Speakers ABIM 2024

Khalid Amari - Senior scientist, Julius Kühn Institute

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION II

Salvatore Arpaia - Research Director, ENEA

Salvatore Arpaia is a PhD from Wageningen University, currently working as a research director with ENEA, the Italian national agency for new technologies, energy, and the sustainable economic development. He is an insect ecologist who has been working for more than 25 years on the biosafety of genetically modified organisms and environmental risk assessment, studying insects as bioindicators. He qualified as full professor of Applied entomology in 2014 and he’s (co)author of more than 100 scientific publications. He has served as an expert for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). His current research interests are the possible applications of RNAi for controlling insect pests in the agricultural and livestock sectors and the environmental risk assessment of biochar as ammendant for horticultural crops.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION II

Emmanuelle Bonneris - Regulatory Manager Europe, Middle East, and Africa of Biosolutions, Bayer SAS

Emmanuelle Bonneris is an experienced regulatory scientist in plant protection products and biopesticides. She graduated in chemistry, biological sciences with a specialty in environmental toxicology (PhD). She has been working for Bayer for more than 20 years in the R&D and regulatory arenas with experience at country and global level of the Bayer Crop Protection Organization as ecotoxicologist dealing ecotoxicological risk assessments and risk management activities as well biodiversity topics. Emmanuelle is currently regional regulatory manager on biopesticides for Europe, Middle East, and Africa with a portfolio of biocontrol products (plant extracts, semiochemicals, microbials). After 3 years as an active member of the regulatory subgroup of the IBMA NSPG, member of the NSPG Steering Committee, and member of the IBMA Advisory Regulatory Working Group (ARWG), Emmanuelle is Chair of the IBMA NSPG since last ABIM 2023 to succeed Lara Ramaekers in this role.

Monday, 21 October 2024, Professional Group Meeting: IBMA Natural Substances (Chair)

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: Regulatory Seminar (Chair)

Carlo Boutton - Chief Scientific Officer, Biotalys

Carlo Boutton obtained his PhD in 1999 at the University of Leuven (Belgium) on a subject that investigated the physico-chemical behavior of proteins under high-electromagnetic (laser) fields. After his PhD he joined Algonomics, a small start-up that focused on rational design of therapeutics in the broad field of immunotherapy. In 2003 he moved to Tibotec (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) where he supported multiple HIV and HCV discovery programs via a structure-based design and chemo-informatics approach. He started working with single domain antibodies, so called Nanobodies in 2007, when joining Ablynx where he held multiple positions. Throughout his Ablynx tenure he mainly focused on improvements of the NANOBODY® platform and on new therapeutic applications for single domain antibodies, such as multispecifics, immunotherapeutics and antibody-drug-conjugates. He was also involved in multiple external collaborations as member of Joint Steering Committees. After the acquisition of Ablynx by Sanofi he continued focusing on innovation as Global Head Innovation for Large Molecules Research. In May 2022 he joined Biotalys as Chief Scientific Officer to focus on the technology platform and the research pipeline. He is responsible for all research and early development activities and is leading a multidisciplinary team of ~50 scientists. Carlo is co-inventor on more than 20 patent applications and brings more than 20 years of R&D expertise to Biotalys.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 4: Biocontrol Innovations
The AGROBODY Foundry: Biotalys’ innovative platform to generate novel and sustainable biocontrols

Günter Brader - Senior Scientist, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION I

Cathy Xi Cao - Project Manager of Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management (FARM), Green Growth Knowledge Partnership of the United Nations Environment Programme

Ms. Xi Cao is a dynamic and results-driven development professional in agri-food systems, with extensive experience in agri-food investment operations, policy analysis, and strategic partnerships. Currently excelling as the project manager of Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management (FARM) Global Child Project at the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership of the United Nations Environment Programme, Cathy drives impactful policy and finance initiatives to promote sustainable agricultural practices.

She previously served as the Regional Innovative Finance Specialist at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, where she successfully led the regional food governance and cooperation strategy and action plan and integrated innovative finance mechanisms, such as the Hand-in-Hand Initiative into country-level operations. Her experience extends to her tenure at IFAD, where she managed a diverse portfolio of agricultural investments involving mixed loans and grants, both in Beijing and Rome. Additionally, Cathy contributed to China’s first agricultural impact assessment during her time as an Associate Research & Policy Officer at UNDP China.

Prior to UN Career, she gained hands-on experience as a social worker for NGOs in Hong Kong and Singapore, bringing a grassroots perspective to her work. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and holds a Master's in International Development from Paris University Nanterre.Outside her work, she is passionate on organic farming, sustainable travel and lifestyle, and youth empowerment.

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 6: The Future is Biocontrol

José Carvalho - EMEA Regulatory Lead, Certis Biologicals

José Carvalho holds a PhD in Environmental Chemistry from the Humboldt University in Berlin and a Master in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Porto University, with a focus on microbiology, antibiotics resistance and immunology. Previous to joining the industry, José worked for the Portuguese Water Institute, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the German Federal Institute for Material Science and Testing (BAM) in analytical methods, publishing 11 peer-reviewed articles and 2 book chapters. Since 2020, José is working as European Regulatory Lead for Certis Biologicals and prior to that in several regulatory and business positions within the crop protection industry. He is currently the Chair of the Microbial Professional Group at IBMA, an expert group dealing with microorganism registrability issues and market access for microorganism-based technologies in agriculture.

Monday, 21 October 2024, Professional Group Meeting: IBMA Microbials

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: Regulatory Seminar

Pascal Chapot - Corporate Head of Sustainable Agriculture Development, Nestlé

Pascal, a French national, is Corporate Head of Sustainable Agriculture at Nestlé since November 2020. He joined the company in 1991 in Parisian headquarters. He then acquired operational expertise leading various manufacturing units across different product categories -dairy, culinary, chocolate, water and coffee namely- and in various countries -France, Greece, Malaysia, Switzerland -. Then, moving to the upstream part of the chain, he implemented development projects in our direct sourcing activities, contributing to strengthen Nestlé’s sustainable agricultural drive in various locations and crops across operations: Ivory Coast, Chile, India, Pakistan, Brazil - fresh milk, cocoa, coffee, cereals especially. Before his current position, Pascal was Regional Technical Manager in the Caribbean Region, where he led local sourcing and manufacturing operations in the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Cuba. With a wide experience of leading international teams in multi-cultural environment, and a hands-on understanding of the entire chain from farm to factory, Pascal is now putting his energy into driving Nestlé’s regenerative agriculture initiative. Pascal is an Agronomist & Food Engineer from AgroParisTech in France, with a post graduate degree in economics and executive education in business administration. He is 57 years old and speaks French, English, Spanish and German.

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 6: The Future is Biocontrol

Vicente Dalmau - Head of Plant Health Service, Valencian Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries

Vicente Dalmau holds a degree in agricultural engineering and a bachelor in oenology both from UPV Valencia and has almost 21 years of plant health experience in the Valencian Department of Agriculture.
He is responsible for the execution of pest surveillance programs (for quarantine and already established pests), providing pest management recommendations and advice to growers through phytosanitary bulletins and alerts. He is the project leader of the Valencian Area Wide control program for Ceratitis capitata, Bactrocera oleae, Chilo supressalis, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, Lobesia botrana and Delottococcus aberiae promoting sustainable and biological measures. He is also responsible for the adoption of contingency and prevention plans, such as the phytosanitary survey program for citrus, and the adoption of measures for the eradication or containment of pests such as Xylella fastidiosa, citrus HuangLongBing (HLB) and their vectors. His duties also include field and packinghouse phytosanitary audits for export programs such as citrus to USA, Korea; table grapes to China, Brazil and Vietnam, Persimmons and citrus fruits to Peru and China, etc. He also registers and controls the operators of plant reproductive material.
He promotes and controls the implementation of the sustainable use of pesticide EU rules in the Valencia region and he manages and coordinates the public mass rearing biological control agents facilities in the Valencia Region.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 1: Pivotal Moments in Biocontrol - what's made the difference, lessons learned

Shaoli Das Gupta - Biostimulants Regulatory Expert, Battelle

Dr. Shaoli Das Gupta has a PhD in Molecular Plant Pathology from University of London in partnership with Rothamsted Research and Syngenta. She started her research career in development of nucleic acid based biopesticides targeting multiple fungal crop diseases. Her research focus then moved to the development of novel biostimulants. More recently, she has worked on introducing novel traits in commercially important crops to improve sustainability in agriculture. Shaoli works as a regulatory expert in the Battelle Biologicals team, where she assists clients with biostimulant and biopesticide registrations in multiple countries in EMEA, Asia and the Americas.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: Regulatory Seminar
Comparison of Biostimulant and Biopesticide regulations in key African nations

Saulo Delgado - Senior Manager Business Development and Innovation, bp bioenergy

Saulo Delgado is an agronomist graduated from ESALQ/USP, with nearly two decades of experience in the sugar-energy sector. He furthered his education with an MBA in Project Management from FGV and a specialization in Innovation Management from Unicamp. Throughout his career, he has specialized in agricultural and strategic planning, significantly contributing to the optimization and efficiency of agricultural operations. His expertise in innovation management and new business development has driven the growth agenda at bp bioenergy, the second-largest sugarcane producer in Brazil. Saulo is recognized for his ability to integrate technical and strategic knowledge to promote sustainable and innovative advancements in the agro-industrial sector.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 1: Pivotal Moments in Biocontrol - what's made the difference, lessons learned

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Keynote and Panel discussion: Biocontrol and the Future of Farming

Domenico Deserio - Policy Officer, European Commission - DG SANTE

Domenico Deserio is a Policy Officer at the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) of the European Commission. He is responsible for policies on biological pesticides, micro-organisms in particular. He co-chairs the EU Biopesticides Working Group, and he is an EU delegate of the OECD Expert Group on Biopesticides. He was responsible for amending EU Regulations concerning data requirements, principles for evaluation, authorisation, and approval of micro-organisms and products containing them, and for other related activities (e.g., Guidance Documents and Communications from the Commission). Before that, he was a scientific officer at EFSA, in the area of biological hazards. He holds a Master of Biotechnology from the University of Bari (Italy) completing a thesis on food microbiology. Moreover, he achieved an advanced postgraduate Master by Research of Agricultural Science at the University of Adelaide (Australia), carrying out his research on plant genomics and plant pathology.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: Regulatory Seminar

Emanuele Diniz - Manager - Agro Division, VIGNA BRASIL GROUP

Chemical Engineer, regulatory affairs manager of the Pesticide Division at Vigna Brasil, with more than 13 years of experience in the crop protection market, including agrochemicals and biopesticides, also acting in the industry in formulations manufacturing processes and laboratory studies.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: Regulatory Seminar
Biopesticides Registration in Brazil - Updates

Judith Epping - PhD candidate Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group (AEW), Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Judith is a PhD candidate with the Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group (AEW) at Wageningen University and Research. She is conducting her PhD research in the RATION project focusing on aquatic ecotoxicology of low-risk pesticides, including botanical and microbial active substances and dsRNA. She obtained her BSc degree in Agricultural Science specialization plant sciences from the University of Bonn, Germany and her MSc degree in Environmental Science specialization aquatic ecology at Wageningen University. For her PhD in RATION she is supervised by Paul van den Brink and Nico van den Brink and is conducting laboratory tests with standard and non-standard aquatic test species at different scales.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION II

Annabelle Gilgen - Technical Development Manager Biocontrol, Amoéba

Annabelle Gilgen is a specialist in plant protection. After 6 years of experience, she joined Amoéba 2 years ago as a technical development manager. She is in charge to develop and test the efficacy on field for Amoéba’s product. Annabelle Gilgen is an agricultural engineer, who graduated from the Institut Agro Dijon in France.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 4: Biocontrol Innovations
AXPERA: a new biofungicide based on a lysate of the non-pathogenic amoeba Willaertia magna C2c Maky

Pierre Girard - Science journalist and video-maker, ARTE

Pierre Girard is a science journalist and video-maker. He is a presenter on ARTE and reports on agriculture and environment for his own YouTube channel. He is committed to providing fact-based, constructive information that gives the keys to address the environmental crisis.
Since 2019, he has been producing Tous Terriens, a series dedicated to sustainable solutions initiated by farmers. He also produces Field Trip, together with INRAE and the European Research Alliance Towards a Chemical Pesticide-free Agriculture. On ARTE, he recently created Roots, the documentary series about agroecology in Europe, and joined the team of the new science show Scope. In 2023, he was awarded the Reporters of Hope Award and the the French Academy of Agriculture's Award for Scientific Information.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Keynote and Panel discussion: Biocontrol and the Future of Farming

João Godinho - Ph.D. Candidate, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION I

Asefeh Golreihan - Regulatory Manager, LKC Switzerland Ltd.

Asefeh Golreihan is an earth and environmental scientist working as a Regulatory Manager at LKC, a regulatory consultancy.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 1: Pivotal Moments in Biocontrol - what's made the difference, lessons learned
Harnessing Precision Farming for Enhanced Bioprotection: Innovations, Applications, and Challenges

Carlos Goulart - Secretary of Animal and Plant Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil

Federal Inspector since 2007, Agronomist with MSc in Tropical and Subtropical production, has experience with regulations applied to Plant Health and Agricultural Inputs, was appointed Secretary of Animal and Plant Health in 2023 after 4 years being Director of Plant Health and Agricultural Inputs.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 3: Regulatory Environment

Belén Guijarro -
Senior researcher at CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain), Department of Plant Protection, INIA-CSIC

Belén has a background in plant pathology and molecular plant biotechnology and has worked in the field of fungal biocontrol research for 20 years. For the last eight years, she has also supported the evaluation of microbial active substances and plant protection products in the framework of EU Regulation 1107/2009 for the Spanish national competent authorities. His work priority is the methodological development of risk assessment of microbial pest control agents, such as persistence of inoculum in soil and secondary metabolites. She currently coordinate one national funded project Proyecto (3499 2023-Con23-197) and participates in two national (PID2021-123594OR-C21. RESINBIO) and three international funded projects (101084163-RATION HE; OPE3571_GP_EFSA-PLANTS-2023-04 EFSA; OPE03349_GP_EFSA-PLANTS-2023-02).
Since 2018 she is a scientific assessor member of the EU ‘Biopesticides Working Group’ and the OECD ‘Biopesticides Expert Group’.  She is a tutor in the workshops organised by the European Commission for the training of experts in the implementation of the new European legislation on microbial pesticides.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION I

Inge Huygens - Regulatory Affairs Manager, ARCHE Consulting

Inge Huygens studies Chemistry at Ghent University (Belgium) and obtained a PhD focussing on physical chemistry. Following this, she has been working as a registration specialist in the crop protection industry and consultancy (plant protection, biocides) for more than 15 years, with emphasis on regulatory affairs for plant protection products, and a technical expertise in physico-chemistry, analytical methods, crop residues and human health risk assessments. Currently, she works at ARCHE Consulting as a regulatory affairs manager for plant protection products.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: Regulatory Seminar
Sustainable co-formulants in PPPs – a regulatory perspective and outlook

Dimitrios Karpouzas - Professor in Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly

Dr Dimitrios Karpouzas is Professor in Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly and currently serves as a Head of Department. His studies the interactions of the soil microbiota with pesticides and veterinary medicines and further the interactions of soil microbes with plants towards the development of novel microbial pesticides and the integration of a new risk assessment paradigm for these new PPPs. He has authored over 160 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has coordinated several research projects funded by the European Commission and EFSA being currently the coordinator of the EU project RATION (Risk Assessment Innovation or Low-Risk Pesticides).

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION I

Madison Le, Director Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Madison H. Le has over 24 years of professional work experience in the development and implementation of multi-media environmental programs and policies, including pesticides, chemicals, air, water, solid waste and pollution prevention at a federal and local government level. Throughout her career, Madison has served as a champion for environmental policies and programs that promote sustainable, biological and renewable approaches, including advancement of new chemistries and emerging biotechnologies and biological controls.

Madison currently serves as the Division Director for the Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division within EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, responsible for the evaluation and registration of microbial pesticides, biochemical pesticides, plant incorporated protectants and other biopesticides subject to Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). She also provides oversight of the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program and Integrated Pest Management activities that encourages the application of pollution prevention and risk reduction strategies in pest management. Previously, Madison served as the Division Director for the New Chemicals Division within EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, where she provided oversight of the New Chemicals Program subject to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Madison also has served as the Center Director for the Fuels Compliance Policy Center within EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, responsible for the implementation and compliance assurance the Renewable Fuel Standards program, Tier 3 Gasoline program, Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel program, and Fuels and Fuel Additives Registration program.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 3: Regulatory Environment

Bernard Lehmann, Agricultural and Food Economist

Bernard Lehmann has a background in agronomy and agricultural economics from ETH Zurich. He has made significant contributions to research, policy, and international cooperation throughout his career. He served as an agricultural economist advisor at the Swiss Farmers' Secretariat before becoming a full professor of agricultural economics at ETH Zurich in 1991. His research and teaching have focused on sustainability and the intersection of local and global food security. Since retirement, he has held several honorary posts, including Chairperson of UN High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security (2019-2023) and currently Chairperson of the Foundation Board of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Keynote and Panel discussion: Biocontrol and the Future of Farming

Edouard Lehmann - Research and Innovation Brokerage Manager, COmmittee Linking Entrepreneurship – Agriculture – Development (COLEAD)

Edouard Lehmann is currently working as Research and Innovation Brokerage Manager at COLEAD, leading a large portfolio of projects in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean within the framework of EU-funded programmes. His research focuses on the adaptation and dissemination of technologies and solutions that contribute to safe and sustainable food. Activities range from providing technical assistance to the horticultural sector, advocacy, to the mainstreaming of disruptive ICT technologies. One of his core activities addresses the need for effective and affordable crop protection in ACP horticulture. Edouard Lehmann is part of multiple initiatives that aims to strengthen the contribution of Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) to poverty alleviation, food security, nutrition, policy coherence and sustainable development in developing countries including the European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD), the PReTAg initiative, the International Research Consortium on FNSSA, FreshFel Environmental Footprint Initiative, etc. Before occupying this position, he worked as a researcher for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and as a consultant in environmental engineering. Edouard Lehmann holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences and Analytical Chemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 2: Global Overview of Enabling Policies
Better access to biocontrol for LDC organics: securing Annex VI listing under (EU) Reg. 2021/1165

Rebekka Leitner - Expert Process Engineer, Evologic Technologies GmbH

Rebekka Leitner is an expert engineer dedicated to the development of innovative bio processes for the production of challenging microbes. Growing up in the countryside and attaining an agricultural education, made her realize that commercializing complex living organisms for agriculture is urgently needed. Working at Evologic Technologies for over 5 years, her broad expertise in biotechnology, is materialized in fermentation and formulation breakthroughs. Excelling in data processing and evaluation allows her to bring science based and effective arguments to the table.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 4: Biocontrol Innovations
Unlocking a bioherbicide by formulation

Ené Leppik - Chief Technical Officer, Agriodor

Ené Leppik, Founder and CTO of Agriodor. For the last 20 years, I have worked on insect-plant relationships to decipher how insects locate their host plants and how we can use this knowledge for sustainable crop protection. Today, I lead an international team of scientists at Agriodor to develop biocontrol tools based on semiochemicals (allomones and kairomones) for crop protection.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 4: Biocontrol Innovations
Control of Sugar Beet Yellows Viruses by Behavioral Manipulation of Aphid Vectors in the Field Using

Marc Letroublon, Portfolio Lead for Seed Treatments in Region Europe, Middle East and Africa, Bayer SAS

Marc Letroublon is an agronomist, experienced in cross functional project management for plant protection products and bio-solutions, specifically for seed treatment uses. He has been working for Bayer for more than 25 years in the Regulatory, Development, Marketing and Strategy arenas with experience at country and regional levels of Bayer Crop science organization. Marc is currently regional portfolio lead for seed treatments, particularly contributing within cross functional steering teams of accelerating the development and placing on the market of biocontrol solutions.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 4: Biocontrol Innovations

Jennifer Lewis - Executive Director, IBMA Global

Jennifer Lewis was appointed as IBMA Executive Director in 2019. Jennifer is passionate about IPM, reducing the reliance on traditional pesticides through the uptake of these integrated programmes of pest and disease control in crop production throughout Europe.
Prior to IBMA, for 10 years Jennifer Lewis was a member of the Certis Europe Management Board as Head of Innovation and Development and during this period was Vice Chair of IBMA UK.
Earlier Jennifer was General Manager of BCP, a beneficial insect production company selling beneficial insects for pest control, which was purchased by Certis Europe.
Jennifer has worked in crop protection for 35 years in various marketing, regulatory and stewardship roles in the US, Brazil and Europe. Jennifer is an agronomy graduate with a Masters in Business Administration and a Diploma in Sustainable Business Development.

Monday, 21 October 2024, Opening

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 6: The Future is Biocontrol (Chair)

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Closing

Eric Liégeois - Senior Policy Officer, European Commission - DG SANTE

Eric Liégeois was graduated Chemical Engineer for Agricultural Industries, from the University of Gembloux (Belgium) in 1990.
After first experiences as researcher, civil servant and manager in various positions in the Belgian Federal Administration, he joined the European Commission in 2002, first as seconded national expert at DG Environment where he was in charge of the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides and then, as from 2007 as official in the Chemicals Unit at DG GROW.
At DG GROW Eric was revising the Fertilising Products Regulation proposal and also worked on the Plastics Strategy. He was leading a team in charge of Fertilisers, Detergents, Plant Protection Products, Biocides, Waste recycling and Plastics.
Since April 2018 he joined DG SANTE in the team in charge of the authorisation of plant protection products where he is among in charge of the biopesticides, low-risk products and risk reduction activities.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 3: Regulatory Environment

Flavio Lupato - General Manager and Board Member at IBMA Italy, Koppert Italy

55 years old, I live in the countryside outside the city of Padua in Veneto.
Agricultural studies at different levels, with varied experiences in companies in the breeding and seed production sector, nurseries and crop protection with areas of interest progressively at Italian, European and even Global level.
Since 2019 I’m managing the Italian subsidiary of  Koppert Group as general Manager and since two years I’m vice president of Ibma Italy as well as representative for the National Groups within the board of IBMA Global.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 4: Biocontrol Innovations (Chair)

Peter Maes - Chief Strategy Officer, Koppert

Peter Maes has been in the international field of biological control for agriculture and horticulture for the past 30 years. ‘It’s part of my DNA,’ he explains.
An Agricultural Engineering graduate from the University of Leuven and the University of Brussels from which he has a master’s degree in Human Ecology, he joined Koppert in Belgium in 1998 working his way up through Sales, Logistics, Corporate Marketing to Strategy.
‘All the answers for safe cultivation and food security can be found in nature itself,’ Peter Maes pronounces. ‘The power to influence change lies with civil society and consumers themselves.’

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 1: Pivotal Moments in Biocontrol - what's made the difference, lessons learned

Tomasz Magacz - Head of Physical Chemistry and Analytical Methods Department, GAB Consulting

Monday, 21 October 2024, Professional Group Meeting: IBMA Semiochemicals
Chair

Pam Marrone - Co-founder and Executive Chair, Invasive Species Corporation

Dr. Marrone spent her 30+ year career focused on biological products for pest management and plant health, having started and led three previous bioag companies (Entotech, AgraQuest and Marrone Bio Innovations (now called Profarm Group), all of which were sold to larger companies. She is one of only 32 women to have founded a company and taken it public (MBII:NASDAQ). With co-founder Jim Boyd, the former CFO of Marrone Bio, Pam has launched a fourth company, the Invasive Species Corporation, to bring effective, environmentally friendly biological solutions to control destructive invasive species, in water, forestry and agriculture. She is on the board of the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, is a Senior Fellow of the Arizona State University Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems and is a past alumni-Trustee of Cornell University. She is Chair of the Board of Elicit Plant and serves on the boards of Stem Express and Pheronym and advises several agtech/agbio startups, many founded or led by women. Among her many awards, in 2023 she received the Rosalind Franklin Award from the Biotechnology Industry Organization and in 2022 she was the first woman to receive the American Chemical Society “Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success.” She has a B.S. in entomology with Honors and Distinction from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in entomology from North Carolina State University. She is a Fellow of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), and in 2024 she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. She holds over 400 patents (>40 US).

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 1: Pivotal Moments in Biocontrol - what's made the difference, lessons learned
Taking stock of where we are and where we need to go to advance inno

Ketan Mehta - President, Bio Protection Global (Federation of Companies in Agri Bio Solutions), Founder-CEO, Ecosense Labs. (I) Pvt. Ltd.

With his passion to serve India, Ketan returned from USA and started his own Co. Ecosense Labs. (I) Pvt. Ltd., engaged in Agri-Bio-Tech & Environmental Bio-Tech in 1996-97, a sector yet to see the first ray of light, let alone Sunrise. Ecosense focuses on R&D & Manufacturing in Agri-Bio-Tech (Bio-Pesticides, Biological Nutrient Enhancers, Natural Plant Extract Products, Pesticide Residue Management, Seed Coatings, Organic Farming). Ketan has spearheaded path-breaking R&D for the replacement of Chemical Pesticide seed treatments like Thiram, Carbendazim, with Biological Seed Treatment Products in various seed companies in India, for crops like Paddy, Maize, Groundnut, Soybean, Wheat, Cotton, Chickpea, Okra, Chillies, Pigeonpea, etc. During COVID, Ecosense developed and introduced a Non-Flammable, Alcohol-Free, Skin-Friendly, Child-Safe, Herbal Hand Sanitizer, approved by a DST Institute. Ecosense has also pioneered seed and soil treatments with Biological Nutrient Enhancers on crops like Paddy, Barley, Wheat, Millets, Maize, Groundnut and Sugarcane, to supplement Chemical Fertilisers. Ecosense has developed products and projects in Enviro-Bio-Tech to treat Sugarcane Spentwash, Pressmud, Municipal Solid Waste, Agricultural Waste, Contaminated Soils, etc.
Ketan is a renowned speaker at International Conferences on BioTech in Agriculture, in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia, having presented at more than 45 events.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 2: Global Overview of Enabling Policies

Claudio Mereu - Partner - EU regulatory, competition and trade, Fieldfisher Belgium LLP

Claudio Mereu is a Partner in the EU regulatory competition and trade group with 25 years of experience, with an emphasis on the chemicals (REACH), pesticides, biocides and life sciences industry sectors, as well as other regulated industries including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toys, electrical and electronic equipment and fuel additives. His expertise covers all aspects of product regulations, authorisations and restrictions (including classification & labelling, marketing and use restrictions, parallel imports, environmental liability, product recalls and data compensation negotiations, among others). He has defended a multitude of cases over 25 years in various fora, ranging from EU courts, to ECHA's Board of Appeal, arbitration panels and national courts. He regularly speaks at international conferences as an expert speaker and panellist on pesticides and chemicals and is highly recommended since many years as "Tier One" and 'Leading Individual" by Legal 500, Chambers Europe, Who's Who Legal and the Life Sciences Industry Report. He is a Member of the Rome Bar (Avvocato) and of the Brussels Bar (Avocat). He is Italian-French bilingual and he is fluent in English and Spanish.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: Regulatory Seminar
Legal means to obtain a legal definition of 'biocontrol' and speed up access to the EU market

Alessandra Moccia - Vice President, IBMA Global

Alessandra strongly believes in a future where our farming practices become more sustainable. In 2012 she joined Suterra where she directs the Regulatory Affairs department, ensuring the registration of semiochemicals active substances and products globally. From 2018 to 2023 she chaired the IBMA semiochemical professional group. Since 2024 she is Vice President of IBMA Global.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Keynote and Panel discussion: Biocontrol and the Future of Farming (Chair)

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 3: Regulatory Environment (Chair)

Geoffroy Moulin - Innovation Manager, Staphyt

Geoffroy Moulin holds a master degree in agronomy for the Engineer School ENSAIA in Nancy, France. After several years dedicated to the development of biocontrol solutions on tropical crops, Geoffroy integrated the regulatory consultancy through the preparation of efficacy section. Since 2019 he manages the expertise of biologicals within Bioteam by Staphyt. Now, Geoffroy is working at Staphyt as Innovation Manager to integrate also all the benefits digital technology can bring to integrate farming and define new ways of managing the testing and registration of biological products.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 2: Global Overview of Enabling Policies
An overview of the possibilities to finance the innovation

Karine Grosbeau, EU and France Regulatory Manager, CBC Biogard

Karine, EU and France Regulatory Manager within CBC Biogard, has been very active in IBMA for more than 10 years, member of the Executive Board of IBMA France, taking part in several IBMA working groups at national (France) as well as at global level. She has a broad background and a strong network in regulation, in particular for biocontrol products in Europe and in Africa.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION II

Saliou Niassy - Coordinator, African Union Inter-African Phytosanitary Council

Dr Saliou Niassy, with his extensive experience, leads the prestigious African Union-Inter-African Phytosanitary Council (AU-IAPSC), headquartered in Yaoundé, Cameroon. AU-IAPSC is a Specialized Technical Office (STO) for the African Union and also the Regional Plant Protection Organization responsible (RPPO) for Africa. AU-IAPSC’s mandate is to coordinate, support, and protect plant resources for the welfare and economic development of AU’s member states.

Dr Niassy has been a strategic leader in Entomology on the African continent for over 12 years, designing and implementing projects, programs and policies to achieve the strategic objectives of the international organizations he worked at. His work has significantly improved the agricultural landscape in Africa, benefiting millions of farmers and contributing to the continent's economic development. As the Head of the Technology Transfer Unit (TTU) at icipe, he scaled up flagship technologies such as the push-pull management strategy for maize-stem borers, a technology he introduced to more than 14 countries on the continent (reaching approximately 100 million farmers). The development of bio and sustainable control of the fall armyworm (adopted in 20 countries), as well as sustainable alien invasive fruit flies management in Southern Africa (Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe) and Insect farming for Health and well-being (Healthynsect) in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, and Denmark.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 3: Regulatory Environment

Hadyn Parry - Chairman, Aphea.Bio, LettUs Grow and PBL Technology

Entrepreneurial CEO / Chair in the Life Sciences sector with a passion for growing business in international markets.

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 5: Attention Agripreneurs!

Mette Peetz-Schou - Leading Senior Advisor at the Confederation of Danish Industry’s department of European Affairs, European Biosolutions Coalition

Mette Peetz-Schou holds a master’s degree from New York University in Food and Nutrition in Business and Industry. She has been working in the Danish Industry for the last 13 years actively engaged in Public Affairs at European level in the food and goods area, and she is responsible for the internal market for products. Building on close communication with member companies on how the current regulatory framework works or doesn’t work, she develops policies and solutions for the future engaging with the EU institutions, European organisations and sister organisations. She is currently working to support the European Biosolutions Coalition on policy proposals. The European Biosolutions Coalition is an initiative initiated by Danish Industry and funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and established in October 2023 by five partner organisations from five countries. Today the coalition consists of eleven national industry organisations from across the European continent working to support the green transition through the application of biosolutions.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 2: Global Overview of Enabling Policies

Matthew Pickard - Head of Biologicals and Seedcare Europe, Syngenta

Mathew Pickard is the Head of Biologicals and Seedcare Europe at Syngenta. He is responsible for accelerating market growth through the introduction of innovative products and services for European growers and supporting their move to more sustainable crop production. A business leader with a track record of successful delivery in competitive environments, his previous roles include Managing Director for Hungary, where he managed a multi-million-dollar agribusiness, generated growth, and maintained a market leadership position.

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 6: The Future is Biocontrol

Keith Pitts - SVP-Sustainability and Regulatory Strategy, Bioceres Crop Solutions

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 6: The Future is Biocontrol

Caecilia Potter - Founder/CEO, VensoGrow

Commercial Founder; 30 + years corporate, IT, finance and project experience at Accenture, J B Were and Atticus & Milo. VC Catalyst Wade Institute.

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 5: Attention Agripreneurs!

Eduardo Quemada - CEO, Genomics4All

A senior executive with more than 25 years of experience.
Entrepreneur and co-founder of three start-ups in the biotechnology industries.

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 5: Attention Agripreneurs!

Alain Querrioux - CEO, Andermatt France, Treasurer IBMA Global

Alain Querrioux is a French-born agronomist, who has been active in the agricultural sector for the past 35 years. He assumed several technical, commercial and management positions covering a wide spectrum of agricultural and regulatory environments around the globe. In the late 90’s, his deeply rooted commitment to alternative solutions triggered his decision to fully dedicate his energy to the development of Biocontrol. He joined pure-players and witnessed the early development of the industry in pioneering times, and now enjoys the excitement of its booming development. Innovation has always been a key driver in Alain’s professional live, together with the aim to let farmers benefit performing, healthy and cost-effective alternative solutions to protect their crops. Over the years, Alain has developed an excellent knowledge of our industry, of its history, markets and main stakeholders. In 2014, Alain co-founded the French branch of the Andermatt group, which he has successfully been running and developing sofar. In the meantime, he has been active in IBMA governance, as a Council and Board member of the French association. In January 2023, he joined IBMA Global Board as Treasurer.

Monday, 21 October 2024, Bernard Blum Award

Ofir Ramot - Leading Scientist, Metabolic Insights

Holds PhD from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in plant pathology, and B.Sc. In chemical engineering majoring in biotechnology, from the Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Over 20 years of experience in the industry.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION II

Caroline Reid - Senior Technical Support Lead, Bioline Agrosciences

Caroline is one of two Senior Technical Specialists at Bioline Agrosciences where she has worked for 25 years in many different departments and roles and is now responsible for giving near market technical advice and managing commercial trials across Northern Europe and North America. Bioline Agrosciences is part of InVivo by Bioline and is a producer and supplier of beneficial insects, IPM and advice.
She is currently Co-Chair of the IBMA Macrobial PG and president of the IBMA UK NG.

Monday, 21 October 2024, Professional Group Meeting: IBMA Macrobials - Invertebrate Biocontrol Agents
Chair

Valérie Renard - CEO, Hedera-22

CEO at Hedera-22 for 4 years. 25 years industry experience Engineering background

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 5: Attention Agripreneurs!

Jochem Rutters - Business Unit Manager, Decares B.V. Trading as Triskelion

Jochem Rutters is trained as a organic chemist in peptide chemistry. After het PhD he started working at the Ctgb as a risk assessor. During his time at the Ctgb he worked on risk assessment, policy making, project manager and was interim team-lead. He then started working at Certis Europe as a regulatory specialist. Among other things he worked on stakeholder affairs management and regulatory strategy. Since 2020 Jochem works as Business Unit Manager at Triskelion a CRO offering consultancy and analytical testing for several regulations including plant protection products.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: Regulatory Seminar
Molecular fingerprinting for botanicals

Joao Saraiva - Senior Scientist, UFZ-Leipzig

Dr. Saraiva has an extensive expertise in environmental microbiology and bioinformatics. Since starting his academic career in bioinformatics, he has always been interested in assessing the functional potential of microbes, their interactions and their impact on environmental and human health. This has been achieved by focusing on whole genome sequencing (WGS) which allows to garner genetic insight towards understanding microbial roles and dynamics within ecosystems. Dr. Saraiva’s contribution to the project RATION, comes by applying his bioinformatics expertise to determine the functional potential, impacts on ecosystem health and risks of resistance mechanisms (e.g. Antimicrobial resistance and transferability) of novel biopesticides, including bacteria and protists. This approach ensures that biopesticides can be introduced in a way that minimizes ecological disruption and maximizes their efficacy which is crucial for the safe and sustainable use of biopesticides in agriculture and environmental management. Additionally, he is also contributing to the development of publicly available computational tools and interfaces for biopesticide risk assessment.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Workshop: RATION I

Max Schulman - Farmer, Senior Advisor, cereals oilseeds, Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) Finland

Max grew up on his family’s farm which he took over in 1986. Stor-Tötar Gård, is an old farm that combines arable land and forestry in Southwestern Finland that has been in the family for around 400 years. Continuity that hopefully will go forward since Max is raising three boys together with his Spanish wife Marta.
Before taking over the full responsibility of running the farm and having taken a degree in agricultural economics, he became a grain trader for the Finnish Grain Board. After that Max worked in the agricultural machinery sector from 2003 until 2008. This job took him all over the world from America to China. For the last 17 years he has been working in the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) as the Senior Advisor for cereals, oilseeds, and protein crops.
Max was Chairman 2013–2019 of the Cereals Working Group in Copa-Cogeca based in Brussels. He is a member of the EU Arable Crops Market Observatory and 2018-20 Chairman of the Civil Dialogue Group, Arable Crops. From 2020 –. Owner of Farm-XPort Ltd, grain trading company for special consignments. Co-founder and member of the board of Grain Sense Ltd, the portable protein and quality analyzer for grains. Chairman of VYR the Finnish Grain Committee, 2018 – 2021. Chair of the Agri Food Chain Round Table on PPP 2020 – and Chairman of the Copa Cogeca Phytosanitary WG from 2023 -, vice chairman of the Seeds WG 2023 -, member of the EU Fertilizer Market Observatory.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Keynote and Panel discussion: Biocontrol and the Future of Farming

Bart Sosef - President of Plant Products Division, BioFirst Group

Bart Sosef is General Manager of Biobest Netherlands (a.i.) and President of Plant Products division of the Biofirst group. He has a Master of Science in Food & Agribusiness. Bart has been working for Biobest/Biofirst Group for more than 10 years as General manager and Sales manager. In this capacity he was responsible for Sales & General management for the Dutch & Belgian sales organisations. He is a member of the board of Artemis, the Dutch representative for IBMA since 2014 and chairman of Artemis since 2020. Bart is a member of the Executive Council of IBMA since January 2022. He recently has taken the position of President of the Plant Products division of Biofirst as of July 2025.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 2: Global Overview of Enabling Policies

Lucius Tamm - CEO, ABIM AG

Dr. Lucius Tamm holds a degree in agricultural engineering from ETH Zurich and has more than 25 years plant pathology R&D experience working on cereals, potatoes, grapevine and horticultural crops. Lucius has published > 100 papers and book chapters and been a partner or coordinated in EU projects since 2001. He is also guest lecturer at several universities. Until May 2023, he was Head of Department of Crop Sciences at the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). He led FiBL’s R&D activities for the development of crop protection solutions and has also been involved in the development of improved registration procedures for novel plant protection products. Since 2023, he has joined Agroscope, the leading agricultural research organization in Switzerland and coordinates its research programmes & international collaborations. Lucius was co-founder of ABIM in 2006 and is CEO of ABIM AG.

Monday, 21 October 2024, Opening

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Poster session (Chair)

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 5: Attention Agripreneurs! (Chair)

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Closing

Maria Trainer - Ph.D. Executive Director Registration Management, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority

Dr. Maria Trainer is Executive Director of Registration Management at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.
The Registration Management branch is responsible for undertaking pre-market scientific assessments to ensure that agvet chemical products used in Australia are safe and effective. In her role, Maria has broad responsibility for all of the Agency's registration functions for pesticides and veterinary medicines, including permits and biopesticides.
Before joining the APVMA in April 2019 as Director of Pesticides Registration, Maria held senior positions in both the private and public sectors in her adopted second home of Canada. This includes more than seven years as Managing Director for Science and Regulatory Affairs with CropLife Canada and three years as Program Director with the Council of Canadian Academies where she had the lead responsibility for the Expert Panel on the Integrated Testing of Pesticides. Maria has also worked as a scientific evaluator with the New Substances Bureau of Health Canada and has experience in human health toxicological risk assessment.
Maria holds a PhD in Bacterial Molecular Genetics from the University of Waterloo, a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from Washington State University, and two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Idaho.
Originally hailing from the United Kingdom, Maria loves to travel. In her free time she can generally be found outdoors, usually on a bike.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 3: Regulatory Environment
 

Mark Trimmer - Managing Partner, DunhamTrimmer

Mark Trimmer, Ph.D., has more than 35 years of experience in research, product development, registration, technical service, and technology licensing in the crop protection industry. Early in his career, Mark led international product development at American Cyanamid. Following the acquisition of Cyanamid by BASF, Mark continued as leader of new technology acquisitions for the agriculture division. In 2006, Mark established Trimmer Consulting providing new technology assessment, R&D strategy, regulatory, and product development services to companies in the global agricultural chemical and biological markets. Mark co-founded DunhamTrimmer in 2011 with William Dunham to provide independent market research and strategic consulting for the global biopesticide, biostimulant, and biofertilizer markets. Mark’s training is in agronomy, plant physiology, and plant pathology and he provides the primary technical inputs on all DunhamTrimmer projects. Mark currently leads the Membership Committee and serves on the Board of Directors for the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA).

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 1: Pivotal Moments in Biocontrol - what's made the difference, lessons learned
Major Forces Driving the Expansion of Biocontrol Solutions Worldwide

Lieselot Van der Veken - Pro Terra Agro

Lieselot has more than 20 years Applied Research experience in Biocontrol in Tropical Production Systems. She has been active in the Biocontrol sector (Regulatory, R&D and Business Development) and IBMA for over 14 years.
Combining broad technical knowledge of Biocontrol and Business Sustainability Management (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership), she co-develops more sustainable production systems with farmers and interacts with stakeholders of the food value chain to facilitate the transition from extractive to regenerative food production systems. With a strong focus  on tropical regions she strives to combine ecological and social sustainability gains.

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 6: The Future is Biocontrol

Herman Van Mellaert  - President IBMA Global and Director Strategic Alliances, Biobest NV

Herman is the President of IBMA Global, the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association, since 2021. IBMA is the experienced and leading voice of the biocontrol industry and advocates for proportionate regulation of biocontrol products on a global basis. Herman represents Biofirst Group with headquarters in Belgium. Most recently as Director Strategic Alliances at Biobest, he contributed to the company’s rapid global expansion. Originally a pioneer in bumblebee pollination and in invertebrate biocontrol agents, Biobest developed into Biofirst and is now a leading global player in biocontrol providing farmers on all continents with a complete range of solutions and with expert technical advice.    

Herman holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leuven in insect physiology. He was Researcher, then Business Development Manager and subsequently founding CEO in the plant biotechnology industry. He also worked at the EU Council Secretariat (Agriculture) and at the European Commission (DG Research and Development). After several years as a consultant and interim Manager in the Life Sciences industry (with assignments in biotechnology, biological control, food ingredients, manufacturing of biomolecules,…) he became Director Business Development and subsequently Director Strategic Alliances at Biobest Group NV since 2013.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 1: Pivotal Moments in Biocontrol - what's made the difference, lessons learned
Chair

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Keynote and Panel discussion: Biocontrol and the Future of Farming

Helma Verberkt - Managing Director, Artemis

Helma Verberkt has been the managing director of Artemis (IBMA-Nederland) since April 2022, leading the association of producers and distributors of biological controllers, natural plant protection products, and biostimulants in the Netherlands. With almost 40 years of experience in plant health and agricultural research, she has held leadership roles at Glastuinbouw Nederland, Delphy and Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Helma has a proven track record in program management, innovation, and strategic research, making significant contributions to sustainable agriculture and biocontrol in both national and European contexts.

Monday, 21 October 2024, Bernard Blum Award

Luca Volontè - Senior Research Analyst, S&P Global Commodity Insights

Luca Volontè is a Senior Research Analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insight. His research focuses on biological control agents (BCA’s), biostimulants and biofertilizers. With 8+ years of experience in the agrochemical industry Luca holds a degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Milan.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 2: Global Overview of Enabling Policies
M&A and multinationals’ investments as a catalyst for growth and innovation in biocontrol

Magdalena Wey - PhD Student, Agroscope Switzerland/ETH Zürich

Magdalena Wey is an Agricultural Scientist (MSc ETH Zürich) with a passion for plant protection and food production in a healthy environment. Currently, as part of her PhD project at Agroscope Switzerland / ETH Zürich, she is conducting research on biological control of the invasive Japanese beetle using entomopathogenic fungi in an autodissemination approach. The project is part of IPM-Popillia, a European Horizon project that addresses the challenge of the invasion of the Japanese beetle in Europe. Prior to her PhD project, she joined INIA in Uruguay for an internship on the control of the bronze bug in Eucalyptus and gained applied knowledge on classical biocontrol. Following this, she began working in the R&D division of Andermatt Biocontrol, where she contributed to improvement and development of baculovirus products. During this time, she recognized the great importance of innovation and economic viability for the success of biocontrol strategies. Eager to delve deeper into an innovative topic, collaborate with different European stakeholders and contribute to the containment of an invasive species, she applied for her current PhD position.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024, Session 4: Biocontrol Innovations
Attract-and-infest trap to disseminate Metarhizium brunneum among adult Japanese beetles

Gilad Yarkoni - CEO & Co-Founder, Platypus

With over 15 years of experience in the chemicals industry, I have developed a diverse and versatile skill set in product, design, R&D, B2B, B2C, OEM, production, and science material. My dual qualifications in design and engineering enable me to combine creativity and functionality in my solutions. I am passionate about creating a positive environmental impact through ecological chemistry. That is why I founded Platypus, a startup that empowers the chemical market to transition to more sustainable practices. At Platypus, we transform pest management with the controlled release of bio-organic compounds that reduce pesticides, toxins, waste, pollution, and carbon footprint. At the same time, our partners benefit from higher product value, cost reduction, and shorter time to market. I am happy to connect with passionate people who are making (or at least trying to make) an impactful environmental change.

Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Session 5: Attention Agripreneurs!