustainability and communication. Marika is based in Cologne, Germany.

Des Cooling leads the innovative Sustainability and Energy Manger product offering by Ever.Ag. With over 25 years’ experience in Manufacturing process integration and analytics across various industries he has been responsible for the design and implementation of a product that takes plant sustainability to a new level by mapping energy consumption down to devices and batches without the need of new physical metering. Working across dairy, distilling and pharma Des has helped multiple organisations map, identify and save on utility consumption within the manufacturing process resulting in improved energy metrics, production performance and in turn reduced carbon emissions of a facility.

Ross Crittenden is the global commercial lead for dairy alternative cultures at Novonesis (formerly Chr. Hansen). Based in the Nordics, he has been involved in plant-based development for the past five years.  He has a PhD from The University of Queensland in Microbial Biotechnology, and after a 30-year career in research and commercial leadership in the dairy industry, can now claim to have bene around the block more than a few times.

Ms Bauer is our VP of Ag, Consumer and Retail in North America at Global Data.  She comes to us with a wealth of Ag knowledge and unique perspective as she continues to be involved with her family’s dairy, forage, corn and soybean farm in the Upper Midwest USA.  Since the inception in 1982, their farm has been recognized for numerous awards that marked progress and success.  The two they are most proud of are recognition as Minnesota Milk Producer of the year and having bred, raised and exhibited a World Dairy Expo Class Winner.

Paula’s unique perspective will provide insights on U.S. agricultural practices and the “why” behind those.

• Commitment animal husbandry
• Commitment to soil health
• Commitment to responsible use of resources
• Commitment to our employee partners and communities
• At the end of the day…..What’s the motivation?

Julia is responsible for SIG’s global Category & Consumer Insights Management. She joined SIG 9 years ago and has held different roles in SIG’s marketing department since then. In her last 9 years Julia has developed expertise in B2B marketing, with specific focus on packaging innovation and consumer insights in the dairy and plant-based categories.

Muhib is leading the category development for Dairy and Plant-Based beverages in Europe for SIG Combibloc.  and working for the company for over 3 years. He is a well experienced strategic marketer and brings with him more than 15 years of working experience in the fields of Brand Management, Strategic Marketing and Market Research, and has been working with British American Tobacco and Holcim Group before joining the SIG Combibloc.

Przemysław Oziemkowski, Sales Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, brings 35 years of practical expertise in the food industry. Joining GNT in 2010, his deep understanding of technical knowledge and trends within the dairy industry has been valuable. His wealth of experience and deep-seated knowledge of the dairy industry intricacies have been pivotal in navigating and thriving within Central and Eastern Europe's competitive dairy landscape.

Jacek Meszka, Managing Director of GNT Polska has over three decades of experience in the dairy industry, he began as a Dairy Technologist in 1991. Transitioning into business development, he specialized in starter cultures, enzymes, hydrocolloids, and flavors. His expertise proved invaluable at Rhone Poulenc, Rhodia, and Danisco. Notably, Meszka led the establishment of a modern dairy factory in Kazakhstan in 1999. Today, at GNT Polska, he continues to leverage his extensive dairy knowledge to drive advancements in sustainable color solutions.

Anne Marie Butler has been in the food industry for nearly 15 years. With a varied background covering manufacturing, R&D and applications focusing on cheese, processed cheese, dairy alternatives, and flavours she has a passion for all things food! Recently her focus has been on the plant-based market and understanding the challenges manufacturers experience and finding solutions to create great tasting products.  Anne Marie has the unique position of having specifically contributed to plant-based market introductions in the EU, which is where the trend started.

Susan O’Shaughnessy is an Edlong Sr. Scientist, where she works in the Ireland based applications lab on a variety of different customer projects and applications including bakery, snacks, sauces, beverages and vegan products. Susan joined Edlong in 2018 and has a bachelor’s degree in Food Technology from the Technical University of Dublin and an MBA from the Dublin Business School. Prior to joining Edlong, Susan managed the development of private label food products for a major Irish retailer and was a product development manager for an ingredient’s manufacturer prior to that. Susan also has trained professionally as a chef with 9 years’ experience in the restaurant sector.

Dr. Lourdes Mato has over 30 years of international experience as a researcher in food science and technology and working within both academia and industry. Areas of expertise includes dairy science and manufacturing with emphasis is fermented dairy products including cheeses. Strong research background in Lactic Acid Bacteria and probiotics, protein science, and protein analysis. Lourdes joined Edlong 13 years ago and have been working in developing dairy concentrated ingredients for flavoring purposes and dairy flavors. Lourdes own Food Science master’s degree, a Biochemistry master’s degree from The University of Havana, and a Doctoral degree in Food Science with a major in Food Technology from the University of Helsinki.

Cor has been working as a banker for more than 30 years. First at ABNAMRO but as of 2006 with ING and always in the Food and Agriculture domain. He is a specialists the agricultural and food sector for ING in EMEA. With clients and within the bank he addresses al kind of market related topics and is often involved in sustainability discussions in the sector. Topics like decarbonisation (ING Terra approach), deforestation etc.

He is involved as an adviser for the sustainable dairy chain in the Netherlands and is member of the OECD-FAO Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group on Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains.

He is educated as an agricultural engineer and has done his MBA at the university of Groningen. Next to his daily work he is a backyard farmer with beef cows and chickens.