Speakers ABIM 2026

Sandrine M. Bayendi Loudit - Senior Scientific Officer, Inter-African Phytosanitary Council of the African Union

Dr Sandrine M. Bayendi Loudit Epse Essono is an experienced agronomist and entomologist with more than two decades of expertise in crop protection. She currently serves as a Senior Scientific Officer in Entomology at the Inter-African Phytosanitary Council of the African Union (AU-IAPSC). In this regard, she plays a key role in coordinating activities related to entomology, pests, and pesticides, while promoting good agricultural practices concerning pesticide regulation in African Union member states. Prior to her position at AU-IAPSC, Dr Bayendi Loudit worked at the Institute of Agronomic and Forestry Research (IRAF) in Gabon, where she managed programs and projects focused on entomology and pesticide management. She is fluent in both French and English. Dr Bayendi Loudit earned her PhD in agronomic sciences and biological engineering, as well as her master's degree in the protection of tropical and subtropical crops, both from the University of Liège-Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech in Belgium.

Antonio Bernal Soro - Chief R&D Officer, Agronova Biotech

Antonio Bernal Soro is a biologist and pharmacist and serves as Chief R&D Officer at Agronova Biotech, an integrated platform of agricultural biologicals companies that includes Probelte, Asfertglobal and other companies of the sector. He leads the group's consolidated R&D, directing innovation across biostimulants — including microalgae-based technologies — microbial biocontrol and advanced, sustainable crop-nutrition solutions, aligning applied research with long-term corporate objectives. His profile combines scientific depth with business administration and project management, connecting innovation to commercial competitiveness. Across the platform he has held a broad range of leadership responsibilities — from R&D direction in biofertilizers, biopesticides and next-generation agricultural technologies, to operational, technical and quality leadership of analytical and phytopathological diagnostics services.

Alejandro del Barrio Duque - Lead Scientist, Evologic Technologies GmbH

Alejandro del Barrio leads research and manufacturing initiatives focused on advancing microbial solutions for sustainable agriculture. He holds degrees in Forest and Agricultural Engineering from Spain and a Master's in Biotechnology from Denmark. He earned his PhD at the Austrian Institute of Technology, where his research focused on plant–microbe interactions, particularly tripartite relationships that enhance the biocontrol efficacy of beneficial microorganisms.
In his current role, Alejandro leads multidisciplinary projects to develop, scale, and implement robust fermentation and formulation processes, ensuring the production of high-quality, reproducible, and high-performance microbial products. His work is centered on unlocking the potential of difficult-to-culture microorganisms and translating cutting-edge scientific discoveries into scalable, commercially viable agricultural solutions.

Domenico Deserio - Policy Officer, European Commission - DG SANTE

Domenico Deserio is a Policy Officer at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE). He is responsible for policies on biocontrol, particularly micro-organisms, and he is currently involved in work on the Food and Feed Simplification Package. He chairs the EU Biopesticides Working Group and serves as an EU delegate to the OECD Expert Group on Biopesticides. He was responsible for amending EU regulations on data requirements, evaluation principles, and the authorisation and approval of micro-organisms and products containing them, as well as for related activities such as Commission guidance documents and communications. Previously, he worked as a Scientific Officer at EFSA in the area of biological hazards. He holds a Master's degree in Biotechnology from the University of Bari, Italy, where he completed a thesis in food microbiology. In addition, he obtained an advanced postgraduate Master by Research in Agricultural Science from the University of Adelaide, Australia, where his research focused on plant genomics and plant pathology.

Gorka Erice - Global Technical Director, ATENS

Doctor in Biology specializing in plant responses to environmental challenges. My early research focused on the effects of climate change on alfalfa symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, including acclimation to drought and efficiency of Sinorhizobium strains combined with arbuscular mycorrhizae. At the University of Illinois' Institute for Genomic Biology, I worked on ozone-related tolerance genes. Later, at the Zaidín Experimental Station (EEZ-CSIC) in Granada, I investigated maize and mycorrhizal symbiosis, exploring how fungi regulate root hydraulic conductivity through aquaporins. Since 2018, as Global Technical Director at Atens, I apply this expertise to develop microorganism-based solutions for sustainable agriculture, enhancing productivity and fruit quality.

Bruno Folchi - President, AgroVentures

Bruno Folchi is an agronomist, entrepreneur, and crop protection executive with more than 35 years of international experience in agrochemicals, biologicals, product development, and regulatory affairs. He holds an MBA from MIT–Stoà and has held global leadership positions with multinational crop protection companies, including Uniroyal Chemical and Chemtura, where he directed international business development, product registration, manufacturing projects, strategic alliances, and market expansion across Europe, the Americas, and other key agricultural markets. Mr. Folchi is the founder and Managing Director of AgroVentures.

Marlynne Hopper - Head of the Standards and Trade Development Facility

Marlynne Hopper is Acting Head of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), a global partnership hosted by the WTO to promote safe and inclusive trade. Since joining in 2008, she has held various leadership roles spanning strategy, monitoring and evaluation, communications and resource mobilization, while leading innovative projects across Africa, Asia and Latin America, and contributing to knowledge on public–private partnerships, good regulatory practice, and evidence-based investment prioritization. Prior to the STDF, she worked with GIZ, FAO and the World Bank. She holds a Master's degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Sylvia Kuria - Organic Farmer, Sylvia's Basket

Sylvia Kuria is a Kenyan organic farmer, entrepreneur and founder of Sylvia's Basket on a mission to make organic produce accessible. She started growing food for her family in a kitchen garden and soon realized that there are many mothers just like her who also wanted safe nutritious food for their families. She connects 30+ small-scale farmers to markets, aggregating and selling over 5 tonnes of organic produce monthly to bulk buyers. Passionate about training and empowering farmers, she champions safe, sustainable farming. When she's not in the fields, she's documenting her journey through writing.

Kevin Leiner - VP / Regulatory Affairs, Micropep Technologies

Dr. Kevin Leiner is an expert in regulatory science, toxicology, and risk assessment, with over 25 years of experience working in regulated industries, including pharmaceutical biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, agricultural chemical, and contract research organizations. He holds a Ph.D. in Zoology (Comparative Animal Physiology) from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in Marine Science from Long Island University. Dr. Leiner has extensive experience managing complex regulatory programs and leading teams in the regulatory sciences to secure market authorizations of conventional and biological pesticide active ingredients and products, including genetically modified crops, biochemicals, and microbials. Before joining Micropep, Kevin held leadership roles at Syngenta, including Global Project Lead in Product Safety, Head of Human Safety for North America, and Head of Toxicology for North America. Dr. Leiner develops the global regulatory strategy for Micropep Technologies to support the development and registration of new peptide-based active ingredients and plant protection products, focusing on securing registrations in key markets including the U.S., the E.U., and Brazil, and leads all regulatory science activities.

Ené Leppik - CTO and Founder, Agriodor

Ené Leppik is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Agriodor, a French AgriTech company developing next-generation crop protection solutions based on allelochemicals. She leads the company's scientific strategy and the development of Agriodor's high-throughput discovery platform, integrating chemical ecology, analytical chemistry, behavioural biology, artificial intelligence and formulation sciences to accelerate the discovery of innovative biocontrol and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) solutions. She holds a PhD in Chemical Ecology and has more than 15 years of experience in insect olfaction, allelochemicals and crop protection innovation. Passionate about bridging fundamental science and industrial innovation, she is dedicated to transforming discoveries in chemical ecology into sustainable crop protection solutions for agriculture.

Michelle Lesur - Chief Executive Officer, Andermatt Madumbi

Michelle Lesur is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Andermatt Madumbi, a leading Southern African company specialising in biological crop protection and sustainable agricultural solutions, and part of the global Andermatt Group. She is widely recognised for her contribution to the growth of the biologicals sector, with a strong focus on advancing the commercialisation, scalability, and adoption of environmentally responsible and economically viable farming solutions across South Africa and the broader Southern African region. As a Board Member of the South African Bioproducts Organisation (SABO), Michelle plays an active role in shaping the regulatory and policy landscape for biologicals. Her work focuses on addressing regulatory barriers, improving market access, and supporting the development of fit-for-purpose frameworks that enable the growth of Africa's emerging bioeconomy.

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 working successively at DG ENV, DG GROW and since April 2018 at DG SANTE. He is today the Head-of-Sector Pesticides Legislation in SANTE E.4 Unit where he managed the implementation of both Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 and the Sustainable Use Directive (2009/128/EC). He also involved in the ongoing negotiations of the Food and Feed Safety Simplification Package with the European Council and Parliament.

Monica Locatelli - Managing Director, TEAM mastery S.r.l.

Monica Locatelli is the Founder and Director of TEAM Mastery and brings over 20 years of experience in project and training management within the regulatory toxicology field. She has extensive expertise in commissioning, contracting, and monitoring toxicological studies supporting the registration of hundreds of chemical substances under the REACH Regulation, as well as the assessment of biocidal and plant protection active substances and products. Driven by a strong interest in innovative and alternative approaches in toxicology, she has developed several QSAR models tailored to structurally diverse and complex substances. She is currently focusing on emerging frontiers in toxicology, including metabolomics and in vitro genotoxicity approaches based on Mode of Action (MoA) frameworks.

Thomas Lopes - Manager: Research and Innovation Brokerage, COLEAD

Dr. Thomas Lopes is Research and Innovation Brokerage Manager at COLEAD. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, specialising in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and sustainable crop protection strategies. At COLEAD, he coordinates research and innovation activities related to sustainable crop production, with a particular focus on plant health, crop protection, pesticide regulation and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) compliance across horticultural value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). His work includes the coordination of field trials, support to registration processes for plant protection products, assessment of regulatory requirements for international markets, and the identification, validation and scaling of sustainable agricultural innovations, including biocontrol approaches. He regularly contributes to scientific publications, technical guidance materials and knowledge-sharing initiatives aimed at strengthening evidence-based decision-making in sustainable horticultural production.

Geoffrey Ongoya - Executive Director, IBMA Kenya

Dr. Geoffrey Ongoya is a highly qualified and experienced plant health and crop protection expert with over 16 years of extensive expertise in crop protection, project management, nature-based solutions and regulatory affairs. He has a solid academic background including a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology and postgraduate degree in Crop Protection. He has hands-on experience, having worked with both public and private organizations mainly in the field of nature-based solutions in agriculture.

Christian Pereira - Agribusiness & Chemicals Strategist, Bizup Strategy

Christian Pereira is an agribusiness executive and strategist with 25+ years of experience across crop protection, fertilizers, biologicals, and food sectors, having led Marketing, Sales, and Innovation functions at major industry players. He is now an Agribusiness & Chemicals Strategist at Bizup Strategy, a boutique consultancy focused on Growth Strategy and M&A, helping agri-inputs companies unlock value and navigate strategic transactions. A sought-after keynote speaker and startup mentor, he authors Campo de Visão, a biweekly newsletter on agribusiness strategy and innovation.

Stephen Pearce - Managing Partner, Chemovateq AG

Stephen is currently the Managing Partner of Chemovateq AG, which is a specialist and privately owned Ag Tech investment firm and Partner in Natural Ventures an Ag & Water Tech investment company focussed on Food and Water Security overseeing the respective funds' Ag &Food investments. Sitting on several portfolio company boards Stephen actively helps and guides portfolio companies helping them navigate strategy development and execution and operational excellence. Stephen is co-Founder and Chairman of Accumont Advisors which is a specialist Ag Tech consulting group focused on deep Technical, Commercial and investment readiness due diligence for tech companies, investment companies and value chain partners. Accumont supports M&A, In and Out Licensing, Fund-Raising strategy and facilitation for AgTech start-ups and portfolio scouting for value chain clients.

Vipin Saini - Chief Executive Officer, Biological Agri Solutions Association of India

Mr. Vipin Saini, is a Regulatory Affairs Specialist, Paralegal, Educationalist, Environmentalist, Toxicologist, Data analyst, Writer & Publisher, Historian, Philanthropist and Humanitarian, with a combined experience of >30 years in the field of biosciences and related regulatory aspects related to National and International norms, Policy framing, Market Research, Business Intelligence, and Corporate Social Responsibility. Published >100 books/Booklets & Workbooks. He is a M.Sc. Zoology (Entomology), and LLM (Pro) in Intellectual Property from National Law University, New Delhi. Mr. Saini is currently the CEO - Biological Agri Solutions Association of India (BASAI). A member of various government department committees/ sub-committees and Industry Associations, including being a part of the Doubling Farmers Income Inter-Ministerial Committee.

Jurgen Tack - Secretary general, European Landowners' Organization

Jurgen Tack has been the Secretary General – CEO of the European Landowners' Organization since June 2023. He previously held the role of Scientific Director at ELO and served as CEO of Landelijk Vlaanderen and CEO of the Aanspreekpunt Privaat Beheer Natuur en Bos in 2016. Earlier positions included Coordinator Belgian Biodiversity Platform and General Director of the Research Institute of Nature and Forest (INBO). He earned his PhD in Sciences after studying biology (marine ecology) at Brussels Free University.

Hiroshi Tanabe - Bioproduct Senior Technical Manager, SDS biotech K.K.

Hiroshi Tanabe, Ph.D., is Senior Technical Manager for Bioproducts in the Overseas Division of SDS Biotech K.K. He received his M.S. in Agriculture from Saga University in 1991 and earned his Ph.D. in Agriculture from Kyoto University in 2012. Since joining SDS Biotech in 1991, he has dedicated his career to biopesticides, with work spanning research and development, in-licensing, product development, technical support, and market development in Japan, and, more recently, bioproduct marketing for the European market. Working within the distinctive regulatory and commercial environment of Japan's pesticide industry, he has spent more than three decades helping bring biological crop protection into practical use, with close attention to farmers' needs and field realities. His experience bridges science, product development, commercialization, and on-farm implementation, particularly in areas where biologicals face practical and market barriers. His professional interests include biopesticides and entomopathology, especially the deployment of entomopathogenic nematodes and other biological control agents.

Mark Trimmer - President & Founding Partner, DunhamTrimmer

Mark Trimmer has more than 35 years in research, product development, registration, technical service, and technology licensing in the crop protection industry. Mark led international product development at American Cyanamid, directed new agricultural technology acquisitions at BASF, and led R&D efforts at a biological start-up company, NutraPark. In 2011, Mark co-founded DunhamTrimmer LLC with William Dunham. DunhamTrimmer is the premier market research / strategic consulting firm focused exclusively on the global biological/natural product plant protection and plant health markets. DunhamTrimmer provides market research and strategic consulting to many of the lead companies and investors involved in the agricultural biological industries.

Marcel van der Heijden - University of Zurich and Agroscope

Marcel van der Heijden is professor for Agro-ecology and Plant-Microbiome Interactions at the University of Zurich (Switzerland) and he is associated with Agroscope, the Swiss Centre of Excellence for Agriculture. He is also extra-ordinary professor for mycorrhizal ecology at Utrecht University the Netherlands. He is a highly cited research in Microbiology and Ecology/Environment.
With our team we explore agroecosystems, specifically studying plant-microbe interactions, soil biodiversity, disease resistance and sustainable crop production. In recent years we have performed field inoculation trials with beneficial mycorrhizal fungi in over 100 agricultural fields in Switzerland with a range of crops (maize, sunflower, soybean, grapes, potatoes, herbs). Key questions we investigate are:
I. Investigate the impact of beneficial microbes on plant yield, soil health and sustainable crop production.
II. Explore the role of soil biodiversity in determining plant growth and ecosystem functioning in agroecosystems.
III. Is it possible to improve the sustainability and productivity of agro-ecosystems by inoculation with beneficial microbes.

Amit Vasavada - Chief Science Officer, Invasive Species Corporation

Dr. Amit Vasavada is the Chief Science Officer at Invasive Species Corporation in Davis, California. He received his doctorate degree in Applied Microbiology from University of California, Davis. Since then, his professional experience has included Translational R&D, Process and Product Development and Manufacturing of Bio-based products for Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Animal Health and Biopharmaceutical sectors. Most recently, he served as the SVP of R&D and CTO at Marrone Bio Innovations since 2014. He led Marrone Bio Innovations' R&D efforts to deliver smart, natural and sustainable biological pesticides and plant health products in addition to supporting Technology Scouting, Manufacturing and supply chain operations. He is currently involved in discovery, development and deployment of biological solutions for invasive species in agricultural soil, water and forestry resulting from climate change and human activities. This includes bioherbicide and molluscicide development for agricultural and aquatic invasive species using natural microbes and secondary metabolites.

Sarah Wambugu - Principal Pesticide Registration Officer, Pest Control Biocontrol Board

Sarah Wambugu is a Principal Pesticide Registration Officer at the Pest Control Biocontrol Board in Kenya, bringing expertise in the regulation of pest control products including biopesticides. Her background reflects a strong focus on agricultural practices and regulatory compliance. In her role, Sarah is responsible for regulation and registration of pest control products, ensuring compliance and quality of pesticides within the market. She applies principles of risk assessment in evaluation of pesticides and contributes to maintaining compliance standards whilst also supporting the Board's commitment to facilitate trade and protect human health and environment. Prior to this, Sarah worked at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development of Kenya, focusing on enhancing food security and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Her activities involved supporting farmers through innovative programs and capacity development initiatives. Sarah holds a Master of Science in Crop protection and a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from the University of Nairobi. She recently completed a Strategic leadership development program at the Kenya School of Government.