Conference "Perspectives for FOOD 2030"
Speakers
Karl Andreas Almĺs
Karl A. Almås is the president of SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture, a branch of the Foundation of Industrial and Technological Research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (SINTEF) in Trondheim, Norway which is a private research organisation with 1800 people doing contract research for private industry and the public sector. Karl A. Almås holds a PhD (1982) in biochemical engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology focusing upon fish processing technology. He worked as a post doc at Department of Food at the University of Madison, Wisconsin in 1982-83 focusing upon food engineering. From 1983 to 1991 he went into fisheries research in Tromsø Northern Norway. First as a senior scientist and research director at the Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research and later as founder and managing director of the company Marine Biochemicals, a pioneer company producing biochemical from marine raw materials. Karl has been in SINTEF from 1991, first as director of the institute of applied chemistry and later on as president of SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture which was established in 1999 as a contract research partner to the fisheries and aquaculture industry. During the 5 years of existence the company has grown to more than 100 people operating in the fields of fishing technology, aquaculture technology, fish processing and marine research technology. During his scientific career he has published approximately 40 scientific papers, book chapters and patents related to fish processing and utilization of marine biomass for other products than for human consumption. At the moment he is acting as board chairman of three newly established companies, board member of The Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences, Professional Member of The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and member of committees organized by the Norwegian Research Council.
Esko Aho
Esko Aho has had a long and distinguished career serving Finnish society. He held the post of Prime Minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995. After the 2000 presidential campaign, Aho joined Harvard University for one year as a lecturer, and following his retirement from the Finnish Parliament, he worked as a private consultant. Esko Aho was appointed President of the Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra, as of 1 July 2004. Esko Aho was elected to Parliament in 1983, and he was the Chairman of the Centre Party from 1990 to 2002. During his parliamentary career, he was a member of several key committees, such as the Grand Committee, which he chaired, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Finance Committee, as well as of the Nordic Council and the Finnish Delegations to the Council of Europe. Aho has published several books and other publications, and during his long career has held over thirty positions of trust, including elector in the presidential elections of 1978, 1982 and 1998, Vice-Chairman of Liberal International from 1994 to 2002, Chairman of the Finnish Ski Association from 1996 to 2000, and Vice-Chairman of the Finnish Olympic Committee from 1997 to 2000. Aho is an invited member of the Club de Madrid, an independent organisation dedicated to strengthening democracy whose members are former heads of state and government, the Science and Technology in Society Forum (STS), and the InterAction Council, an organisation consisting of former heads of state and government which seeks solutions to the economical, political and social problems confronting humanity. Esko Aho was invited to head a group of experts on reinforcing EU research and innovation performance, which submitted its report to the European Commission in January 2006. He is also a member of the advisory group in the Fondation Sophia Antipolis. Most recently, he was appointed a Member of Board of Directors at Russian Venture Company from January 2007.
Andrzej Babuchowski
Andrzej Babuchowski is a Professor of Food Technology in the Faculty of Food Sciences at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. At present, he is a Minister-Counsellor in the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the EU. Previously, he was secretary and undersecretary of state and deputy minister of agriculture and rural development in Poland responsible for foreign cooperation and collaboration with the EU as well as for fishery and agricultural markets. Prof. dr hab. Andrzej Babuchowski, after graduation in 1973 from the University of Agriculture in Olsztyn joined the staff of the University serving in a variety of postings related to the development of the education, science and research. During his active scientific life, he spent several years working at different universities in USA, Africa and Europe. He coordinated several research and educational programmes, wrote more than 180 publications and promoted 5 doctorates. At the University, he was responsible for international educational programmes TEMPUS, ERASMUS and LEONARDO as well as EU and other international research programmes 4th, 5th and 6th FP, COST, EUREKA, etc. Prof. dr hab. Andrzej Babuchowski was also very active in developing research collaboration with industry being elected a President of the Polish National Committee of the FIL/IDF and Coordinator of the Polish Food Technology Platform. As a member of the core-team he was involved in the creation of the European Technology Platform Food for Life. In 1999, he joined public service being first a Director of Foundation of Assistance Programmes for Agriculture (FAPA) and later a Director of the Department then Vice-President and Director of Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture (ARMA) responsible for implementation of SAPARD Programme and Structural Funds. His major areas of interest are fermentation technologies, food processing industry development, utilization of food industry by-products, food safety and quality, food law, quality management, research and development policy related to agro-food sector of economy, consumer expectations and possible technological and market responses, food trade barriers, adaptation of food technologies to SME requirements and SME development, research and development policy related to agro-food sector of economy, technology and innovation transfer, rural areas development and lifelong learning.
Warren Belasco
Warren Belasco is Professor of American Studies at the University
of Maryland Baltimore County, USA. He is the author of Meals
to Come: A History of the Future of Food (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 2006), as well as Appetite for Change:
How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry (revised edition,
Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006).
He co-edited Food Nations: Selling Taste in Consumer Societies
(New York: Routledge: 2002), was a senior editor of The Oxford
Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (New York: Oxford,
2004), and is chief editor of Food, Culture and Society: An
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (Oxford:
Berg Publishers). At the moment he is writing an introductory text,
Key Concepts in Food Studies, for Berg Publishers. He lives
in Washington, D.C. 
Publications [PDF - 13Kb]
Mariann Fischer Boel
Management Secretary with export company in Copenhagen 1965-1967, finance manager same place 1967-1971. Member of Munkebo Municipal Council from 1982-1991 and again from 1994-1997. 2. deputy mayor from 1986-1990. Chairman of the Liberal Party's Kerteminde Constituency 1987-1989. Member of the Committee of Representatives of the insurance company Řstifterne from 1991, of the Boel Fund's Board of Governors from 1992 and the Kreditforeningen Danmark's local council, Odense from 1996. Chairman of the High School's Secretariat 1993-2000. Member of the National Assessment Council from 1994. The Liberal Party - Member of Parliament (Folketinget) for Funen County Constituency from 12th December 1990. Member of the Liberal Party's General Council and of the management committee of the Parliamentary Liberal Party from 1990. Chairman of the Folketing's Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Committee 1994-1998. Chairman of the Folketing's Trade and Industry Committee 1998-1999. Chairman of the Fiscal Affairs Committee 1999-2001. Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries from 27th November 2001 - 2nd August 2004. Since 22nd November 2004: European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development
Remko Boom
Remko Boom is a full professor at the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Department of Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He is Chair of the Food Process Engineering group, leads the Process Engineering Laboratory, and is Research Associate of the Agrotechnology and Food Innovations Research Institute (A&F). He received his MSc degree (highest hons, 1988) in Chemical Technology at the University of Twente, and his PhD degree (highest hons, 1992) at the same institute, in the field of membrane separation technology. From 1992 to 1998 he worked for Unilever as industrial researcher and research project leader. In 1998, he was appointed as full professor at Wageningen University. His research interests include the fractionation of agri-feedstock into functional fractions, the processing of complex, multiphase solid foods, and the enzymatic conversion at extreme conditions (high temperatures, high concentrations), and the use of microtechnology and process miniaturization for production of new, complex, functional food structures. Remko Boom received the Royal Dutch Shell Study Tour Award in 1993. Apart from being involved in the national research institute on food and nutrition (Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences, WCFS), he acts as scientific programme manager for the Dutch Separation Technology Institute (DSTI), as well as for the national research programme MicroNed (application of microtechnology). Furthermore, he is a programme committee member of the national Process-on-a-Chip research programme and of the NWO Separation Technology research programme.
Ian Bretman
Ian Bretman has been Deputy Director of The Fairtrade Foundation since 2001 and a member of the Board of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International since May 2006. His involvement with the fair trade movement dates back to 1986 when he joined Oxfam Trading as Head of Marketing. In a career spanning over 30 years he has also worked in other areas of the UK voluntary sector and extensively in the commercial arena on business development roles in the oil, engineering and graphic design/publishing industries. Ian has been primarily responsible for managing the commercial relationships of the Fairtrade Foundation over the past ten years, a period that has see sales of products certified by the FAIRTRADE Mark rise from under Ł6 million to over Ł200 million. Ian has been a driving force behind the extension of the FAIRTRADE Mark to new product categories and led the Foundation’s work on development of the Windward Island Fairtrade banana programme and the launch of Fairtrade roses in 2004. More recently he has worked on the governance structure of the Fairtrade Labelling System, enabling producer representative bodies in Afriuca, Asia and Latin America to become members of FLO for the first time. Ian has been a member of the Institute of Fundraising since 1988 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2004.
Michel Coomans
Michel Coomans, graduated in Mathematics (ULB, Belgium) and in Management. He has spent more than 15 years in the Information Technology industry, where he held various responsibilities, from systems designer to Managing Director, in the USA, Canada and several parts of Europe. He joined the European Commission in 1989 in the frame of the Industrial Research programme ESPRIT, in charge of multimedia and microprocessor systems areas till 1994. He then moved to the Industrial Policy Directorate of DG Industry, became subsequently responsible for RTD and Innovation aspects and later, for the " External aspects of Enterprise Policy ", covering Government and Business Dialogues with third countries as well as leading the Enterprise aspects of Trade Policy. He was Head of Unit of Human resources in DG Enterprise and Industry. He is currently, Head of Unit of "Food Industry" in DG Enterprise and Industry whose main mission is the reinforcement of the sector's competitiveness. His responsibilities cover policy related aspects of the sector, including adaptation of food technologies and innovation to SMEs, the management of an export refund regime and trade negotiations for Processed Agriculture Products.
Charles Daly
Charles Daly is attached to the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC) and the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science (SEFS) at University College Cork, Ireland where he has held a number of leadership roles in Food Science and Food Biotechnology. His research interests include the role of microorganisms in food and health issues. He has served as coordinator of major EU Framework Transnational Projects in Food Biotechnology and is a member of the Horizontal Activities Group of the European Technology Platform (ETP) - Food for Life.
Xavier Durieu
Xavier Durieu was appointed Secretary General of EuroCommerce in 2001 where he had been Chairman of the Euro & New Payment Systems Committee since 1996. Of Belgian origin, he holds an MBA from the London Business School. Before joining EuroCommerce in 2001, he has been General Manager of various service companies within the GIB Group, Belgium's largest retail group. He also served as managing director of its financial subsidiary as well as chairman of the Awards Services S.A. He began his career at Eurocard International, where he held various positions. Between 1991 and 2002, he has been visiting professor at the HEC management school in Brussels. Since 1997, he has been non executive Director of the FEIB, the Financial Executives Institute of Belgium and independent director of SMEs. He is President of the FIRAE (Forum for International Retail Association Executives), and board member of ECR (Efficient Consumer Response) and of the International Commerce Institute.
Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle
Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle is the new Executive Director of EFSA. Previously, she was the Regional Director of Agriculture and Forestry for the Ile de France region and one of the two Vice-Chairs of EFSA Management Board. Prior to this, she was Director-General of Food of the French Agriculture Ministry where she was responsible, from 2000 to 2003, for the management of health risks related to food, animal health and welfare and plant protection as well as risk communications. She has also worked for the European Commission in the area of risk management and risk assessment from 1991 to 1993. Active at the international level, she has served as Chair of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on General Principles in 2001 and 2002.
Michael E. Knowles
Michael studied at the University of Nottingham where he was awarded
a BPharm (1st Class Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He was awarded
a PhD for his work in medicinal chemistry, which he extended as
a ICI post-doctoral fellow for a further two years.
Michael was employed in the
UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's, Food Science Division, initially as a
Senior Research Fellow, eventually to become Head of the Food Science Laboratory. In 1985, he
became Head of Food Science Division in London and Chief Scientist (Fisheries and Food)
on 1 August 1989 until the end of 1991 when he joined Coca-Cola Greater Europe.
From 1992 until 1999 he was SRA Director for Greater Europe Group, with later responsibilities
for Middle East Division and Africa Group. Now he is the SRA Director for European Union Group.
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee is the Director of Australia’s Food Futures Flagship, one of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s (CSIRO’s) six National Research Flagships. The Flagship program is delivering outcomes that will transform the agrifood sector of Australia through new technologies and collaborations. Dr. Lee joined the Flagship program in January 2004, bringing with him more than 14 years of international experience in agribusiness, research and development. Dr Lee has extensive experience in the agrifood sector particularly in the translation of research into commercial outcomes. Dr. Lee’s early scientific research career focussed on gene expression in cereals.Prior to joining CSIRO, Dr. Lee was with Syngenta, a Swiss-based agribusiness company. Dr Lee has also worked with Ciba-Geigy and Novartis, based in Basel Switzerland. His work at that time focussed on global research, management, business development, acquisitions and commercial sector. He was also part of the team which commercialised the first transgenic corn products in the United States. Dr. Lee has served on a number of European industry associations including EuropaBio and holds degrees from the University of Sydney, Australia and Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany.
Ragnar E. Lofstedt
Ragnar E.Lofstedt is Professor of Risk Management and the Director of King’s Centre of Risk Management, King’s College London, UK where he teaches and conducts research on risk communication and management. Previously he was a Reader in Social Geography at the University of Surrey, UK. He is also an adjunct Professor at the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, Harvard School of Public Health where he co-directs the Risk Communication Challenge Course for continuing education professionals with Mr David Ropeik, he is Adjunct Professor at the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, and he is a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Public Sector Research, Gothenburg University, Sweden. Dr Lofstedt earned his BA and MA degrees at University of California Los Angeles (1988) and Clark University (1991), respectively, before completing his PhD in geography at Clark University (1993). After a post-doctorate position at the Risk, Society and Policy Group at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) (Laxenburg, Austria), he joined the University of Surrey as a lecturer in social geography. He has conducted research in risk communication and management in such areas as renewable energy policy, transboundary environmental issues (acid rain and nuclear power), telecommunications, biosafety, and the siting of building of incinerators, nuclear waste installations and railways. He is a believer in the building of public trust in regulators and industry via proactive risk communication and argues that high regulatory/industry trust is equivalent to low public perceived risk. Dr Lofstedt is the author/editor of ten books and over 90 peer reviewed articles/book chapters, is the editor-in-chief for Journal of Risk Research, editor of the Earthscan publications' Risk, Society and Policy book series, and is on the editorial boards of International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, Journal of Health Communication, Risk Analysis and Risk Management. He is on the Society for Risk Analysis-Europe's Executive Committee and is the previous chair of the Society for Risk Analysis' Risk Communication Specialty Group. He is on the Academic Advisory Board of the UK National Patient Safety Agency, the Scientific Advisory Board of the UK Environment Agency, member of the European Food Safety Authority’s Advisory Group on Risk Communications and the Swiss National Science Foundation’s expert group on non-ionizing radiation. He is a senior advisor to the City of Vienna on risk communication and nuclear power and to the City of Gothenburg on climate change. His work has been funded by the European Science Foundation, European Union, the National Science Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, UK ESRC, and UK EPSRC and an array of private institutions. He has given invited lectures on risk communication and management issues at Cambridge, Harvard Business School, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Law School, Jet Propulsion Laboratories-Cal Tech, MIT, NASA Head Quarters, Oxford, Princeton, and Yale School of Management. He has consulted widely for industry and regulators including Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), NASA, National Grid plc, Shell Oil, the State of Baden Wurttemberg (Germany), Swedish Chemical Industry Association, the Swedish Chemical Inspectorate, and Vattenfall AB. He is presently advising BBC News on how the corporation should communicate risk to the general public. In December 2000 Ragnar Lofstedt was awarded (as the first non American) the Chauncey Starr Award for exceptional contributions to the field of risk analysis for someone under the age of 40 by the Society for Risk Analysis and in 2005 he was made a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis.
Robert Madelin
Robert Madelin became Director-General for Health and Consumer Protection in January 2004. He has overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the work of the Directorate-General in its three main areas: public health, food safety and consumer protection. Robert Madelin previously served in a variety of postings (1997-2003) as a Director in the Directorate-General for Trade, where he had the chance to work on a range of issues, including: access to medicines, agriculture, biotechnology, corporate responsibility, food and product standards, global governance, intellectual property, investment, services, sustainable development, and relations with the Asia-Pacific. Prior to this, he was Deputy Head of Cabinet to Sir Leon (now Lord) Brittan, European Commission Vice-President. Robert Madelin was born in 1957. He married Marie-Christine Jalabert in 1990. He was educated in England, at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, and at Magdalen College, Oxford. He joined the British Civil Service in 1979, serving mainly in London and Brussels and joined the Commission in 1993. He studied at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, Paris in 1983-4.
Jean C.A. Martin
President CIAA / Confederation of the Food & Drink Industry in
Europe, Belgium.
Jean Martin (62) joined Unilever in France in 1968 after graduating from the Ecole
Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC). After various positions in the
finance/commerce fields in France, the Netherlands(1977-80) and the UK (1980-83) he was appointed
Managing Director of the Retail Division of Astra-Calvé in Paris in 1983. In 1986 he moved to the Ivory Coast as
Chairman of Blohorn and in 1990 he was appointed Chairman of Van den Bergh Italy with the
additional responsibility of leading the development of Unilever in the olive oil category in Europe.
In 1992 he was asked to design, set up and run (as Chief Executive Officer) a new Regional organisation
Unilever Personal Products Europe, headquartered in Paris. Four years later he became Business Group President
for Central & Eastern Europe(including Turkey), based in the Rotterdam Corporate Head office and a member of
the Unilever Executive Council. In 2000, following the acquisition of Bestfoods, he was appointed Global
Integration Leader in charge of leading the integration process. In November 2002, Jean Martin was elected
President of the CIAA. In October 2006, he was re-elected for a third mandate. Jean Martin is a keen jogger
(including the occasional marathon) and a fan of rugby. He has a great appetite for reading
(with a particular interest in history). He chairs the group of Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur de la France
in the Netherlands. In 1998 he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur.
Edda Müller
Edda Müller has been Executive Director of the vzbv since
its foundation. Born in the town of Sorau in Niederlausitz in 1942,
Edda Müller studied Modern History and Politics at the University
of Munich and at the Free University of Berlin. She then went on
to further studies at the École Nationale d'Administration
in Paris and completed a doctorate in Administrative Sciences. Edda
Müller is currently Honorary Professor at the University of
Administrative Sciences in Speyer. Edda Müller began her career
as a Parliamentary Assistant in the German Federal Parliament.
She then moved on to
the Ministry of the Interior's constitutional department and the planning section of
the Federal Chancellery. After a period at the Federal Environmental Agency, she took up
a posting at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, where, as Head of the Sub-Department
for "Matters Relating to the Industrial and Leisure Society", she was responsible, among other things,
for climate policy. In 1994 she was appointed Minister for Nature and the Environment in the State of
Schleswig-Holstein. After leaving the state government in 1996, Edda Müller took up a posting as Head of
the Department for Climate Policy in the Wuppertal Institute for the Climate, Environment and Energy.
She then went on to become Deputy Director of the European Environmental Agency in Copenhagen.
Edda Müller has been Executive Director of the vzbv since January 2001. Edda Müller is Vice-Chairman of
the Council for Sustainable Development and Member
of Stiftung Warentest's Management Board.
Thomas Ohlsson
Thomas Ohlsson has just retired from the position as director of a research group on Environmental and Process engineering and Vice President of SIK-The Swedish Institute of Food and Biotechnology in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he since 1969 has held a number of research and administrative positions. His interests in R&D are food processing, food manufacturing, food packaging and environmental aspects of food production. Professor Thomas Ohlsson was president of EFFoST for the period 2002-2005. He is a member of the operational group of the Food for Life technology platform and the advisory group for theme 2 in the EU frame work programme 7.
Christian Patermann
Christian Patermann is director of Biotechnology, Agriculture and Food Research at the European Commission's Research Directorate-General. Prior to that, Dr Patermann was deputy director-general at the German Federal Ministry of Sciences and Education. He has studied law, economics and languages in Germany, Spain and Switzerland. He held numerous top positions in the international science and technology world, including at the European Space Agency and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. From 1996 to 2003, he was director for environment and sustainable development at the Research Directorate-General of the European Commission, Brussels (BE).
Janez Potočnik
Janez Potočnik is the Commissioner responsible for European
Science and Research policy.
He is in charge of two Directorate-Generals at the Commission: the
Research DG and the Joint Research Centre. Commissioner Potočnik
has a PhD in economics and worked as an economic analyst before
taking up a position as assistant director at the Institute of Macroeconomic
Analysis and Development (IMAD) in his home country of Slovenia.
From 1988 to 1993, he was senior researcher at the Institute for
Economic Research and returned to the IMAD as director between 1993
and 2001. In 1998, he became head of the team negotiating Slovenia's
accession to the EU. He was acting director of the Slovenian Government
Office for European Affairs and joined the prime minister's cabinet
in 2001 before taking up a post, in 2002, as Minister for European
Affairs. Mr Potočnik was appointed Member of the European Commission
on 1 May 2004.
José Manuel Silva Rodríguez
1973 Agricultural engineer (ETSI AGRONOMOS - MADRID)
1977 Degree in External trade (CEU-MADRID)
1983 Diploma in European Communities (CEPADE-MADRID)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE :
Since 1971 until his incorporation into SOIVRE, while an inspector in the Ministry of Economy and Trade, he was a professor at the School of Agricultural Engineers in Madrid and worked in the private sector in export companies as well as on animal food projects.
MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND TRADE (MADRID)
1979-1982 Employed in the Directorate general of Internal Trade and in the Directorate General of Trade Policy.
SECRETARIA DE ESTADO (MADRID)
1983-1986 Counsellor in agricultural affairs and member of the delegation for the Spanish accession negotiations.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Since 1986, he worked in the following posts:
1986 Member of the Cabinet of the Vice-President Manuel Marin.
1987-1990 Head of unit for processed fruit and vegetables division.
1990 Head of unit, Tobacco division.
1991-1993 Head of unit, wine, spirits and derived products division.
1993-1997 Chief advisor of the Directorate General of Agriculture and Director of the Common Market Organisation for Vegetable Products.
1997 Deputy Director General of Agriculture responsible for rural
development.
Dec. 1999-2005 Director General for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Jan. 2006 Director General for Research
Dagmar Roth-Behrendt
Dagmar Roth-Behrendt became a Member of the European Parliament for the first time in June 1989 and is since then Member of the Committee on Environment, Food Safety (Consumer Protection) and Public Health. Following her special interest she was for 15 years coordinator of the Parliamentary Group of the European Social Democrats in this Committee. In this function she was, besides environmental issues, logically always shaping legislation in the field of consumer, food and public health policy. On the peak of the BSE-crisis she was chair of the BSE-Control Committee. Dagmar Roth-Behrendt is as well Member of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. Her constituency is Berlin. She studied law and worked as lawyer and legal adviser before her first election to the European Parliament.
Luigi Pio Scordamaglia
CEO and Vice President of INALCA SpA, a leader in Italy and in Europe in the meat sector.
Executive Vice President of ASSOCARNI, Vice President of Federalimentare with specific competence for agricultural and environmental issues.
Since 1995 he has developed extensive professional experience at ASSOCARNI, the Italian industry's professional association that represents the meat sector, and beef in particular, within Confindustria (the Italian Confederation of Industry) and Federalimentare (The Italian Federation for the Food Processing Industry).
With over 160 Member companies, ASSOCARNI accounts for approximately 60% of national production.
Dr Scordamaglia performed his former professional activity (1994-1995)
in the legal and health departments of leading European companies
in the beef sector. He has also been CEO of companies operating
in the promotion of food products (Intercarne Qualitŕ) and member
of the board of companies operating in the beef sector (Quinto Valore).
From 1991 to 1994 he was a teacher and researcher at the Istituto
di Produzioni Animali, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University
of Perugia, where he conducted a significant number of studies on
the quality and hygiene of zootechnical products. Since 2004, Scordamaglia
is Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine - University
of Bologna. He graduated in 1990 in Veterinary Science at the University
of Perugia. He completed his Ph.D. on "Development, hygiene, wholesomeness
and quality of animal products" in 1993. In 1996 he acquired a further
specialization in "The inspection of foods of animal origin", University
of Turin. He has authored over 20 scientific publications on issues
of quality and hygiene in zootechnical productions. He is a member
of the Italian Experts' Board for Agricultural Research (established
in 2003 with Ministerial Decree n. 375). As of June 2005 he is a
member of the AGEA (the Italian Agency for Agriculture Payments)
Representation Council. He is President of the EMA - European Meat
Association. He is Advisor for Agro-industrial policy to the Minister
for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy (appointed with Ministerial
Decree no. 10247 of 16.11.2006). He is Vice President of INCA, the
Italian Institute for Preserved Foods.
András Sebők
András Sebők is the general manager of Campden & Chorleywood Food industry Development Institute Hungary, also a visiting professor of the Szent István University at Gödöllő. He has considerable experience in practical implementation of R+D in the food industry, especially at SMEs. His activities are focused on food safety risk assessment, traceability, technology troubleshooting, product development, technology transfer. He is a member of the Board of the European Technology Platform „Food for Life” and is a member of the research expert group of the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA). He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hungarian Food Safety Office.
Gerd Wolfram
Gerd Wolfram is Managing Director of MGI METRO Group Information Technology GmbH and is responsible for the business unit Advanced Technologies. He aligns the whole Information Technology in the company at METRO´s corporate goals (IT-Strategy) and is also responsible for purchasing the required hard- and software and IT services for the METRO Group (IT-Procurement). Furthermore he cares for the search, selection and implementation of new IT innovations (Research and Innovation). Since mid-2002, Dr. Gerd Wolfram, who holds a doctorate degree in business administration, has been managing one of the most innovative projects of the METRO Group: The Future Store Initiative. The initiative was launched by the METRO Group and renowned partner companies. With the METRO Group Future Store Initiative modern technologies and systems are advanced and tested under real-live conditions. He is also a member of national and international committees which promote the standardization of logistics and merchandise management processes in the context of radio frequency identification (RFID). At the international standardization organizations EPCglobal and GS1 Germany he represents the METRO Group in several project groups. Dr. Wolfram also leads the research group Information and Communication Technologies (IKT) at the European retail representation EuroCommerce.
Pan Yotopoulos
Professor, Universitŕ degli Studi di Firenze and Professor of Economics, Emeritus, Stanford University. He is specializing in the economics of international trade, development, and agriculture. Besides teaching, he has contributed to policy-making with respect to less developed countries as a public servant, international adviser and prolific researcher on the issues of economic development and trade. He has served as Director of the Center of Planning and Economic Research in Athens, and as Advisor to the Minister of National Economy in Greece. He has served in an advising role a score of Governments in various countries; and he is advisor/consultant to a number of international organizations, such as the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization. His current research interests are in financial intermediation and in the role of exchange rate regimes in trade and development.
