Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder at Blue Marble Microinsurance.

Bilal is Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Blue Marble, on secondment from Zurich Insurance Company where he is Head of Emerging Consumers.

Bilal holds Ph.D. and Masters degrees in Aeronautics & Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Bachelors with Highest Distinction in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia.

His doctoral research, funded by NASA and Boeing, led to advanced computational methods used for commercial aircraft aerodynamic design.

Head of Latin America at Blue Marble Microinsurance.

She holds an MPP in Economic Development from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and received a BA, summa cum laude, in Economics and International Relations from Tufts University.

Senior Operations and Product Manager at Blue Marble Microinsurance.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and also in Finance and International Trade, both from Universidad del Rosario.

Head of Sustainability at Manufacture Technology Centre (MTC).

​Marie is currently Head of sustainability at the MTC, having worked in engineering for 14 years, 7 of those at the MTC. She studied “Engineering Design & Appropriate Technology” at the University of Warwick which was Mechanical Engineering though and environmental and social lens.

Since having designed and managed projects within the safety equipment industry and moving on to special purpose equipment.

In the last 5 years she has been actively involved with the wider HVMC catapult network and academia in the circular economy space as well as leading the MTCs own transition to being a sustainable company.

Director of the Research and Development Agrifood Center at Andes University in Colombia

​She is an economist with a master’s degree in Environmental Economics and Natural Resources from Andes University in a joint Program with Maryland University.

She also has extensive experience designing and assessing public policies on rural and agricultural development, emphasizing policy tools with a territorial approach.

Associate Professor (Reader) in Logistics and Operations Management at Cardiff University.

​His research is innovative and cutting-edged and focuses on challenging areas such as carbon reduction and food waste prevention and mitigation.

Vasco is an industry-led academic who has undertaken successful applied-research projects for leading companies from the retail, food and drinks, and logistics sectors from the UK, France, USA, Germany, South Africa, South Korea, Colombia, Chile and Argentina.

Holds the Kühne Professorial Chair in Logistics at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia.

​Gordon is honorary professor for Maritime Geography at the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen, Germany, visiting lecturer at Göteborg University, Sweden and Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina. He has published over 100 book chapters, journal papers, institutional publications and working papers.

He is currently the Vice-President of International Association of Maritime Economists – IAME, and leader of the global port performance research network (PPRN – https://pprn.network), Associate Researcher of the Hapag-Lloyd Center for Shipping and Global Logistics (CSGL)at the Kühne Logistics University (KLU), is council member of the International Association of Maritime Economists , member of the WCTRS Special Interest Group – Intermodal Freight, and Associate member of PortEconomics.

Associate Professor at the School of Management, Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

​He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Ecology from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands. His research and teaching interests are focused on dissemination of environmental management practices in industrial, and agri-food systems in emerging markets.

He has served as senior advisor of the National Strategies on Circular Economy of the Colombian and Peruvian governments, as the environmental director of Eco-petrol and worked as a consultant in the design and implementation of diffusion mechanisms for environmental management in Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Panama, and Mexico.

Marketing and Innovation Manager at Expocafe S.A

Economist, MBA and Master in Marketing from Universidad de los Andes. He has more than 16 years of experience in the international coffee industry and since 2017 he works as Marketing and Innovation Manager at Expocafe SA, where he has managed to reformulate the sustainability area to materialise the availability of a diverse and inclusive social base to scale-up the commercialisation of its coffees in the most demanding markets.

Director of the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology, University of Lincoln.

Simon has become a leader in inter-disciplinary research in the field of agri-technology by bringing together academic and industrial experts who are striving to improve technological, environmental and human capital aspects of the food industry. This research embraces a diverse range of agri-technology applications including robotic systems, automation and design for manufacture of integrated e-hubs for agricultural vehicles.

Simon is seeking to develop agri-robotics to drive productivity across the agri-food sector, including crop harvesting, phenotyping and crop care. Through the UKRI-EPSRC funded project, The Internet of Food Things, Simon brings together a network of experts to investigate how artificial intelligence, data analytics and emerging technologies can enhance the digitalisation of the UK food supply chain.

Business Development Manager at CIEL

Business Development Manager at CIEL. As part of the market development team at Quality Meat Scotland, she had an ambassador role for the industry and the organization.

Previous experience within the agricultural industry including on farm and within processors in the Quality and Technical department.

Head of Innovation at CIEL

Mark is Head of Innovation at the Centre of Innovation Excellence in Livestock and has a background in genetics research and implementation of genetic improvement programmes, particularly in the sheep sector.

Prior to joining CIEL, he was a senior geneticist at Beef & Lamb NZ and was actively involved in knowledge exchange activities. Mark led the NZ sheep sector to accept a single genetic evaluation for sheep and managed the Central Progeny Test.

Throughout his career Mark has worked to help breeders and farmers better understand the scientific elements of genetics and encourage communication and understanding between scientists and breeders.

Innovation Sector Lead at CHAP

Richard Glass has over 30 years of experience working with application technology and crop protection with a wide range of crops and climatic zones, having worked in Latin America, France and Spain.

During a 23-year career with the UK Government (Defra/Fera) he coordinated EU and EFSA funded projects dealing with pesticide risk assessments and sustainable agriculture, especially in Spain with the development of IPM and biological control.

Since October 2018, as Innovation Sector Lead at CHAP coordinates activities with in-field diagnostics and sensors leading to developing precision agriculture in cropping systems and development of novel biocontrol and IPM

International Sales Manager at SEMEX

After completing his Bachelor of Science, Agriculture and Animal Science, at Harper Adams University College, Owain was a Dairy Sire Analyst for Cogent Breeding Ltd and spent a year in Canada before returning to the UK as a Regional Sales Manager. Owain started his currect role as an International Sales Manager in Semex on October 2019.

COP26 Regional Ambassador to Latin America and the Caribbean

Fiona was appointed as the UK Government’s Regional Ambassador for Latin America and the Caribbean, COP26 in Mar 2020.

Fiona joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (now FCDO) in 2001, from the Research Councils (now UKRI) to build and lead the FCO’s global Science and Innovation Network (UKSIN). In 2006 she went to India as Director of Corporate Services, returning to London in 2009 to work on Migration issues. From 2011, as Deputy Director, Americas, Fiona led the FCO’s strategy on Latin America (the Canning Agenda).

Fiona served as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Chile from Feb 2014 to Jun 2018. On return her work included Americas, Overseas Territories, Climate Diplomacy and preparations for COP26.

James Standen is the Farms Director for Newcastle University Farms. James also farms in partnership with his wife on a tenanted arable and livestock farm. The farm is LEAF Marque certified and has a focus on environmental management. Previously James managed an estate in Kent with covering 2,300 acres of arable of owned, rented and contract farmed land, 1,000 acres of woodland, and let properties. Prior to that James worked for ADAS as a Farm Management Consultant managing and advising a number of farms across the South East. James is a commercial farming manager and has led a number of restructuring projects on farms. He has a keen interest in sustainable farming, environmental management and co-operation among farmers. James has a BSc in Agriculture and a MSc in Agricultural Economics from Wye College he is also BASIS and FACTS qualified.

Technology Manager at the MTC

Dr Mussawar Ahmad CEng MIMechE graduated from Brunel University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He received his PhD from the University of Warwick in Industrial Automation, and an MBA from Aston University in Management of Manufacturing.

He has worked in a number of sectors including oil and gas, automotive, aerospace, renewables, agriculture, and most recently construction where he applies digital and automation technologies to realise efficiencies and increase productivity. Currently, he is a Technology Manager at the MTC, overseeing a team of engineers that develop innovative technologies in automation, mechatronics, and electronics manufacturing.

Luciano Patruno is originally from Mendoza, Argentina. He holds a Nuclear Engineering degree from Balseiro Institute. He moved to Norway in 2006 to pursue a PhD in Chemistry at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Luciano has filled many roles within research and product development at major international companies before joining N2 Applied as research and development manager working with plasma technology, gas-liquid absorption and agronomy field trials. Passionate for technology, with a strong commitment to reduce green house gasses emissions and empower farmers to achieve a circular economy. Luciano Patruno, Gerente de Investigación y Desarrollo en N2 Applied

Andy has had a varied career, after a mechanical engineering degree he was commissioned into the British Army serving in the REME in Germany and the UK. Andy then joined Procter and Gamble in a variety of roles helping to set up the Pampers Nappy Factory and working on transforming the workforce in Tampax. Andy then retrained to be a teacher and taught and led science in secondary schools on the South Coast. After working for 18 months teaching in New Zealand he took an MSc in Mechatronics at Southampton doing his dissertation with the Small Robot Company. He has been with Small Robot Company ever since and is now leading the Prototyping team working on non chemical weeding, precision spraying, soil sensing and 5G amongst other things.

Rachel joined Biotangents to lead sales and marketing implementation, taking the company’s new and highly innovative technologies to market. Additionally, Rachel has been developing new commercial and research partnerships to drive innovation with new use cases and new opportunities in veterinary medicine and beyond. After graduating with a Bachelors of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery from the University of Edinburgh, Rachel gained over 7 years of experience as a commercial veterinary surgeon, in both clinical practice and industrial settings, and earned continued success as a commercial leader in global diagnostics distribution

Elizabeth is passionate about working to generate social transformations that positively impact communities. He has more than 12 years of work experience managing and developing strategic alliances, structuring social projects and raising high-impact funds. She currently works as Development Director of Sistema B Colombia, seeking connection opportunities between projects that function as vehicles for collective impact, thus contributing to the social and environmental challenges that can be solved from the impact business models of companies B and other stakeholders. He is a professional in finance and foreign trade and a specialist in Organisations, Social Responsibility and Development from Universidad de los Andes.

In the last 20 years, Giancarlo has played many roles in Caravela, going through quality control, sales, logistics, exports, human resources, legal and finance among others. Giancarlo is currently the CFO / COO of the company, as well as an Executive Member of the Board of Directors. His current role involves supervising key teams, leading the financial and risk structuring in the company as well as its governance and organisational structure. Giancarlo has a bachelor degree in Economics from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

Federico is the Regional Sector Lead in Agri-Tech, based in the British Embassy in Buenos Aires Responsible for helping UK firms to win and expand their business on LATAC. In charge of supporting actions to develop a greater understanding of Agriculture Trade Policies in the bloc. Previous experience in Multilateral Negotiations in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in Argentina. Master in Business Administration – Degree in Political Science.

Andy is a Director and Principal Consultant at Assimila Ltd, a UK SME specialising in environmental monitoring, modelling and prediction. Our particular expertise is combining satellite Earth observation data with complex models to simulate and understand climate and environmental change. With clients including UK Space Agency, European Space Agency and European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, we seek to make environmental intelligence available to all. Andy is also Director of Satellite Programmes for Resilience Constellation Management Limited, an research organisation developing geospatial solutions to climate resilience challenges for government and commercial clients worldwide.