I am Subramani (suBBu) Ramachandrappa, a Biotech entrepreneur and investor with over twenty-five years of experience in the biotech sector in the areas of product development, fund raising, organisation building and commercialisation.

I am the founder of Fermbox Bio www.fermbox.bio, which leverages precision fermentation and synthetic biology to provide sustainable alternatives to traditional
products and processes. Fermbox Bio goal is to help businesses transition from using raw materials derived from forests, animals and harsh petrochemical processes to alternates produced using fermentation technologies.

Before Fermbox Bio, I founded Laurus Bio www.laurus.bio (originally Richcore Lifesciences), where I played a pivotal role in producing animal-origin-free recombinant proteins and enzymes, alongside offering CDMO services to the biopharma and novel food industries.
I am a passionate traveller and I speak about Entrepreneurship, Synthetic biology, scale up, Fund raising, Partnerships, Commercialisation and more.

Deepa Hingorani is a Partner in Bio-industrial Investments at Novo Holdings Equity Pte Ltd.

She is previously from IFU, the Danish Investment Fund where she was a SVP heading the fund’s Asia activities. Her investment experience spans across multiple sectors, including Climate (renewable energy, waste management, water recycling), Agri business and infrastructure, Financial Services, Manufacturing and Healthcare.

Deepa holds a Masters in Finance from University of Delhi and an Executive MBA from Scandinavian International Management Institute (now under CBS) Copenhagen.

Amit is the Managing Partner at Growtheum Capital Partners. Previously, Amit was the Managing Director and Head of Direct Investment Group, Southeast Asia, at GIC where he led private equity investments in Southeast Asia. Amit was also an Investment Committee Member at GIC’s Private Equity group and co-led the ASEAN Business Group. Prior to GIC, he was in the Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Singapore and in New York.

 

Arijit Guha Mazumder, based in Singapore, is a seasoned professional with over 28 years of experience in Consumer-Packaged Goods, Consumer Healthcare, and Pharmaceutical R&D. Holding a Bachelor's degree in Bio-Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University, India, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Design Thinking and Innovation from Emeritus Institute of Management, he excels at driving innovation and transformational growth strategies.
Arijit specializes in Future Back Growth strategy, innovation strategy implementation, and technology development platforms. His expertise includes consumer-centric innovation processes, design thinking, and building collaborative environments. He has a strong technical acumen and keeps abreast of emerging technologies.
Currently serving as the Category Senior Director of R&D & Global Category Digital Lead at Mondelez International, Arijit leads impactful consumer-centric innovation strategies influencing iconic brands and spearheads R&D digital programs. Previously, he held leadership positions at GlaxoSmithKline and Tata Global Beverages, where he led successful innovation initiatives and drove growth.
Arijit’s contributions extend beyond his professional endeavors, as evidenced by his volunteer experiences with various associations and boards. He is passionate about driving positive change and combines his expertise with a commitment to community service and industry leadership.

Dr Florian Viton is Senior Vice President and Global Head of Strategic Innovation at CJ Cheiljedang (CJCJ), based in Seoul since 2021. Florian leads the strategy and design, incubation, and commercial growth of new categories and ventures in strategic growth areas for the leading South Korean food company.
Prior to CJCJ, Dr Viton had a 15 years international career with Nestle. Florian held scientific and managerial positions of increasing responsibility for Nestle Research in Switzerland, focusing on multi-disciplinary research programs exploring Food/Consumers interactions. In 2016 Florian moved to Singapore as Head of Science & Technology, leading S&T programs and accelerating Nestle’s innovation agenda, especially in Asia.
Dr Viton holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Geneva, and completed post-doctorate fellowships in the USA and UK before starting his professional career in a Belgium startup. He holds more than 30 patents and publications.

Sanjeesh is a Metallurgical Engineering graduate (Gold medallist) from National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela & MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. He has also completed International Director's Program (IDP) from INSEAD, France. Currently, he is responsible for business building in the ASEAN markets for Mahindra & Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector.
Sanjeesh has extensively worked with John Deere in multiple roles like, Head of Channel Partner development for Asia & Sub-Saharan Africa, Sales Head for East & Southeast Asia, Country GM for Thailand, Head of Strategy & Planning for Asia & Sub-Saharan Africa etc. working out of India, Singapore, and Thailand. Sanjeesh was also on Board of Directors of John Deere Leasing (Thailand) Ltd.
Earlier, Sanjeesh was part of the TAS (Tata Administrative Services) cadre working with various Tata group companies viz. Tata AutoComp Systems, Tata Steel, Indian Hotels Co. Ltd., and Titan Co. Ltd.
Right before joining Mahindra group, Sanjeesh was working as the Managing Director of Elixir Advisory Pte. Ltd., a startup growth advisory company, based out of Singapore.
Sanjeesh is an active member of Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and a SID accredited senior director.
Hobbies: Sanjeesh enjoys writing about organizational and leadership topics and playing table tennis. He currently works out of Bangkok, Thailand.

Parmesh Shah is the Global Lead for Data, Digital Agriculture, and Innovation at the Agriculture and Food Global Practice of the World Bank. He currently provides leadership to Bank’s work in these areas and supports the development of global knowledge and learning in these areas to offer solutions to clients and other development partners. His current areas of interest are making markets and public services work for the poor, social entrepreneurship, digital and data-based innovations in agriculture and rural development, climate smart agriculture, Agriculture and technology enabled start-ups, venture and patient capital for innovation, promotion of on-farm, off-farm and digital jobs and public-private and people partnerships for rural poverty reduction. He is currently managing a global program on scaling up data driven digital agriculture involving data platforms and establishing ecosystems for innovation, entrepreneurship, and incubation across 38 countries in all regions across the world. He holds a D Phil in Development Studies from Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and B Tech degree in Agricultural Engineering from Pant Nagar in India

Viola Chen is the Innovation Lead at GFIC, where she works on industry analysis, partnership development, and innovation initiatives that support startups, investors, and corporations in the alternative protein sector. Building on her expertise in alternative proteins, honed since the early stages of the food tech space in the APAC region, Viola became a business consultant and a subject matter expert. She is a frequent public speaker, an author of two comprehensive industry reports, and her insights have been featured in media outlets like Bloomberg and South China Morning Post. Currently, Viola is spearheading a new project that explores China’s prowess in biomanufacturing applied to novel foods, with a particular focus on alternative proteins.

Samet Yildirim is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Orbillion Bio, overseeing process development, biomanufacturing, scale-up, business development, and regulatory affairs. Previously, at Boehringer Ingelheim, he served as Head of Global Technology & Innovation Management, leading innovation strategy and managing over 100 projects worldwide in large-scale mammalian cell culture. He drove technology development and commercialization for next-generation manufacturing, disposable platforms, and digitalization. Before joining Boehringer Ingelheim, Samet gained extensive experience in various life science companies, specializing in research, product innovation, and business development. He holds a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Biophysics from Ankara University, along with a Master of Business and Science (MBS) degree in bioprocessing from the Keck Graduate Institute of California.

Uy Pham is currently a Project Manager at IFC. He is leading several sustainable agri-food programs including food fortification and nutrition, food safety and food loss/waste reduction/prevention, sustainable forestry in Viet Nam and globally. Uy graduated from the University of Natural Sciences, Viet Nam National University-Hanoi; earned a Master's degree from Hiroshima University, Japan and a PhD from Michigan State University, USA. Dr. Uy has more than 20 years of working for both private and public sector and consulting in various fields of quality management (eg: ISO9001, TQM, Kaizen, Lean 6Sigma), environment (eg: ISO14001, EIA, SEA, HSE), decarbonization, climate change, sustainability, food safety (e.g. GMP, HACCP, ISO/FSSC22000, BRCGS), sustainable agriculture (e.g. GLOBALG.A.P. , SAI, Rainforest Alliance), Ag-tech (e.g., GIS, remote sensing, drone), forestry (e.g. FSC, NFSC/PEFS), MRV and greenhouse gas inventory (e.g. ISO14064, PAS 2050), sustainable aquaculture (e.g. ACS, BAP), nutrition (e.g., food fortification) amongst others.

Ling Min is a Director in the Investment Group at GenZero, leading the company’s investments in nature-based solutions and carbon ecosystem enablers. She was previously a Director in Temasek International’s Sustainability Group, accumulating more than 10 years of experience investing in global companies across diverse industry sectors, including transportation, logistics, industrials and real estate. She also led early-stage supply chain technology investments at Reefknot Investments, a joint venture fund between Temasek and Kuehne+Nagel.Ling Min is currently a Board member of CQuest Capital Asia Stoves, CHOOOSE and Rize. She is also a Board observer of Aurora Sustainable Lands and Perennial.
She graduated from the Singapore Management University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Business Management, and was the Valedictorian for School of Economics.

Tara Shyam leads Regen10, an international, multistakeholder initiative committed to advancing a global food system that inclusively supports healthier people, nature, and climate. The Regen10 Secretariat is hosted by the Meridian Institute.

Tara Shyam is a specialist in multistakeholder food systems partnerships, with diverse expertise spanning the value chain from agriculture, nutrition and school meals to food loss & waste. Tara is adept at shared-value stakeholder engagement across government, business, multilateral agencies, civil society, and academia, ranging from high-level leadership to on-the-ground operations. She has worked with the UN World Food Programme, the International Rice Research Institute, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Global Nutrition Report, The Global FoodBanking Network, Johns Hopkins University and UNICEF, among others.

Professor Cameron-Smith is the head of the Nutrition Department of the Singapore Institute for Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), a role he commenced in December 2023. Previously he held the position of Professor of Food Innovation (University of Newcastle, Australia) and Professor of Nutrition (University of Auckland, New Zealand). His passion and professional career are steeped in the complexities of human nutrition (aka food) and health (aka biological responsiveness), leading over 20 clinical trials covering many health angles from healthy weight maintenance to diabetes prevention. Spanning over 30 years of research, he has published 300+ scientific paper and 18K+ citations. He leads a talent multidisciplinary team focused on developing new insights into the nutritional needs of Asian populations.

B. Paul Santos is Managing Partner of Singapore-headquartered Wavemaker Partners. The firm is Southeast Asia’s go-to VC firm investing in early-stage enterprise, deep tech, and sustainability startups. Since 2012, it has backed 190+ companies across the region, with total capital commitments exceeding US$300 million and exits generating over US$1.8 billion in enterprise value. Notable portfolio companies include ecoSPIRITS, eFishery, Growsari, Lhoopa, Silent Eight, and Vigo. Paul is also one of the founding partners of Wavemaker Impact, a Southeast Asian venture builder partnered with Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), that aims to co-found climate tech startups. He also chairs the investment committee for Asian Development Bank (ADB) Ventures. Prior to starting Wavemaker Partners, Paul was an entrepreneur who co-founded six companies and sold three. He started his career as a product manager at Procter & Gamble. He graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a B.S. in Management Engineering and a Joint Minor in International Management with the University of Antwerp.

Siddharth Satpute is the Head of Industry Digital
Solutions at Mindsprint. Under his leadership, MINDSPRINT has built and scaled digital solutions across the food and agri value chain. From digital solutions which help make food supply chains
more traceable and sustainable, to customer engagement solutions which enable businesses to reach and service their customers more efficiently, to solutions for smart farms and smart factories, Siddharth and his team have delivered successful digital transformation programs for a $40 billion agri-commodity and food ingredients group.
Siddharth has been with Olam since 2013. Starting as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for India and South Asia region, he went on to become the CFO for the Asia region. In 2017, he moved to Digital as the Program Director before taking over as the Head of the Digital function in 2020. With over 25 years of experience across regional and global functional and business leadership roles, Siddharth brings a global perspective having lived and worked in India, Singapore, and The Netherlands. Siddharth is a Chartered Accountant from India and holds a Bachelor of Commerce
degree from the University of Pune, India.

Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted is the Director for Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact Area Platform, CGIAR. She was awarded the 2021 World Food Prize for her ground-breaking research and landmark innovations in developing holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquatic food systems. She was awarded the 2021 Arrell Global Food Innovation Award for research innovation. She is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub. She was Vice Chair of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Action Track 4 - Advance Equitable Livelihoods. In 2022, Shakuntala was appointed co-chair of the EAT-Lancet 2.0 Commission. Shakuntala holds a PhD from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark. She holds Honorary Doctorates from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and The University of the West Indies.

Béatrice Conde-Petit holds the position of Sustainability Officer. She is responsible for Bühler’s Sustainability Agenda and drives strategic innovation projects at the interface between science, technology and business leveraging partnerships for impact. In her previous role at Bühler she has been responsible for the Future of Food program with focus on sustainable food supply and for driving the Food Safety agenda. Béatrice Conde-Petit holds a Diploma and PhD in Food Science & Technology from ETH Zurich. Before joining Bühler in 2008, Béatrice worked at ETH Zurich for 20 years as researcher, lecturer and consultant to the international food industry. In 2023 Beatrice has received the European EPNOE technology award for leveraging science & technology for innovations for foods and sustainability.

 

Dr Ralph Graichen is currently Operating Partner with the Agri-Food Team at Temasek International. Here he provides deep tech diligence and strategic advice for portfolio companies. He has over 16 years of experience in the local and global biomedical and nutrition industry.
Before joining Temasek, Ralph was Senior Director at the Biomedical Research Council at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore where he was leading his team to develop A*STAR’s strategy in food & nutrition, consumer care as well as human potential. He had a co-appointment as Adjunct Associate Professor with Nanyang Technological University, School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering.
Ralph graduated with a Master in Biology from the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany and attained his PhD from the National University Singapore. He attended the Food System Leadership Institute, a 2 year program of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Professor Wood AO led R&D teams from CSIRO, CSL and Pfizer (now Zoetis) and was Deputy-Director of the Vaccine Technology CRC.  He brought several innovations to market, receiving recognition for inventing a new diagnostic test for Tuberculosis, including the CSIRO Medal, the Clunies Ross award and the Order of Australia.  Paul was Chair of GALVmed and on the Board of Dairy Australia. He is on the Australian Academy Technology, Science and Engineering board and an Adjunct Professor at Monash University. In 2019 he received the International Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Award and 2022 the Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers.

He is a mentor for various AgTech accelerators such as Sprout X and Rocket Seeder as well as the CSIRO Protein Mission. Paul is the Chair of an Insect farming start-up Viridian Renewable Technology and on the scientific advisor group for the Global Methane Hub.

He is a frequent commentator on the role of cell-based and precision fermentation technologies in food security.

 

Dr. Tsz-Ning Mak leads the Nestle Research Singapore Hub which focuses on translating scientific evidence into food and nutritional solutions relevant for consumers in South-East Asia. She is a nutritional epidemiologist by training and is interested in how diets and nutritional interventions can improve and optimise functions and wellbeing across the lifecourse. She has extensive research experience in food industry, EU policy, and academia.

Eun-Ju Sohn, Ph.D., is the co-founder and CEO of BioApplications Inc.( BioApp in short), where she has led groundbreaking initiatives since its establishment. BioApp is focusing on development of plant-based recombinant protein manufacturing platform technology. Based on our proprietary technology, BioApp operates two business arms, one for subunit vaccines in animal health, the other for protein raw materials in bio-industry mainly for cultivated meat companies. BioApp is the world-first company who received the approval of plant-based vaccines (classical swine fever DIVA vaccine and porcine circo virus 2 green vaccine) and launched on the market. BioApp is producing recombinant bovine vitronectin and laminin ECM proteins from plant for cultivated meat development and is under the scaleup. Additionally, Eun-Ju serves as a committee member for several government ministries, further demonstrating her commitment to advancing scientific research and innovation.

Ken Fujiwara is co-founder and CEO of UMITRON. He started his career as an R&D Engineer at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). After that he worked at Mitsui & Co., Ltd. where he was engaged in business investment and development as a manager in microsatellite and agricultural IT businesses.

Max Sim, research partnership senior manager at CSIRO, Australia National Science Agency. Main portfolio is science diplomacy and part of Green Economy team at the Australia High Commission in Singapore Previously managed the green tech accelerator program for Canadian Foreign Affairs Office. Worked in National University of Singapore Enterprise as Program Lead in Singapore largest startup accelerator BLOCK71. General Manager of NUS Enterprise Shanghai office and managed bilateral innovation programs such as China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative and Guangzhou Knowledge City in Greater Bay Area. Senior Manager with the SME Centre, Enterprise Singapore by the Ministry of Trade & Industry managing government grants, projects enhancing local green tech business capability and overseas expansion plans. Won four Ministry Awards in Singapore civil service.

Othman Ben Abbes is a founder and entrepreneur in AgTech / Aquaculture Tech, with a background and experience combining engineering , biotechnology and business management.
He worked for several years as head of North China in a French engineering consulting firm, developing and managing projects in mobility, robotics and AI, with world leading companies in their fields, such as Volkswagen, ABB and Lenovo.
He then moved to co-found Aqua Development , a leading aquaculture tech start-up that combines latest advances across different tech and biotech to develop high performance aquaculture systems that mimic natural ecosystems.
Othman Ben Abbes and his team developed and successfully implemented on a commercial level a shrimp farming system that achieves high productivity , environmental sustainability and economic viability, and are currently expanding their start-up operations across Europe , Middle East, Korea, Japan, China and North Africa.
Othman Ben Abbes has 3 masters degrees, two in Engineering from leading institutions in France (ISAE SupAero) and China (NUAA ), and one in International Business from Hult IBS

In Business for 36 years of which 21 years in leadership roles building, turning around, acquiring, divesting businesses in Agriculture and Food space. Exceptional people leadership traits with ability to recognize and groom talent. Strong internal and external stakeholder management with ability to navigate operating landscape in India and abroad. An industry expert, thought leader, innovator and a leading voice in the agriculture and food industry. He has worked extensively with industry, the social sector, and the Government on transformational and numerous nation-building projects.
Siraj is presently Country Chairman, SATS India and Partner AgVaya LLP. In the past, he served as the chair of National Commodity Management Ltd., (NCML). He was successful in leading the organization through transformation journey, greater diversification and expansion of company footprint across the country as a trusted and preferred Agri Supply chain and solutions partner.

Dr. Anneline Padayachee is deeply committed to enhancing the nutritional quality of food and promoting widespread understanding of nutrition. Beyond weight loss and disease treatment, she views nutrition as fundamental to cellular health, growth, aging, disease prevention, and overall functioning. With a PhD in nutritional food science and extensive experience in industry, research, and academia, Anneline currently provides independent scientific advice to a range of different clients and industry bodies. She is recognized nationally for her expertise and contributions to the field, holds positions in various professional organizations and has received awards for her work including being named Australia’s number one science communicator and one of the nations’ Top-50 cutting edge female scientists for her ability to translate science for industry and community. However, it is Anneline’s own personal journey dealing with health challenges that has strengthened her belief in the power of nutrition, and the invaluable role farmers play in providing good food that is rich in nutrients. As a prominent speaker, writer, and consultant in the food sector, Anneline is a strong advocate for the role of food production and nutrition science in improving public health. Contact her through her website, www.dranneline.com.

Blake is a leader in the health & biotechnology sectors. He was the Founding CEO of Microba Life Sciences Ltd, an Australian biotechnology company which listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2022 with a market capitalisation over $100m.

In partnership with globally recognised scientists, Blake spun Microba out of the University of Queensland in 2017. Today Microba is a recognised leader in gut health technology and distributes products in the United States, Europe, Middle East, and Australia. In addition to distribution, it has built strategic partnerships with leading pharmaceutical, pathology and genomics companies.

Prior to 2017 Blake worked in an ASX listed company and funds management. Mr Wills holds three financial degrees including a Master of Business and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Blake is currently running his private advisory business, JA Capital, which has a portfolio of six companies which span across fields including microbiome, oncology, fertility, and sports technology.

Bhagyesh Dash, 55 years old, Singaporean citizen & holder of U.A.E golden visa residency, has over 30 years’ experience in the fields of business development & corporate finance (M&A and capital raisings) in the climate impact, renewables, agriculture, forestry, mining, energy, and consumer sectors.

Bhagyesh has recently focused on fund raising, deal execution & partnerships for climate change and impact projects across the globe and built up an extensive network of investors in this space. This includes SWFs, DFIs, pension funds and global financial institutions focused on ESG and climate impact investing. Also recently given responsibility to generate business in the Middle East and South East Asia.

During his time in Asia, Bhagyesh has succeeded in developing a strong network that encompasses public and private sector investors within and outside Asia. Bhagyesh has been involved in setting up and developing 3 successful startup advisory and investment firms and offices over the past 30 years and is experienced in advising in raising capital, mergers and acquisitions transactions, public listings and takeovers of publicly listed companies especially in the Australian, Canadian and London markets.

Paul-Antoine Croize started his career as a French Land Force officer, operating in various theaters of operations such as Afghanistan and Sahel. Upon relocating to Singapore, he Joined Brazilian food company BRF, navigating various roles in Business Development across food, animal feed, and biotechnology sectors. Since 2019, he has been Business Area Director Southeast Asia with Lallemand Animal Nutrition, the Animal Nutrition branch of microbial solutions global leader Lallemand.

Paul-Antoine holds a MA in International Relations from Military Academy St-Cyr and an MBA from INSEAD. Since 2017 he is based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Jeff Pei Is the General Manager of Adorvia Technology, this is the subsidiary corporation of Abiochem, Abiochem is a bio-intelligent manufacturing company with advanced synthetic biology technology, they are the first company which stevia Bio conversion Reb M got approval in China. He worked for MDLZ, IFF and PureCircle/Ingredion, focus on sugar reduction especially in food and beverage.He is the expert of sugar reduction in China marketing.

Roslyn Chua is the Head of Crop Science Digital Farming Solutions (DFS) in APAC (effective November 1, 2022). In this role, she leads the development and implementation of the APAC New Business Model strategy, developing people and teams that take ventures from test & learn to commercial, increasing the engagement of our strategic partners at the farm-level, and continuing the strong entrepreneurial culture to innovate and deliver solutions to farmers. She is a member of the DFS Leadership team as well as the CS APAC Leadership Team.

Roslyn has worked at Bayer for over 10 years in various leadership positions in Marketing, Strategy, and Digital Farming leading teams in Asia, Europe, and North America. In the digital farming industry, Roslyn has a proven track record of building digitally enabled Tailored Solutions in Crop Protection that farmers use at scale in 10 countries globally.

Roslyn has an MBA from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), China and a Bachelor of Science degree from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. Roslyn is relocating to Singapore with her husband Jannis, and daughter Liv. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and hunting for life-changing food experiences. Roslyn is a native speaker in both English and Filipino.

Head of Asia for Conti and is responsible for the growth and development of Conti’s portfolio in Asia across animal nutrition, smart agriculture and new investment platforms

Continental Grain Company is a leading global investor and operator in food & agriculture with over 200 years of history, including 40+ years in China starting with Business License Number 0001 for overseas investment in China, granted in 1981

Prior to joining Conti, Yin was a Partner with Bain & Company in Shanghai, where he worked with Fortune 500 multinationals and private equity firms on commercial due diligence on China assets, commercial excellence and route-to-market redesign, M&A strategy, and post-acquisition value creation for PE-owned portfolio companies

Tiffany is working at Star Magnolia Capital, a Singapore-based multi-family office that practices the endowment model. She has been with the firm since 2021 and looks after fund investments/co-investments. Tiffany has led investments in agriculture and food technology focus funds and companies. Tiffany holds an MBA from University of Oxford and a LLB from Tsinghua University.

 

Reshmi Rajendran is the Head of Innovation and R&D at Roquette’s Asia Pacific Innovation Center in Singapore and leads a team of scientists in developing new plant-based solutions for the Food, Nutrition and Pharma markets in the region. 

 

Prior to joining Roquette, Reshmi has had progressive work experience in Research, Innovation, and technology commercialization with organizations such as Danone, Budding Innovations (a start-up), A*STAR and has strong R&D and commercial leadership experiences.

 

Trained as a scientist (PhD in Physics/Biomedical Imaging, National University of Singapore), business person (MBA, INSEAD) and administrator (Masters in Public Administration), Reshmi enjoys leading transformation at the interface of technology and commercialization.

Apart from innovative technologies, Reshmi is passionate about children’s rights and works for various global causes, has worked at the UNICEF in India and is also the face of INSEAD’s Limitless Campaign that celebrated 50 years of women at INSEAD and champions women’s rights through this and other related activities.

 

Widya Sutiyo is a development professional of more than 10 years of experience managing programs and strategic partnership with bilateral and multilateral organizations, including the World Bank, UNDP, and WFP. She came to GAIN after working for an Indonesian philanthropic foundation that provides development grants to empower marginalized and vulnerable groups in Eastern Indonesia through a program portfolio that focuses on improved services in early childhood development. Sutiyo holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations and International Economics from The Johns Hopkins University-School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). With a robust skill set that include public policy, aid effectiveness, donor engagement, Sutiyo contributes valuable insights to the development sector.

Raj is the Founder & CEO of Aquaconnect, a full-stack aquaculture startup with embedded fintech that leverages Artificial Intelligence and Geo-Spatial technologies to bring transparency and efficiency to the aquaculture value chain. Today, Aquaconnect established its ground presence in seven Indian states, enabling market linkages for value chain stakeholders to access farm inputs, formal credit and post-harvest markets.

Raj is also a seasoned tech entrepreneur with two decades of experience in developing Internet and mobile technology-driven businesses. An alumnus of IIT-Kanpur, he also holds a diploma from Harvard University and a fellowship from Stanford. The World Economic Forum recognized him as one of the 'Young Global Leaders' in 2012 for his exceptional leadership and contribution to 'Mobile4Good' initiatives in emerging markets.

Avi Fintz has been the Managing Director and CEO of the Interflour Group since March 2018. Prior to assuming the role of Chief Executive, Avi Fintz served as Group Chief Strategy Officer for 5 years.

Interflour Group is a Singapore based joint venture between CBH (largest Australian grain cooperative) and the Salim Group (family-owned industrial holding group). Interflour sells 1.5m Mt of flour annually to its customers in SEA and also owns and operates a malting plant as well as a grain port terminal. Interflour is present in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Philippines.

Prior to joining Interflour Group, Avi gained extensive experience in proprietary investments across sectors and asset class while in the Special Situations Group of Goldman Sachs as well as at Ronly (commodities trader). Avi graduated from ESSEC Business School and Cass Business School.

Steve Wildisen is the CEO of Xsights Digital Pty Ltd, a company that provides data-led livestock solutions using patented XIoT tag technology. He has over 15 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur and innovator in the technology and digital media industries, with a focus on creating and scaling businesses that leverage data, analytics, and connectivity.

At Xsights Digital, he leads the development and deployment of the multi award-winning XIoT tag, which enables unique animal location data to be collected automatically at scale and in real time, and processed at the edge or on the cloud. The XIoT tag has multiple applications for the agricultural industry, such as provenance tracking, traceability, health and well-being monitoring, biosecurity, supply chain management, and carbon management. Steve's vision is to empower farmers, producers, and consumers with reliable, actionable, and transparent information that enhances productivity, quality, and sustainability.

A distinguished graduate of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Calcutta, Mr Taranjeet Singh Bhamra, Founder & CEO, AgNext Technologies, is an accomplished business leader and a visionary entrepreneur with a remarkable record of excellence spanning over 20 years in strategy consulting, investment banking, and high-impact entrepreneurial roles in both Indian and international markets.
Taranjeet envisions a world where farmers and agribusinesses are able to transact better with the most efficient application of technology. Working in Deep technology, AgNext under Taranjeet’s leadership has pioneered computer vision, spectral and IoT based AI technologies, which today is employed at multiple transaction points enabling transparent and profitable trade in agriculture and food value chains.
Presently, Mr. Bharma holds honorary representative positions across the following industry and educational bodies-
1. Council Member of CII, North India
2. National Agriculture Committee of FICCI
3. NASSCOM Deep tech Startup council

Mr. Sanjay has been working towards the digitalization of Agriculture since 2001 and is passionate in his mission to provide technological intervention as a force multiplier in Food systems.
He holds an Engineering degree in Computer Science from the University of Pune (India).
His extensive software and management experience include building, marketing, and selling enterprise software products offered as SAAS and On-Premise applications. His strength lies in formulating and implementing corporate policies and strategies that position the company in a fiercely competitive atmosphere and ensure exponential growth.
Mr. Sanjay Borkar and Mr. Santosh Shinde have developed this technology platform, with a thought and a pioneering vision that it could be used for improving Productivity, Profitability and predictability of agribusiness companies, such as plantations and farms, contract farming companies, processors and exporters.
With deployments in over 30 countries, FarmERP stands as a leading enterprise in AgTech, spearheading revolutionary projects across the agricultural value chain. Mr. Borkar and his team remain dedicated to continuously supporting stakeholders and driving innovation in agriculture worldwide.
With a strong R&D and professional Agri-ICT expertise of many years gained from hundreds of successful implementations and a strong focus on the future, FarmERP has become a key player in this space through their smart and innovative technology offerings - FarmERP and FarmGyan.
Driven by the passion to build change – FarmERP focuses on 3Ps – Productivity, Profitability and predictability for businesses. The platform basically revolves around four crucial points: food safety, traceability, regenerative agriculture and climate resilience. These align with two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Zero Hunger & Climate Change.
The company has to date, served farms in around 30+ countries, deploying its software across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. FarmERP is used across 150 crop varieties over 750,000 Acres of land and is available in multiple international languages.
‘I belong to the farming community and hence, I understand how important it is to drive innovation and provide digital infrastructure to empower agriculture around the globe. With FarmERP devising personalised innovative strategies on a regular basis, we are continuously evolving this technology platform to solve various issues, and close loops across the Agricultural supply chain.’

Currently, Dr Srisuma is an advisor to Thai Wah Group R&D, AGBIO and Special Projects after over 30 years of leading company R&D and Innovation. Thai Wah Public Company Limited is well-known as a regional leader in starch, starch-related ingredients, food and starch-based bioplastics company with active operations in 7 countries: Thailand, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, and India.

Axel currently leads the Octave Wellbeing Economy Fund which invests in start-ups in the Agrifood, Wellbeing and Sustainability space. He also runs IMC Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests globally in maritime and logistics sectors. Since 2023, these funds have made 6 new investments in areas of regenerative agriculture, cold chain logistics, autonomous vehicles, and software.
As Innovation Lead at IMC, Axel is responsible for organising and scouting for new technologies for the across IMC’s industrial and wellbeing businesses, such as in shipping, logistics, agrifood, wellbeing, and sustainability. He manages the funding for proof-of-concepts and IMC's partnership with Studio 30 50, a maritime venture studio founded by leading maritime corporates across the value chain.
Prior to IMC, Axel has had 10 years of investment and corporate development experience, having set up Momentum Venture Capital as a strategic innovation initiative, where he led early to growth stage investments in over 20 start-ups and funds globally. The fund successfully catalysed strategic outcomes such as the formation of a cross-border joint venture, tech adoption, business partnerships, launch of new businesses, and an industry-led national innovation challenge.
Axel also enjoys supporting entrepreneurship by mentoring start-ups, angel investing, and contributing to meaningful forums and platforms.

As RD&A director for Kerry Southeast Asia, Omar now leads the region’s development and applications team.

Omar brings more than 24 years of deep experience in the food industry. Prior to his present role, he was the RD&A director for Kerry in Latin America and Middle East, general manager for Kerry Mexico, and a Taste R&D lead in Kerry Europe. Earlier in his career, Omar was leading teams across R&D, quality, product development and packaging for brands such as Gatorade®, Pepsico and Mars chocolate in Latin America.

A biochemical engineer by training, Omar specialised in food processing, graduating from Mexico’s ITESM Campus Querétaro. A believer in lifelong learning, he recently completed a postgraduate programme in artificial intelligence and machine learning from the University of Texas, Austin.

Dr. Maru established Leave a Nest while he was in the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo, with his fellow undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering. Its core business is developing and delivering advanced science workshops for schools. Leave a Nest runs a “Knowledge Manufacturing” industry that combines technologies or knowledge from various fields in science. He, as an initiator of the biggest Deep-tech Venture ecosystem in Asia, tackles issues on a global scale by digging deep issues in every part of the world. He has been also involved in launching various startups including Euglena Co., Ltd. He has also appointed as Chief Research＆Development Officer of Euglena Co., Ltd., and as Representative Director of Real Tech Holdings Co., Ltd. He is founder and one of the director of Leave a Nest Singapore Pte Ltd and takes key role in the management of collaborative projects. Especially in expansion of both Japanese companies into Singapore and hosting Singapore companies in Japan for business expansions.

Dr. Siti Maryam Yaakub, Senior Director of the International Blue Carbon Institute at Conservation International, leads the institute's global efforts in translating blue carbon science into tools and methodologies for climate mitigation and adaptation. Based in Singapore, she spearheads initiatives aimed at fostering multidisciplinary expertise and cultivating a resource hub for knowledge exchange.

Siti is a marine ecologist and works across tropical marine and coastal habitats. Her work and research interests broadly lie in the areas of ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions for adaptation and mitigation in marine environments. Within this, she is specifically interested in using seagrass habitats as a model system for understanding ecological thresholds to stress, ecosystem resilience, and the effects of human activities and climate change on the marine environment.

Saurabh Das is the Head of Operations of Cauldron, a global biomanufacturer unlocking the potential of precision fermentation. Saurabh brings a wealth of experience in the design, build, and operations of industrial-scale manufacturing facilities. Over the course of his career, Saurabh has built, operated, and optimised industrial-scale Oil & Gas facilities in Australia and internationally. Most recently, he led the development and implementation of operational excellence and continuous improvement strategy for the PNG Business for Santos, Ltd. Saurabh holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mech) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Investment and Corporate Finance) from the University of Western Australia.

Yong Tao, graduated from Rutgers University in the United States, majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. He is currently a professor at the Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiology and Metabolic Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a chief scientific officer at Microcyto Biotechnology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., and seat at the Editorial Board of numerous journals. Yong is mainly engaged in designing and reconstructing metabolic pathways to balance reducing power and cofactor circulation in microbes, and developing industrial biocatalysts to produce value-added chemicals such as trehalose, astaxanthin, sialic acid and ursodiol, etc. He has published 145 papers in international journals such as Nat Commun, PNAS and Metab Eng. He has applied for and obtained more than 120 patents, andalso has received a variety of honors and awards in China