Jos Vast
Managing Partner/ Founder
Bakery Academy

Born and grown in a bakery that was making the transition of medium sized to industrial bakery, Jos finished his MSc in Technical Business Sciences at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in 2004. Via a long list of various operational and management functions became responsible for R&D and Quality, where the idea of founding Bakery Academy sprouted.
Started Bakery Academy in 2009, connecting the dots between theory and practical applications in problem solving and product development. Has a serious track record on reformulation of products, which amongst others resulted in:
– Less sugar, fat and sodium
– Different grains and cereals up to gluten free
– Enrichment with fibres and/ or proteins
– Cleaning up the labels
Working in Bakery Academy with 4 colleagues from their own Application & Innovation Centre for clients all over the world, making bakery science & technology applicable for them. We continue yearly in personal and company development in the field by exploring apparently unsolvable problems in ingredients & processes and conducting private research & development.

Natália Martins
Faculty of Medicine
University of Porto

Natália Martins is graduated since 2011 in Dietetic and Nutrition by Polytechnic Institute of Bragança – Portugal and received an honorable recognition as the best graduate student. She also made a period of extracurricular training in Brazil with an outstanding performance. Then, studied Natural Medicine in School of Alternative and Complementary Medicines of Oporto, and also attended other short courses in Traditional Medicine. She holds doctorate degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from University of Minho, Braga – Portugal, developed under the scope of phytotherapy, applied biochemistry and microbiology, namely using plant-derived phytochemicals (particularly phenolic compounds) as antifungals, to combat Candida infections. Other studies directly related with the assessment of anti-tumor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic potential of numerous plant matrices and natural products, including foodstuffs, dietary supplements and even drugs were also carried out in a deepening manner.
Natália is currently an invited researcher of the Faculty of Medicine from the University of Porto and Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S).

Peter Piper
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
The University of Sheffield

Peter is Emeritus Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Sheffield. His research has pioneered our understanding of how yeasts adapt to become substantially resistant to acetic, sorbic and benzoic acids, a resistance that often necessitates the use of relatively high levels of these acids in food, beverage and cosmetic preservation.

Andy Burman
Chief Executive
The British Dietetic Association

Andy is a Chartered Manager, Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, Fellow of the Institute of Association Management and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Having worked in the Civil Service and Local Government sectors he later moved to the General Medical Council, followed by the British Psychological Society, where he led the application to have Psychology become a statutory profession. He was appointed as CEO of The British Dietetic Association in 2003.

His background is in management, especially change management, having been instrumental in establishing new professional bodies, regulators and charities from scratch. He also advises professional associations on change management and good governance. Over the years he has worked closely with many professions across the health and social care sector and currently works with the other allied health professions at a strategic national level to represent their interests to all UK governments.

He also represents both the BDA and Allied Health interests nationally and internationally. He is a Director and a Trustee of Nutrition and Diet Resources UK which produces high quality patient focused information on diet and nutrition. His other roles include being a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster on ethics and professional regulation in sports nutrition. His other passion also includes professional regulation and he sits as a lay member on the investigatory or disciplinary committees of several other professions. In recent years he has also travelled extensively and internationally to speak about good governance and leadership within the professional and membership association sector.

Stephanie Seege
Founder
kAAKAO

Stephanie Seege is the founder of kAAKAO, an indulgent and slightly illegal chocolate brand that produces bars sweetened with dates. The company was founded in 2017 and the products were launched globally in April 2018. Ms Seege has been developing ‘free-from’ recipes since 2010, when she started healing herself from lifelong health issues such as severe eczema, food allergies and asthma. In 2012 she wrote and published a cookbook with recipes free from gluten, dairy, yeast, eggs and refined sugar. That experience turned into Helpings, a platform aiming to help and inspire people to live and feel better through great food. Stephanie is passionate about enhancing the food industry for the better, which she does through kAAKAO, while attending various speaking engagements and communicating to her community on social media. Ms Seege is born and bred in Finland and she has lived in Helsinki, Barcelona, Berlin, New York and London over the last 15 years.

Santiago Benito Saez
University professor
Polytechnic University of Madrid

Speaker’s Bio will be updated soon.

Prof. Diamantini
Innovation Enterprise Sociology
University of Milano-Bicocca

Davide Dimantini is professor of Innovation Enterprise Sociology at Bicocca University in Milan (Italy). His research activity is focused on the scientific and technological transfer and the territorial dinamics of development and competitivity of related entrepreuneurial activities; on new technologies and on consequences of their diffusion in contemporary society: mobility, e¬learning and territorial organization; on the socio¬cognitive of negotiation interaction.

Claire Lennon
Advisor in Regulatory Affairs
EAS Strategies

Claire is an expert in EU regulation across the nutritional and functional food categories, with a particular focus on food supplements, fortified foods, botanicals and novel food applications. She is specialised in ingredient and product evaluations, labelling, claims and market access. Claire has an educational background in biological and health sciences and a diploma in herbal medicine.

Leontien Hasselman
CEO
SIM Supply Chain Information Management

Leontien has over 15 years of experience in the field of sustainability and impact measurement. She started at the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and has worked for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for ten years specializing in measuring non-financial performance and impact in global supply chains. Currently as the CEO of SIM, her main aim is helping retailers and brands in the FMCG sector understanding their supply chains and using these insights to create change in environmental and social conditions.

Marc Painsmaye
Sales and Marketing Director
Couplet Sugars

Master in Economics from the UCL University, Belgium.
During more than 20 years, senior purchasing responsibilities in small, and large food companies, such as Unilever and Danone.
Between 2003 and 2007, assuming the presidency of CIUS.
Since 6 years, as consultant for small and medium size food businesses to manage their purchasing strategies.
Since july 2014, Sales and marketing Director for Couplet Sugars.