About Future Food Asia 2025

The highly anticipated 9th edition of Future Food Asia is set to return on 21st May – 22nd May, 2025, at Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore. With the theme “Where Innovation Meets Growth,” this year’s event promises to be one you won’t want to miss.

Call for Applications – 1 application process, 2 Awards

Adisseo-specific questions for the 3 categories of interest are at the end of the application form.

Click here to view key eligibility criteria and explore the 21 Future Food sectors of interest.

 

 

Adisseo-specific questions for the 3 categories of interest are at the end of the application form.

Thank you for your interest, applications for the competition this year is now closed.

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Thank you for your interest, applications for the competition this year is now closed.

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Future Food Asia 2025 Jury Panel 

Dr. Azlinda Anwar

Dr. Azlinda Anwar

Dr Azlinda Anwar is an Exec. Director in A*STAR (BMRC). She oversees the development of core research capabilities in the areas of human potential, precision health & biodata, and food and nutrition, as well as implementing strategies to deliver economic outcomes and support the wider national imperatives.

Dr Anwar previously held the positions of Coordinating Director, Director (Grants and IP Administration) in Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, and a Board Director of Temasek Life Sciences Ventures. She was actively involved in several academic and industry collaborations and industry licensing agreements.

Dr Anwar has also contributed significantly by serving on various public sector bodies and committees both in the national and life sciences areas, including in the Boards of the National Environment Agency, Singapore Polytechnic and AVA (formerly SFA), and Member of the Future Economy Council, Emerging Stronger Taskforce and the Inter-Ministry Committee on Food Security, WG4.

Dr Anwar obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the National University of Singapore. She received her post-doctoral trainings in Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins in Singapore, followed by Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School where she held a faculty position. Dr Anwar holds patents on specific diagnostic platforms which have been successfully commercialised.

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Dr. Azlinda Anwar

Executive Director (Biomedical Research Council)
A*STAR

 

Sanjeesh Bera

Sanjeesh Bera

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 board director. Hobbies: Sanjeesh enjoys writing about organizational and leadership topics and playing table tennis. He currently works out of Bangkok, Thailand.

Sanjeesh Bera

Head ASEAN Operations
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Farm Equipment

 

Dr. Anne Wagner

Dr. Anne Wagner

Anne Wagner is Vice-President Research & Development at Jungbunzlauer since 2023 and is responsible for group’s R&D strategies and projects as well as collaboration with other academics and research institutes. Before starting at Jungbzunlauer, Anne hold the VP R&D position of the ICL Phosphate speciality unit. Between 2013 and 2021, she set-up and managed the corporate R&D for the Tereos Group, after having served Tereos’ starch business.

After her phD with Novartis, Anne started her career as a post-doctoral fellow (Molecular Biology) in University College Galway (Ireland), and then joinded the idsutry where she hold several position in quality control, cetification and R&D. Between 2006 and 2008, she was Head of the Microbiology Department of Eli Lilly’s Fegersheim plant (France)- the company’s second largest parental drug plant worldwide.

Anne has also initiated together with peers and institutional players, IMROVE SAS – a research institute focusing on new protein developments. Anne has been board member of several academic institutes, clusters and professional associations such as Protéines France, INRAE, ESCOM, LRD, ESBS and Coopenergie.

She was awarded in 2017 a price for the best R&D female industrial executive in France.

Anne holds a PhD in Biochemical Engineering (1990) from the Polytechnical Institute of Lorraine (France), an Engineers Degree in Biotechnology (1986) and a Master’s Degree in Cellular Biology (1986) from the University of Strasbourg (France).

 

Dr. Anne Wagner

Vice-President Research & Development
Jungbunzlauer

Isabelle Decitre

Isabelle Decitre

Isabelle has had a 20-year corporate career in the luxury and beverage industries before moving to Singapore in 2012 and setting up ID Capital.

Her last responsibility was SVP Marketing & Communications for the Cognac brand Hennessy, member of the Executive Committee. This included significant involvement in the upstream sector of Viticulture. Prior to this she was with Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dunhill and Boucheron, in different senior capacities (supply chain director, retail network director, CMO).

After careful research for an emerging sector to invest in she was convinced that the foodtech & agtech sectors were bound for dramatic change. For the next two years she reviewed venture deals and invested as a private investor.

The idea of the FFA was born in May 2016 after potential co-investors expressed interests in her Agtech/Foodtech deal flow. It also appeared that startups would greatly benefit from regional exposure to grow their venture.

Isabelle Decitre

Founder
ID Capital

Future Food Asia 2025 Start-up Finalist Cohort

Future Food Asia 2025 Speakers & Contributors

Dr. Shamal Mohammed

Dr. Shamal Mohammed

Dr. Shamal Mohammed is the CEO of Innovation Oasis at Silal, where he leads the UAE’s flagship center for AgriTech innovation, research, and technology-driven transformation in agriculture. In this role, he is driving the strategic direction of the Innovation Oasis to accelerate cutting-edge research, build national capabilities, and foster partnerships that shape the future of sustainable food systems in the region. Dr. Shamal is a recognized leader in AgriTech, with over 20 years of experience spanning agricultural R&D, soil and water management, precision farming, and digital agriculture. Before taking the CEO role, he served as Head of AgriTech at Silal, spearheading initiatives to support local farmers, integrate advanced technologies like AI, IoT, and robotics, and boost productivity in desert farming environments.

Dr. Shamal Mohammed

CEO
Innovation Oasis – Silal

 

Dr. Béatrice Conde-Petit

Dr. Béatrice Conde-Petit

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. Béatrice Conde-Petit

Sustainability Officer
Bühler

 

Ardi Budiono

Ardi Budiono

Ardi Budiono is President Director of STP, Aquaculture Division of JAPFA Group, one of the leading agri-food companies in Asia. Based in head quarter Jakarta, Ardi has join the JAPFA Group over 30 years and lead the Aquaculture Division of JAPFA Group since 2017. Prior leading the Aquaculture Division, Ardi served various positions as Operations Manager to Head of Feed for JAPFA India. He now play a significant role in leading the Aquaculture Division and responsible for the company’s increasing development and expansion efforts, emerging markets both domestically and internationally. Ardi held a degree in Management from Australia.

Ardi Budiono

President Director
STP (Japfa Aquaculture Division)

 

 
Dr. KRK Reddy

Dr. KRK Reddy

Dr. KRK Reddy is a distinguished scientist and entrepreneur in the field of Plant Sciences and Agricultural Biotechnology. He obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Plant Sciences from Kakatiya University, Warangal, India and later pursued post-doctoral research in Plant Biotechnology at the Central University of Hyderabad, India, and the University of Bayreuth, Germany. His research has significantly contributed to the advancement of plant biotechnology, particularly in sustainable agriculture and biological alternatives to agrochemicals.

In 1994, Dr. Reddy founded Sri Biotech Laboratories India Pvt. Ltd. in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, with a vision to develop safe and eco-friendly alternatives for crop nutrition and protection. Under his leadership, the company’s in-house R&D division gained national and international recognition, pioneering innovative biological solutions that seamlessly integrate with traditional farming practices.

Dr. Reddy’s research primarily focused on developing novel delivery systems to enhance the efficacy of biofertilizers and biopesticides, ensuring their compatibility with conventional agricultural methods. His commitment to sustainable agriculture led to multiple collaborative research projects under public-private partnerships, securing prestigious national and international grants for advancing Agricultural Biotechnology.

Dr. KRK Reddy

Managing Director
Sri Bioaesthetics

 

Ciaron McKinley

Ciaron McKinley

Ciaron Mckinley is the CEO and Co-Founder of Shrimpl, a global aquaculture technology platform driving data-driven operations and insights for feed mills, farmers and value chain partners, enabling sustainable aquaculture growth worldwide. Shrimpl’s Aquaculture Operating System (AOS) securely connects farmers and their data to value chain stakeholders and provides verified risk and management models for feed mills, lenders, insurers, dealers, and other value chain stakeholders to interact with this data. With over 20 years of experience across agribusiness, aquaculture, and technology integration, Ciaron has led initiatives to improve productivity, traceability, and financial access across agricultural supply chains. Before founding Shrimpl, Ciaron worked in commodity trading, private equity, and agribusiness investments, developing market-leading solutions that enhanced data driven decision making and value chain efficiency. He is passionate about building a more connected and data-driven aquaculture industry, bridging traditional and sustainable funding and insurance to unlock scalable, sustainable farming practices and strengthen global food security.

Ciaron McKinley

CEO
Shrimpl

 

Kok Wei Beh

Kok Wei Beh

Beh, as he is commonly known as, joined Cargill R&D as Regional Technical Leader in the Singapore Innovation Center in November 2021. He leads Southeast Asia, SEA R&D team of Application and Technical Services. The team works closely with SEA and ANZ business in providing solutions and developing value propositions in focused category and customers. He is also the Centre Lead of the Cargill Innovation Center Singapore.

Beh has over 25 years of technical and regional R&D team leadership of various Food ingredients companies, including, CP Kelco and Kerry Ingredients.

Beh spent 14 years in CP Kelco, with 5 years in Shanghai where he led the regional technical team with focus on China dairy and building and developing Innovation and Application centre in Shanghai and Mumbai. He also led the design and development of CP Kelco’s Center Of Excellence for Beverages in Singapore.

He held business development roles in ISP, Corbion and Inter-Continental Oils & Fats developing dairy, confectionery and personal care development for Lactic acids, Emulsifiers and Tocotrienols in Asia Pacific.

Beh is a food Scientist by training and received his Master of Science from the University of Leeds, UK in 1996.

Beh resides in Singapore with his wife and teenage daughter. He is an avid runner and enjoys the fellowship of family and friends over a good meal.

Kok Wei Beh

Senior Director R&D SEA, ANZ
Cargill

 

Dr. Reshmi Rajendran

Dr. Reshmi Rajendran

Dr. Reshmi Rajendran is the Head of Innovation and R&D, Greater Asia and heads Roquette’s Asia Pacific Innovation Center in Singapore where new plant-based solutions for the Food, Nutrition and Pharma markets in the region are developed. 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), businessperson (MBA, INSEAD) and administrator (Masters, Public Administration), Reshmi enjoys leading transformation at the interface of technology and commercialization. Apart from innovative technologies, Reshmi is passionate about women and children’s rights and worked for various global causes, with the UNICEF in India, SOS Children’s Village in the Philippines and as the face of INSEAD’s Limitless Campaign that celebrated 50 years of women at INSEAD. Dr. Reshmi is also an active angel investor as part of Epic Angels and her investment portfolio is focused on female-founded start-ups.

Dr. Reshmi Rajendran

Head of Innovation and R&D, Greater Asia
Roquette Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

 

 

 

Mo Cui

Mo Cui

Mo Cui is an experienced director in Pherobio Technology with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry for more than 15 years. Skilled in international sales, project management, and team leadership. Proven track record of driving sales growth and managing successful projects.

Mo Cui

Global Marketing
Pherobio Technology

 

Peter VYNCKE

Peter VYNCKE

Peter and his brother Dieter ( 46 ) VYNCKE are the 4th generation leading the family business, VYNCKE – A Family of Companies. Peter is since October 2021 based in Singapore.

 

Peter was discharged from the KU Leuven University in 1994 ( TEW ) and was president of EKONOMIKA in 1993 – 1994. Between 1996 and 2000 Peter led the Asian settlement of the family business. During his time in Asia he was based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In 2002 the Bros took over the family business from their parents and sisters.

In 2007 Peter was elected JCI’s YOUNG FLEMISH ENTREPRENEUR.

In 2015 and 2016 Peter VYNCKE was nominated for MANAGER OF THE YEAR.

Peter is South-West Flemish, he loves to travel and considers the world as his village.

Peter is married to Fran LAVIGNE and has 6 kids to power the 5th generation of the family business.

Peter Vyncke

Partner
VYNCKE – A FAMILY OF COMPANIES

Galuh Pandita

Galuh Pandita

Over 14 years of experience in M&A, strategic advisory and fund raising across consumer and tech companies, as well as deal origination across the investment banking platform. Worked on over 20 M&A, capital raising and strategic partnerships transactions across SEA and Europe. Prior work experience includes: • Code Partners – Partner, 2020 – 2023 • UBS – Executive Director – Corporate Finance, Wealth Management, 2015 – 2018 • Lazard – Vice President – Investment Banking (M&A), 2007 – 2015 • Hindal Securities – Analyst (M&A), 2005 – 2006.

Galuh Pandita

Founding Partner
Klimacap

 

Natalia Rialucky Marsudi

Natalia Rialucky Marsudi

Natalia Rialucky Marsudi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Fairatmos, is a seasoned entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in strategic management and impact investing. Driven by her passion to combat global climate change, she started Fairatmos in 2022, a new generation technology driven high-integrity carbon project developer. Natalia's career has been marked by significant roles at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR&Co.L.P) and series of tech start-ups in Indonesia. With her robust background, including the 10+ years’ experience in Boston Consulting Group as the Project Leader in Southeast Asia in BCG and past record work together with partners such as WWF. Natalia brings extensive expertise in sustainability, smallholder community management, and technology, particularly in remote sensing and analytics. Notably, in BCG she has advised and led digital transformation initiatives for Fortune 500 companies and State-Owned Enterprises across various sectors, including sustainability, financial services, telecommunications, and industrial goods. Currently, Natalia actively engages with various organizations, including becoming the Deputy Chair of ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Market, Indonesia Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) Sustainability Group, Women Mentorship Network, Angel Investment Network Indonesia, YPO Sustainability Indonesia, where she serves as a trusted expert advisor on startups and sustainability issues. Natalia holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of Indonesia majoring in social and political sciences, and an MBA from INSEAD. Additionally, she has completed short programs at CEIBS and UC Berkeley

Natalia Rialucky Marsudi

Founder & CEO
Fairatmos

 

Oliver Yu

Oliver Yu

Dr. Yu has a BSc. from Dept. of Biophysics at the Fudan Univ in Shanghai, a PhD. from Dept of Biology at the Uni of South Carolina, postdoc at the DuPont Co. He joined the Danforth Plant Science Center in 2001, serving as a Principal Investigator until 2012. He has been serving as adjunct professor at multiple universities including Washington University in St Louis and MIT. He co-founded and served as CEO and CSO of Conagen from 2010 till 2023, the company was one of the more active synthetic biology companies. Oliver is currently the founder and CSO of AquaFarmtory Ltd, which specialized in natural protein and peptide fermentation. He has published more than 180 papers and patents in the field of precision fermentation and synthetic biology. .

Oliver Yu

CSO
AquaFarmtory Biotechnology Ltd.

Trevor Groome

Trevor Groome

Trevor Groome is the dynamic Founder and Director of Orchid Aromatech Limited, an innovation consultancy in the food, flavor, and agritech industries. With a rich background, Trevor has held key positions at International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), honing his expertise as a creative Flavourist and global lead of a Digital Innovation Platform.
As the engaging host of the podcast Flavour Talks, Trevor discusses the latest ideas from industry and academic research with domain experts. His commitment to advancing the field is demonstrated through his involvement in the SIDAID project, collaborating with Wageningen University on Digital, Sustainability tools.
Trevor's passion for the Philosophy of Science and multidisciplinarity drives his vision for the future of food and agriculture, integrating diverse fields to create solutions that are scientifically sound and socially responsible. Connect with him on LinkedIn to stay updated on his ventures and insights.

Trevor Groome

Founder & Director
Orchid Aromatech Limited

 

Vaibav Jain

Vaibav Jain

Vaibav Jain is the Founder & CEO of Revata Carbon, a Singapore-based climate-tech company that provides end-to-end solutions to commercialize agricultural waste. Revata develops and operates facilities that convert agri-residues into renewable energy and carbon-rich products like biocarbon, enables biomass trading, and facilitates carbon credit origination and sales. Before founding Revata, Vaibav spent 13 years at Shell, where he held various roles in carbon trading, engineering, and business development, working across Asia and Africa on energy transition and market creation. With a background in engineering, trading, and cleantech scale-up, Vaibav brings a systems-driven perspective to transforming agri-waste into climate assets.

Vaibav Jain

Founder and CEO
Revāta Carbon

 
June Liew

June Liew

June is a strategic dietitian with a unique combination of clinical, food science, and technology skills. With 8 years of experience as a clinical dietitian, June transitioned to SATS, where she specializes in menu design for the aviation and educare sectors. Passionate about making an impact through food, June pioneers the development of functional food in SATS, including high-protein ambient snacks and meal solutions tailored for the silver segment. Currently, she heads the Food Design and Capability Development at SATS, driving internal nutrition capabilities and product development to address the underserved and unmet needs of consumers.

June Liew

Head of Food Design & Capability Development
SATS Ltd.

Jocelyn Chng

Jocelyn Chng

Jocelyn Chng has over 30 years of experience in food manufacturing and food service industries. She began her career at one of her companies - Sin Hwa Dee, which under her leadership grew from a small local business into a global food brand of premix sauces sold in over 40 cities. With product innovation and quality eating being Sin Hwa Dee’s focus, Chng Kee’s Chicken Rice Mix was the first ever of its kind in the retail market and is made with soy oil instead of chicken fat, making Chicken Rice enjoyable by consumers of varied dietary requirements or restrictions. In 2001, after much research and development and with resilience, Jocelyn started and led JR Foods in pioneering a wide range of ready-to-eat meals which helps food services and businesses serve up quality meals through JR Central Kitchen services, while reducing costs, increasing revenues, and gaining productivity with less resources. Now, its customers include renowned restaurants, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes and many more. In 2008, under her leadership, JR Foods created Chef-In-Box, the very first hot food vending machine in Singapore. Working to convince and educate stakeholders on the merits of the revolutionary concept was not easy but proved to be successful. Jocelyn, known to be a first-mover and industry innovator, kept innovating and brought the world its first ever fully-automated and unmanned full-suite vending machine cafe, the Chef-In-Box Vendcafé, which was launched in 2016 and garnered much international attention. Since the launch, more than a dozen Vendcafé outlets have opened across the country.

Jocelyn Chng

Chairman & Group CEO
JR Group Holdings

 
Kevin Lim

Kevin Lim

Kevin Lim is a data science leader with over 10 years of experience in applying machine learning, bioinformatics, and data analytics to industry challenges. He currently serves as the Big Data Analytics Lead and Wilmar Fellow at Wilmar International, where he leads R&D initiatives in machine learning applications for edible oils, grains, cereals, and palm precision agriculture. He also collaborates on research grants and supervises PhD students. Previously, he was a Research Scientist at Wilmar International (2017–2020), managing machine learning and bioinformatics projects to develop analytical solutions for industry stakeholders. Before that, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke-NUS (2015–2017), specializing in genomics, multi-omics analysis, and cancer research, contributing to high-impact publications and database development. Kevin holds multiple patents and publications and has a strong track record of translating advanced research into practical industry applications.

Kevin Lim

Wilmar Fellow
Wilmar International

Rizaldy Yudhista Nurzirwan

Rizaldy Yudhista Nurzirwan

Rizaldy Yudhista Nurzirwan is a geospatial and sustainability specialist with over a decade of experience in forest conservation, carbon project development, and MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) systems. He has worked extensively across Southeast Asia on nature-based carbon initiatives, including peatland restoration, aboveground biomass assessments, and deforestation monitoring. Rizaldy’s expertise bridges technical geospatial analytics with field-based insights, developed through roles at organizations such as Forest Carbon and ST Engineering. At ST Engineering Geo-Insights, he led the development of digital tools for carbon prospecting and MRV to support credible, scalable carbon finance. Now based in the ST Engineering Group Technology Office, he continues to explore the intersection of climate tech and environmental integrity. Rizaldy actively engages with financial institutions, investors, and project developers to improve trust and transparency in nature-based solutions.

Rizaldy Yudhista Nurzirwan

Senior Manager, Green Technology
ST Engineering

 

Germaine Yong

Germaine Yong

Dr Germaine Yong is a senior scientist at the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI). Trained in Biomedical Sciences (PhD, University of California, San Francisco) and Biology (BS, Duke University), Germaine leads both lab and clinical microbiome studies with a focal point on Asian foods and diets. She is passionate about scientific communication and has authored children's comics to help families learn more about the gut microbiome and healthy eating habits.

Germaine Yong

Senior Scientist
Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation

Anup Jagwani

Anup Jagwani

Anup Jagwani is the Senior Global Sector Manager for Agribusiness and Forestry at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the largest development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.

In this role Anup leads the framing and implementation of the Agribusiness & Forestry sector strategy, including growing IFC’s Agribusiness & Forestry portfolio and creating markets through new initiatives and products. He leads on innovation and the development and rollout of new business lines/products, ensuring the effective delivery of Investment and Advisory projects.

Before taking on this role in August 2023, Anup was leading the climate finance and policy team and covered several areas of IFC’s climate business including Paris Alignment; sustainable finance; carbon pricing and carbon credits; climate risk, adaptation and resilience; biodiversity finance and nature-based solutions; stakeholder engagement & disclosure including TCFD and, climate related technical assistance and training programs.

Anup Jagwani

Global Head, Agribusiness
IFC (International Finance Corporation)

John Cumbers

John Cumbers

Dr. John Cumbers is a leader in the synthetic biology industry, known for founding SynBioBeta, a global community of innovators dedicated to advancing the field. He hosts the global synthetic biology conference and publishes the weekly industry newsletter. He wrote the book “What’s Your Biostrategy?” and was a senior contributor for Forbes.com, where he wrote about biomanufacturing and synthetic biology. Dr. Cumbers has founded multiple startups and is a former operating partner at DCVC, a deep tech investment fund. He worked at NASA for 7 years in the areas of synthetic biology, bioengineering and planetary sustainability. His latest startup is the Biological Enlightenment Studios, which is creating an animation called Lee’s Lab to popularize molecular biology for children. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from Brown University, a master’s degree in bioinformatics from the University of Edinburgh. Originally from the UK, he now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

John Cumbers

Founder & CEO
SynBioBeta

 

Masaki Kashihara

Masaki Kashihara

Executive Officer, General Manager, Green Business development Department, Corporate Division. Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

・Joined Ajinomoto Co., Inc. at Food Products Development Laboratories.
・Experienced at Tokyo Sales Branch, Ajinomoto Thailand, R&D Planning Department, Corporate Planning Department, and assigned as General Manager of Product Development Center, Technology & Solution Development Center of Institute for Food Science & Technologies.
・Assigned Corporate Executive Officer in 2017, Corporate Executive & General Manager of Research & Business (R&B) Development in 2021, Executive Officer in 2022.

Masaki Kashihara

Executive Officer
Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

 
Van Vu

Van Vu

Van has over eight years of experience creating technologies aimed at fostering a sustainable aquaculture ecosystem. He is the co-founder and CEO of OTANICS, which operates the Tomota digital platform, catering to every participant in the global shrimp value chain. Within two years of launching, Tomota products have been adopted by thousands of users across more than 1,500 farms and 420 hatcheries in 33 countries. In addition, Van is the co-founder of Ofarm, a company that develops and tests various shrimp farming procedures, including cost-effective recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) and integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems. He also leads the NTT Hi-Tech Institute, focusing on high-tech applications in various industries. For the shrimp industry, this institute supports rigorous disease testing and surveillance, as well as the development of probiotics and other bioproducts. His mission is to drive positive change through innovation and collaboration in the environmental, social, and economic realms.

Van Vu

CEO
Otanics Technology JSC

 

Alan Perlstein

Alan Perlstein

Alan Perlstein has over 20 years of experience in food tech and biotechnology, starting his career in a tiny cell-cultured fish lab in Long Island nearly two decades ago, back in the early days of cellular agriculture. He launched his first food tech company Oobli (formerly Joywell Foods, Miraculex), where he commercialized protein sweetened foods. When he saw tension brewing between the huge demand for chocolate and coffee and the sustainable/ethical issues surrounding these products, he knew he had to look towards something bigger and thus, California Cultured was born.

Alan Perlstein

Co-founder & CEO
California Cultured

 

Prof. Chen Jianshe

Prof. Chen Jianshe

Prof. Jianshe Chen is a Senior Principal Scientist and head of the Division of Food and Sensory Science at Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology (SIFBI), A*Star. Prof. Chen is an elected fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology, an honorary professor at Massey University and a visiting professor at the University of Leeds. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Texture Studies and Senior Editor of the Journal of Future Foods. Prof. Chen pioneered research of food oral processing and is one of the world-leading researchers in this area. Since 2019, Prof. Chen has been continuously ranked as the world top 2% most influential scientists and among the top 100 most influential food scientists. He has published over 200 peer reviewed research papers and edited seven books in areas of food oral processing and food texture. He has an h-index 59 and i10-index 167.

Prof. Jianshe Chen

Platform Lead
Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation, A*STAR

 

 

CS Liew

CS Liew

CS Liew graduated in Agronomy and Integrated Pest Management from Iowa State University in 1979. He moved to Singapore from Malaysia in 1980 and worked in various international roles from market research to registrations and then to more senior management roles at Uniroyal Chemical. After 11 years with Uniroyal, Liew worked for Nufarm, also based in Singapore, for seven years in senior positions. He then set up his own agchem trading and marketing company, Pacific Agriscience, in 1999.
Throughout his career, he has been deeply involved in market development, sales and promotion of foliar fertilizers, micronutrients, biopesticides and biostimulants, in addition to proprietary pesticides. He has managed distributors and has been active in product training as well as developing and implementing marketing plans and strategies. Over the past 9 years, he has been very active in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) – putting together deals in the agricultural inputs space.
CS is a Council Member in the prestigious World Agriculture Forum (WAF) which has Board and Council members composed of many eminent leaders from governments, development institutions, corporates as well as experts in Agriculture. The WAF works on setting broad global agenda and development pathways for agriculture sector and lobby for policies that can direct world agriculture towards sustainability and sufficiency.
In the M&A business, CS is actively working with companies and inventors in the Biosolutions sector (Biopesticides, Biofertilizers and Biostimulants) to raise capital and to seek investors.
During the past few years, he has also been active in promoting sustainable and regenerative agriculture as well as valorisation of agriculture wastes. The conversion of Oil Palm Trunks (OPT) to useful wood products is a key focus. He is actively seeking major oil palm plantations to invest in this innovative technology and machinery from Germany for this purpose, allowing the plantations a “second harvest” while driving sustainability at the same time.

CS Liew

Managing Director
Pacific Agriscience Pte.Ltd

 

Joanna Yeo Hui En

Joanna Yeo Hui En

Joanna Yeo is CEO of Arukah, a project developer scaling biogas and biochar carbon credit projects from agriculture waste across Asia and Africa, with a 50% gross carbon credit revenue share to local ecosystems. She has strong conviction on the potential to lift billions out of poverty with verified data, new technology for secure payments and settlement, and financing for scalable access to sustainable, fast growing markets.
Joanna is currently an impact investment committee member of the UN Sanitation and Hygiene Fund, an advisor to Figure Technologies, and has been an INED for Collectius, a SE Asian partner to IFC's $40 Bn Distressed Asset Recovery Program.
Joanna started her career in private equity at Morgan Stanley and Keppel Corporation, and in data science at Stanford and Harvard. She holds degrees from Harvard, Stanford and Cambridge.

Joanna Yeo Hui En

CEO
Arukah Capital

 

Tandip Singh

Tandip Singh

Tandip is the CEO of a single family office based in Singapore. Given the family's experience in the agricultural space over several decades, the family office has built up a strong reputation in agrirelated investments. The family office prioritizes the rejuvenation of traditional agricultural businesses with modern systems and disruptive technology. The family office looks to create an investment advantage by leaning on its accumulated know-how in the agricultural ecosystem to develop advanced businesses that fix real-world agricultural inefficiencies.

Tandip Singh

Chief Executive Officer
Altrui Group

 

Alexander Min

Alexander Min

Mr. Alexander M. Min is the CEO and founder of REharvest Co., Ltd., South Korea’s first food upcycling company. Born and raised in California, he holds a B.S. in Accounting from Pepperdine University and a Global MBA from Seoul National University. Alexander brings a diverse background with experience across multiple industries and geographies. He began his career as a strategy consultant at PwC Korea, advising on financial investments, go-to-market strategies, and new business development. Driven by a strong passion for sustainability, he founded REharvest with the mission of building a circular ecosystem within the food and beverage industry. Through innovation in food upcycling and a strong international network, Alexander is committed to transforming food industry waste into value-added products. Under his leadership, REharvest is at the forefront of sustainable food solutions in Asia.

Alexander Min

CEO & Founder
REharvest Co., LTD.

 

Lorena Dai

Lorena Dai

Lorena is one of the founding member of Nest.Bio. With 8+ years of experience in life science venture creation, she is well versed in biotech commercialization, business strategy and cross-border business operations in biotechnology. As a founding member, Lorena led the first nest.bio labs biotech incubator project in Cambridge/Boston (close to MIT and Harvard). During the past, Lorena participated in the venture creation of more than 60 cutting-edge biotech companies and participated in the financing of more than $500 million for the portfolio/tenant companies, which has enabled her to accumulate a wealth of incubation experience as well as resources and experience in biotech community.

Lorena Dai

CEO
Nest.Bio Labs

 

Naoko Onishi

Naoko Onishi

Naoko Onishi

Body Granola marketing team, Cereal marketing department
Calbee.inc

Bowen Cai

Bowen Cai

Bowen Cai is the research scientist at Shanghai Xiashu Intelligent Technology. He received his PhD at Imperial College London and MSD at the University of Pennsylvania. Bowen Cai is associate research professor and Principal Investigator at Yangtze River Delta Research Institute of Tsinghua University. He was associate research professor at Tongji University. He is Shanghai Pujiang Talent and Tsinghua Shuimu Scholar. He invented the first day-old chick vent sexing machine in the world. His research interests include computer vision, artificial intelligence, and big data with their applications in poultry and agriculture. Other products that he invented include chick feather sexing machine, camera scale, egg counting system, and patrol robot.

Bowen Cai

Research Scientist
Shanghai Xiashu Intelligent Technology

JY Chow

JY Chow

Mr Jean-Yves Chow (JY) is Managing Director, Food System and Supply Chain at TPC responsible to chart out, invest in, and operationalize innovative and viable business models for TPC as it expands and grows in the space of Food System and Supply Chain.

JY is an agrifoodie engineer who fell under the spell of investment. JY brings over two decades of experience in agrifood financing and business development. Prior to joining, JY led the Asia platform of Creadev, the Mulliez family-backed growth equity investment arm focusing in agrifood, healthcare, and sustainable consumption. He also spent 15 years in financing across the food supply chain in Asia at Mizuho Bank and Rabobank. JY established his hands-on industry proficiency by managing an animal nutrition factory in China for five years.

JY holds a Master of Food Science from ONIRIS Nantes Atlantic College of Agriculture and Food Engineering, France, and a Sustainable Finance certificate from the University of Cambridge.

JY Chow

Head of Food System and Supply Chain
Tsao Pao Chee Group

François Dupuis

François Dupuis

François DUPUIS is a global operations and technology leader with over 20 years of experience in the food manufacturing sector. Trained as a food science engineer, he now serves as CEO and CTO, having progressed through roles spanning engineering, operations, and executive leadership. Over his career, François has led five greenfield manufacturing projects totaling over $60M investments, implemented global operational excellence programs, and built high-performing teams across four continents. His entrepreneurial journey expanded his expertise into finance and business modeling—enabling him to lead with both technical depth and strategic insight. Known for his pragmatic, execution-first approach to innovation, François focuses on agility, scalability, and simplicity over complexity. He occasionally advises fast-growing SMEs, helping bridge vision and technology to deliver real impact. His passion lies in turning bold ideas into practical systems, empowering teams, and driving innovation that scales.

François Dupuis

CEO – CTO
AquaProducts

Ezhil Subbian

Ezhil Subbian

Dr. Ezhil Subbian is a renowned biotechnologist advancing innovation at the intersection of biotechnology, climate action, and sustainable food production. As the CEO and Co-founder of String Bio, she has pioneered methane-based fermentation to develop high-performance, sustainable solutions for food, agriculture, and animal nutrition. Under her leadership, String Bio has become a global leader in biomanufacturing bringing performance differentiated and climate positive products in the market.

Her contributions to science and sustainability have earned her prestigious recognition, including the Women Transforming India Award from the United Nations and NITI Aayog. She also serves on the boards of ABLE India and the CII-National Biotechnology Committee, playing a key role in shaping India’s biotech landscape.

Dr. Subbian is committed to leveraging biotechnology to build low-carbon value chains. At Future Food Asia 2025, she will share insights on harnessing biology for scalable, impactful solutions in food security and climate-resilient agriculture.

Ezhil Subbian

CEO
String Bio

 

 

 

Dr. Sandra Milach

Dr. Sandra Milach

Dr. Sandra Cristina Kothe Milach is CGIAR’s Chief Scientist. She is passionate about collaboration and leading multidisciplinary teams focused on creating sustainable food solutions and a world without hunger. Known for her commitment to modernizing seed-breeding programs that enhance agricultural productivity for farmers and consumers alike, her extensive experience in international agricultural research and development is underscored by her active participation in initiatives funded by major organizations such as USAID, the Brazilian Government (EMBRAPA), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). She has served as a board member and consultant for various organizations, including the International Potato Center (CIP), CIMMYT, the Soybean Innovation Lab (USAID), Crops of the Future initiative (FFAR), among others. Sandra’s professional journey includes notable positions at Corteva Agriscience and DuPont Pioneer, where she led global breeding technologies teams and developed predictive breeding systems. Her academic background includes a PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics from University of Minnesota (USA) and over 10 years as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Crop Science at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, Brazil). She has received numerous awards for her contributions to agricultural science, including the Albert Baez award for technical achievements and services to humanity (HENAAC). As a strong advocate for public-private partnerships, Sandra continues to empower agricultural research systems and promote high standards of core values in her work, ensuring that advancements in seed technology benefit communities worldwide.

Dr. Sandra Milach

Chief Scientist
CGIAR System Organization

 

Scott Clements

Scott Clements

Scott manages Tribeca’s Singapore office and Corporate Advisory business. Tribeca Capital is the Advisory arm of the Tribeca group, which includes a 25-year-old multi-billion dollar Investment Management business and a Private Wealth arm – together creating a boutique merchant banking platform based in Australia & Singapore. The Advisory business is focused on helping both private and public companies reach their potential by providing shareholder-aligned advice and leveraging the extensive relationships and capital markets experience in the group. The business is sector agnostic but primarily active in the decarbonization thematic, natural resources generally, as well as tech/ biotech/ healthcare selectively. With a career spanning 3 decades across a number of global financial centres, Scott is a longstanding resident of Singapore and a graduate of the University of Alberta in Canada.

Scott Clements

Partner
Tribeca Capital Pte Ltd

 

Christophe Maire

Christophe Maire

Christophe founded multiple companies and invests through Atlantic Labs in early-stage companies in AI/Data, Energy/Climate, Resilience/Defense, and Industrial Tech. Some of those companies are global category leaders today, including SoundCloud, GetYourGuide, Clue, Omio, Zenjob, Wandelbots, Mimi, Softr, Bliq, Again, Phlair and Harmattan. FoodLabs invests in Food & Climate, backing trailblazers such as Formo, Choco, Stenon, Holy, Infinite Roots, Holy Energy, Ahead and InPlanet. FoodLabs supports entrepreneurs who tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time, such as climate, food security, and human health. Christophe is a tech entrepreneur; he founded and exited HERE Technologies, Plazes, Txtr and played a leading role in the emergence of the German/European venture ecosystem.

Christophe Maire

Founder & Managing Partner
Atlantic Labs & FoodLabs

 

Andrew Wong

Andrew Wong

Andrew Wong brings over a decade of invaluable experience in finance and business to his current role as Director at TRIREC. With a diverse professional background and a wealth of international exposure from his career stints in Canada, Taiwan, and Singapore, Andrew has proven himself as a dynamic leader in the field.

In his present capacity, Andrew is leading strategic deals within the energy, mobility, agriculture, and carbon market sectors, demonstrating his versatility and acumen in navigating complex markets.

Before joining TRIREC, Andrew was a writing analyst at CLSA's Taiwan equity research department, earning accolades for his contributions. He was instrumental in the team's recognition as the second-best autoparts and small-cap team in Taiwan by Asiamoney's 2017 Brokers Poll. He started his career in Montréal where he had a stint at Deloitte and advised a local mobility startup, providing valuable insights into the startup landscape.

Beyond his professional role, Andrew is the founder of the Little Environment Club in Singapore, connecting and nurturing Asia's Climate Tech community. His steadfast dedication to environmental sustainability has seen him earn a place on Gen.T's 2022 list of Leaders of Tomorrow Shaping Asia's Future.

Andrew remains actively involved with McGill University, where he serves as a judge and advisor for the McGill Innovation Fund, supporting emerging startups from the university. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, a Graduate Diploma from McGill, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant with the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec.

Andrew Wong

Director
TRIREC

 

Dr. Lionel Jublot

Dr. Lionel Jublot

Lionel Jublot is the Strategic Development R&D Director for the Asia-Pacific region at MANE, a global leader in fragrance and flavor innovation.
Holding a Ph.D. in Flavor Science from the University of Nottingham, he has over two decades of experience in research, development, and technical management at Unilever, Nestlé, and Sensient Technologies. With a career spanning multiple countries, he brings extensive expertise in food science, application, and flavor innovation. Lionel specializes in translating technical knowledge into competitive business advantages, bridging science and market needs to drive innovation in the food and beverages industry.

Dr. Lionel Jublot

R&D Director
MANE

 
Loic Mulle

Loic Mulle

With 15 years in the energy business, Loic brings valuable insights into energy commodities, renewable investments, and the energy transition. His expertise supports the creation of new ventures with ENGIE Factory.

Loic Mulle

VP Investments
ENGIE Factory

 

Wagner Albuquerque de Almeida

Wagner Albuquerque de Almeida

Wagner Albuquerque de Almeida is the Global Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Forestry (MAF) at IFC, a member of the World Bank and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Based in Washington, DC, Wagner is responsible for managing IFC’s investment and advisory services in the manufacturing, agribusiness, and forestry sectors, leading a team responsible for an investment portfolio of over $9 billion. Since joining IFC in 2010, Wagner has had a variety of roles spanning different industries and regions, including Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Central Asia, and Türkiye. Prior to joining IFC, Wagner's career spanned several key positions at prominent global financial institutions such as ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank, and Banco Itau, in addition to his role at Monsanto.

Wagner Albuquerque de Almeida

Global Director – Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Forestry
International Finance Corporation

Daniele Modesto

Daniele Modesto

Daniele Modesto is an Italian tech entrepreneur with a background in molecular biology, and professional experience spanning the tech industry and financial sector. He is the co-founder and CEO of ZERO, a deep-tech company developing scalable solutions for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). After initially focusing on indoor vertical farming, ZERO has evolved into a CEA technology company and Farming-as-a-Service provider. The company operates several active projects across Europe and the Middle East, supporting more sustainable and resilient production models. Daniele is also co-founder and CEO of the Future Farming Initiative, a public-private platform that promotes applied research and venture creation in advanced agriculture and bio-manufacturing. By bringing together academia, industry, and technology, the initiative aims to accelerate the transition toward nature-aligned production systems. His work reflects a pragmatic approach to innovation at the intersection of biology, engineering, software and AI — focused on building scalable infrastructures for sustainable growth.

Daniele Modesto

CEO
ZERO

 

Tim McCaffery

Tim McCaffery

Tim McCaffery is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and global executive. He has extensive experience building and investing in clean tech and life sciences ventures. Tim is currently serving as the Global Investment Director for SCG and Managing Director of Nexter Ventures in Bangkok, Thailand. Additionally, he has stepped in as the interim CEO of CubicPV a portfolio company. Previously, Tim played a pivotal role in the rapid production and distribution of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Southeast Asia, demonstrating his expertise in strategic partnerships and crisis management. His career includes leadership positions at SCG Chemicals, where he led multiple global teams, and at Cabot Corporation, where he managed business segments and drove growth initiatives. Tim holds an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, an MS in Materials Science and Engineering, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.

Tim McCaffery

Chief Investment Officer
Siam Cement Group

 
Prof. Ju-Sheng Zheng

Prof. Ju-Sheng Zheng

Ju-Sheng

Prof. Ju-Sheng Zheng

Principal Investigator
Westlake University

 
Fabio Faria Oliveira

Fabio Faria Oliveira

Fábio Faria-Oliveira is a Senior Scientific Manager at the Novo Nordisk Foundation, specializing in microbiology, food biotechnology, and precision fermentation. His work focuses on developing sustainable biosolutions for novel foods, circular economy initiatives, and the green transition. He brings deep expertise in microbiology, fermentation, bioproduction, and food innovation to support the development of future-proof food systems.

Fabio Faria Oliveira

Senior Scientific Manager
Novo Nordisk Foundation

 

Prof. Andrea B. Maier

Prof. Andrea B. Maier

Andrea B. Maier (1978), a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP), graduated in Medicine (MD) 2003 from the University of Lübeck (Germany), was registered 2009 in The Netherlands as Specialist in Internal Medicine-Geriatrics and was appointed Full Professor of Gerontology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands) in 2013. She was the head of Geriatrics at the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center from 2012 to 2016. From 2016 to early 2021 Professor Maier served as Divisional Director of Medicine and Community Care at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia, and as Professor of Medicine and Aged Care at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She continued her career at the National University of Singapore as Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity. Professor Maier’s research focuses on unraveling the mechanisms of ageing and age-related diseases to bring diagnostics and interventions to optimize health into clinical practice. She is heading international longitudinal cohort studies and geroscience interventions. She has published more than 440 peer-reviewed articles, achieving an H index of 80, spearheading the significant contributions of her highly acclaimed innovative, global, multidisciplinary @Age research group. She is a frequent guest on radio and television programs and book author to disseminate aging research. Furthermore, she is invited member and advisor of several international academic and health policy committees and funding agencies, including the World Health Organization evaluating the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing and Hevolution. In 2022, she co-founded the first evidence based Healthy Longevity Medicine Clinic in Singapore, Chi Longevity, and joined NU as Chief Medical Officer. She is the past President of The Australian and New Zealand Society for Sarcopenia and Frailty Research, the Founding President of the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society and serves as selected Member of The Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, Fellow of the Atria Academy of Science and Medicine, and Academy for Health and Lifespan Research. In 2023, she co-founded the NUS Academy for Healthy Longevity to disseminate Geroscience and evidence based Healthy Longevity Medicine.

Prof. Andrea B. Maier

Founder

 
Olivia de Talancé

Olivia de Talancé

Olivia de Talancé is the Chief Operating Officer at VITAL MEAT, a cultivated meat startup focused on developing sustainable poultry alternatives. She has held leadership roles at companies including Unilever, Bakkavor, and Sensient, as well as in the Food Tech sector with Impossible Foods, where she led the launch of the company’s first factory. With experience in both traditional and alternative protein industries, Olivia also serves as a Board Member for Cellular Agriculture Europe, supporting the development of sustainable food technologies.

Olivia de Talancé

COO

 
Mei Shan Liew

Mei Shan Liew

Mei Shan LIEW is a sustainability-focused product innovation driver, currently serving at Dole Specialty Ingredients (DSI), DOLE. In this role, she leads the transformation of agricultural and manufacturing side streams into high value, upcycled ingredients for B2B clients across food, beverage, and nutritional industries. By harnessing emerging technologies and forging strategic partnerships with CROs, startups, and public agencies, she drives innovation that aligns commercial viability with environmental responsibility. Her work emphasizes quality, regulatory compliance, and scientific validation, ensuring product success from concept to commercial launch. With a background in biosciences and an MBA with distinction, Mei Shan combines technical expertise with business strategy to deliver sustainable growth. She previously built a biotech start-up addressing plastic waste, further underscoring her commitment to the circular economy. Passionate about reducing waste and advancing resource efficiency, Mei Shan continues to champion upcycling as a core lever for sustainable product innovation.

Mei Shan Liew

Research & Development

 
Christophe Lay

Christophe Lay

Christophe Lay, PhD, is Senior Team Leader Gut Microbiology and #OneBiome at Danone Research & Innovation in Singapore. He is also an Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. Christophe earned his PhD in gut microbiology from Paris-Sud XI University, France. His research focuses on the impact of the human gut microbiome and nutrition on maternal and child health, as well as healthy aging.

Christophe Lay

Senior Team Leader Gut Microbiology and OneBiome
DANONE

Murli Ravi

Murli Ravi

Murli is Co-Founder of Tin Men Capital, a venture capital firm focused on B2B technology startups in Southeast Asia. Before Tin Men, he was at Temasek Holdings in the mid-2000s, covering global natural resources and sectors such as infrastructure, tech, and manufacturing. He later led South and Southeast Asian investments at JAFCO, Japan’s largest independent VC firm. Since 2008, Murli has served on the boards of over 25 companies across Singapore, India, the U.S., and Australia, including firms with over 2,000 employees. These companies served enterprise clients in sectors such as media, telecoms, fashion, banking, real estate, and semiconductors. He has also been on the entrepreneur's side of the table, giving him a deep appreciation of the issues entrepreneurs face.

Murli Ravi

Co-founder & Managing Partner
Tin Men Capital

Daniel Fairweather

Daniel Fairweather

Dan Fairweather leads the Food Systems and Biodiversity within the Howden Climate Risk and Resilience Team. Dan has over 20 years’ experience in dealing with agricultural risks, mainly focussed on the aquaculture and livestock sectors. Starting out as a specialist Lloyd’s broker, Dan then went on to be the senior aquaculture underwriter at RSA for 7 years before retuning to broking, heading up the Livestock and Aquaculture Divisions at WTW and then Gallagher Speciality. Latterly Dan has explored the use of parametric insurance and novel insurance products to incentivise environmental stewardship and support small-scale farmers and climate exposed communities. This work has led to a number of work streams with global environmental NGO’s to assess the role of finance and risk in the world of conservation. Dan is increasingly looking at the regulation emerging around Nature and Biodiversity and exploring what can be done in the field of Biodiversity Credits and Biodiversity Net Gain and how risk management and insurance can support this. This work looks to learn from, and build on, the carbon credit market initiatives and emerging regulation. Dan is a trained fish biologist, and was previously a trustee for The Shark Trust, a global charity for the conservation of sharks, skates and rays.

Daniel Fairweather

Director of Food Systems and Biodiversity
Howden

Dr. Yuchu Zhang

Dr. Yuchu Zhang

Dr. Yuchu Zhang has worked for a number of global food and food ingredient companies in technical innovation and product development across North America, Europe, and Asia for more than 20 years. She holds Master's and Doctoral degrees in Food Science & Nutrition, with a focus on nutritional composition in plants, beverage processing, and the development of healthy ingredients and foods. Having lived in China, the UK, US, France, Singapore, and worked extensively in Southeast Asia, Dr. Zhang brings a deep appreciation for diverse cultures, motivations, and market needs. She is most known for her innovative spirit and authentic leadership style. She joined Cargill R&D in January 2021 and is based in Shanghai, China, with her family of four. As Vice President and Group R&D Leader for Cargill Food APAC, she leads the regional team in developing ingredients and processes for starch, sugar substitutes, vegetable proteins, oils, and fats. Her team also co-creates solutions with customers through innovation centers and labs across China, Singapore, India, and Southeast Asia. Additionally, as R&D lead for Cargill Protein in Asia and Europe, she oversees teams in China, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and across Europe.

Dr. Yuchu Zhang

Vice President, Group R&D Leader, Cargill Food APAC
Cargill Food APAC

David Bal

David Bal

David Bal is the Head of Research of Aquaculture Nutrition & Health at Adisseo. He has over 15 years of experience in the aquaculture science and technology industry, having held various project management and leadership roles at companies such as GenoMar, Biomin, BioMar, and DuPont. David earned his postgraduate and master's degrees from the University of Montpellier. His degrees specialized in Aquaculture Business Management, Aquatic Management Systems and Population Biology.

David Bal

Head of Research Aquaculture Nutrition & Health
ADISSEO

Dr. Yvonne Pinto

Dr. Yvonne Pinto

As IRRI’s Director General, Dr. Yvonne Pinto is responsible for leading the institute’s strategy and governance to meet the needs and expectations of donors, investors, partners, stakeholders and ultimately the smallholder farmers in rice-based systems across Asia and Africa; and in leading IRRI in developing and scaling sustainable innovations that help solve some of the biggest global issues of climate change, nutrition, poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Dr. Yvonne Pinto brings a wealth of experience and expertise to IRRI and CGIAR, having previously excelled in roles such as Director of Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability at Eagle Genomics Ltd., and Managing Director of ALINE Impact Limited. She has a long history with the Gatsby Charitable and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations working to manage large intermediaries and create new institutions in the agriculture, finance and enterprise sectors. Her work spans more than 30 years, and she has a proven track record in the areas of Agriculture Sector Transformation, Innovation Ecosystem Management, Commercialisation of Innovations, Gender, ML&E, ESG Design and Implementation, Capacity Building, International Development, and Policy Influence. Through her work, Dr. Pinto has collaborated with both private and non-government agencies stationed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. In her most recent role, she led a team developing a unique AI-augmented software system to unlock the value of the microbiome in OneHealth including soil, plant, environment, animal, and human gut. The initiative contributes towards data-driven health, disease prevention, and a generative bio-economy with more sustainable farming solutions.

Dr. Yvonne Pinto

Director General
International Rice Research Institute

Karan Keswani

Karan Keswani

Karan is a Principal at Omnivore, a venture capital firm based in India which funds entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture & food. Previously, Karan was a part of the Investment Banking & Growth Equity team at The Raine Group, a New York-based merchant bank. At Raine, he worked on private placement and M&A transactions for multiple technology, media and consumer businesses. Before that, Karan worked in transaction advisory services across India and the Middle East, focusing on technology, consumer and telecom businesses. He has a B.Sc. in Economics and Industrial Organization from the University of Warwick and is a CFA charter holder.

Karan Keswani

Principal
Omnivore

 

Shoko Suzuki

Shoko Suzuki

Shoko has over 20 years of investment experience across seed to growth stage venture capital and publicly listed equities, and serves as a senior advisor to UTokyo IPC, a leading university-affiliated investment company managing over US$400 million VC funds to commercialise top-level research and implement deep tech innovations into society. Based in Singapore, she supports strategic initiatives to boost global competitiveness of research, promote corporate partnerships, and fast-track the international growth of deep tech companies.
Prior to that, she managed a deep tech-focused VC fund, co-founded a climate tech startup and scaled them to an exit, and held a C-level position at a FTSE 100 company.
Shoko has a BA from the University of Tokyo, an MBA from INSEAD.

Shoko Suzuki

Senior Advisor
UTokyo IPC

 

Deepa Hingorani

Deepa Hingorani

• Three decades of private equity and debt investment experience with presence on the ground in Asia, leading several greenfield and growth stage investments across the lifecycle from sourcing to exit. Consistently delivered target returns on both financial and impact metrics.
• Investment experience across multiple sectors, including Climate (renewable energy, energy efficiency, circularity, water), Food & Agri business and infrastructure, Financial Services, Manufacturing and Healthcare.
• Experienced board member as a nominee director for active portfolio management and as independent director.
• Currently, working as a Partner for Novo Holdings, a large Danish asset manager, heading their Planetary Health vertical for Asia
• Previously was Asia Head for IFU, Danish sovereign investment fund
• Executive MBA, Masters in Finance & Control

Deepa Hingorani

Head of Planetary Health, Asia
Novo Holdings

 

Dr. Florian Viton

Dr. Florian Viton

Dr Florian Viton is currently 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 joining 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 for Nestle’s core businesses and accelerating Nestle’s innovation agenda, with a focus on APAC region. 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 industry journey in a Belgium startup. He holds more than 30 patents and publications.

Dr. Florian Viton

SVP, Global Head of Strategic Innovation
CJ Cheiljedang

 

 

 

Nalinee Robinson

Nalinee Robinson

Nalinee Robinson is the Head of R&D at Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) Public Company Limited, an agro-industrial and food conglomerate headquartered in Thailand. She is responsible for product development and innovation of CPF’s food products, cutting across the core meat business to future growth opportunities in alternative protein and health & wellness etc. She is experienced in building best-in-class organizations, driving organizational change, strategy formulation, and leveraging Open Innovation to drive business results. Before joining CPF, Nalinee was with Mars for 20 years, working in various roles in R&D and Quality Assurance.

Nalinee Robinson

Head of R&D
CP Foods

 

Andreas von Scholten

Andreas von Scholten

Andreas von Scholten is the Group Chief Commercial Officer in Grobest, a leader in functional and sustainable feed products for aquaculture. Before joining Grobest, Andreas was the Chief Executive Officer at Barramundi Group based in Singapore.
Prior to this, Andreas was the General Manager of PHARMAQ a producer of vaccines for the aquaculture sector. In this role Andreas was responsible for key markets across Asia, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Japan and Australia. In this role Andreas was responsible for each market’s P&L and the overall commercial strategy for the company.
Andreas has resided in Asia since 2010, living in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. He holds Master's and Bachelor's Degrees in Science and Economics from the University of Copenhagen.

Andreas von Scholten

CCO
Grobest

 

Agathe Foussat

Agathe Foussat

Agathe has been working in digital innovation for more than 10 years from different locations including Europe, USA and Asia. New technologies to support consumers/patients and collect relevant data being her core expertise, she worked with big corporates and start-ups in diverse innovation hubs (Singapore and San Francisco) to build relevant and successful digital solutions. She is now the Digital Health & Onebiome Director for Danone in Singapore and brings digital health solutions in the market globally. Helping to make the invisible visible for consumers and patients via key health parameters tracking and health data collection to demonstrate nutrition benefits in Singapore and brings digital health solutions in the market globally. Helping to make the invisible visible for consumers and patients via key health parameters tracking and health data collection to demonstrate nutrition benefits.

Agathe Foussat

Digital Health & Onebiome Director
Danone

Dr. James Chan

Dr. James Chan

Dr James Chan graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree and obtained his doctoral degree in Pharmaceutical Science from the National University of Singapore. Subsequently he joined A*STAR in 2018 and established an independent research group in 2020 at both the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) and the A*STAR Skin Research Labs (A*SRL). He is currently a Principal Investigator with extensive expertise in pharmacokinetic modelling. In particular, his team integrates digestibility profiles with in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion measurements to predict the human pharmacokinetics of orally and topically ingested materials. His current research interests include developing human digital twins that allow prediction of the fate and behaviour of pharmaceutical, nutritional and consumer care compounds and extending these to the digital health space.

Dr. James Chan

Dy HOD, Nutrition & Digestive Health Division
A*STAR SIFBI

Fatima Almubbad

Fatima Almubbad

Fatima has over 15 years’ experience in various international roles (London, Dubai, Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore covering ME and Africa and East Asia) in strategy consulting, inbound and outbound investment and bilateral trade while leveraging on public and private sector partnerships. During her executive career she has achieved average deal sizes between USD$5-10M, established over 10 significant PPPs that enabled private sector access and has led Ministerial trade and business missions including PM Jacinda Arden to Singapore. Fatima is uniquely placed in understanding cultural nuances between East and West and is a proud Bahraini speaking both Mandarin and Arabic, sector agnostic, speaks 4 languages and graduated from London School of Economics and Political Science and has master’s degree in International Relations. Fatima is often described as creative innovator.

Fatima Almubbad

Regional Director
Bahrain Economic Development Board

Dr. Justin GONG

Dr. Justin GONG

Dr. Justin Gong is the Co-founder of XAG. Graduated from Université Paris Dauphine, Justin specializes in rural economics and agricultural innovation research. For more than 10 years, he has been dedicated to promoting and scaling up digital technology in agricultural production world-wide. In 2016, Justin Gong founded XAG Academy, which so far has trained more than 160,000 talents for smart agricultural application. Before joining XAG, Justin was a documentary film producer in Australia.

Dr. Justin Gong

Co-founder & Senior Vice President
XAG

Dr. Shen Wang

Dr. Shen Wang

Dr. Shen Wang is the Senior Fellow of the Green Development Institute. He has more than 15 years of experience in energy technology, energy transition, energy-related project finance & project development, and sustainable finance. Dr. Wang was the research geophysicist working at TOTAL Energies. He was widely recognized as a leading expert in Full Waveform Inversion, high performance computing, and 3D seismic imaging. He has published more than 30 peer-review papers and conference abstracts in the field of energy exploration & production. Dr. Wang obtained his attorney license in 2016 and worked at White & Case LLP as a project finance and M&A lawyer. He has in-depth legal experience in LNG, CCUS, hydrogen, and renewable energy related project finance & project development. Since 2019, Dr. Wang was the senior director of catastrophe risk management working at a leading reinsurance company. He has pioneered in applying catastrophe risk management tools to mitigate climate-related risks. Dr. Wang obtained B.S. degrees in mathematics and geophysics from Peking University in 2007, obtained Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics and geophysics from Purdue University in 2012, and obtained J.D. degree from University of Houston in 2016. Dr. Wang was licensed in 2016 by the State Bar of Texas to practice law.

Dr. Shen Wang

Senior Fellow
Green Development Institute

 

Lim Chain Yin

Lim Chain Yin

With 16 years of experience in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry, Chain Yin is a registered nutritionist in Malaysia with a proven track record. She expertly integrates the latest advancements in nutrition science with key market consumer insights to create practical and impactful product solutions. Throughout her career, Chain Yin has played a pivotal role in developing and executing comprehensive nutrition strategies. Her expertise spans product nutrition design, nutrient profiling, and optimizing nutrient content, all while ensuring compliance with diverse global nutrition labelling regulations. Her efforts are focused on delivering nutritious, delicious, and sustainable offerings for both customers and consumers. Driven by dedication and innovation, Chain Yin continues to shape the future of nutrition in the food industry, making a lasting impact on consumer well-being and environmental sustainability.

Lim Chain Yin

Nutrition Manager

(APAC, India & Middle East)
Griffith Foods

Prof. Yusuf Ali

Prof. Yusuf Ali

Yusuf Ali is a Professor of Metabolic Disease with tenure at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He currently also serves as the Vice-Dean International Relations and is the past Director of the Nutrition, Metabolism and Health Research Programme. A recipient of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) study scholarships, Yusuf spent time in Singapore (National University of Singapore), USA (Stanford University) and Sweden (postdoctoral fellowship). During this time, he published seminal work on gaseotransmitters H2S and NO in the diabetic vasculature and endocrine systems. He started his laboratory in NTU Singapore in 2014, with a focus on nutrition and pre-diabetes. Yusuf continues to publish landmark scientific papers and ground-breaking discoveries on aberrant pancreatic hormone release in a disease that continues to affect so many in Singapore and around the world. Currently, his laboratory is focused on understanding the impact of dietary lipids on diabetes progression. He is also a co-inventor of an oral insulin delivery technology.

Prof. Yusuf Ali

Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
NTU Singapore

Lina Sakai

Lina Sakai

Lina Sakai is the Founder & CEO of Fermenstation. She started her career in financial institutions (Fuji Bank and Deutsche Bank) in Tokyo and spent more than 10 years in finance, corporate planning, and M&A. Lina's curiosity to make use of resources that had not been effectively utilized drove her to study fermentation and biotechnology, leading to the founding of Fermenstation in 2009. She is passionate about utilizing micro-organisms to build a circular economy. Lina holds a degree from the Department of Brewing and Fermentation Science at the Tokyo University of Agriculture. She has also graduated from the International Christian University.

Lina Sakai

Founder and CEO
Fermenstation Co., Ltd.

 

Future Food Asia 2025 Agenda

 

                                  Wednesday 21st May 2025

 

                                  Thursday 22nd May 2025