Blazing the INNOV-EAT trail: Unleashing BOLD Innovations in motion – WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

Dhanush Dinesh, Chief Climate Catalyst, Clim-Eat

 

Dhanush is the Founder and Chief Climate Catalyst of Clim-Eat, the ‘think and do tank’ for food and climate which he established in 2021 at COP26. Clim-Eat focuses on bridging science and policy on food and climate issues by synthesizing knowledge, convening stakeholders, providing strategic advice, and strategic policy engagement.

His previous work experience includes roles within the private sector, NGOs, and the UN and CGIAR systems, in China, India, Thailand, The Netherlands and the UK. He has worked on a range of issues including forestry, environmental policy, climate change adaptation, and advocacy, at the national, regional, and global levels.

Dhanush has an interdisciplinary academic background, combining an MBA, MSc in Carbon management, and a PhD in Environmental Governance. He is a member of the Advisory Boards of the EAT Foundation. ClieNFarms and the Global Food and Environment Institute at the University of Leeds.

Game Master:
Andy Jarvis, Director of Future of Food, Bezos Earth Fund

 

Andy Jarvis has worked for over 20 years in research for development to support the delivery of food security and environmental sustainability in the food system. His research has focused on data-driven policy analysis on a variety of topics from agrobiodiversity conservation to climate impacts and adaptation.

Andy joined the Bezos Earth Fund from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, a CGIAR center, as the Associate Director General for Research Strategy and Innovation where he oversaw research that spans from crop breeding and genetics to landscape management, climate adaptation and mitigation through to dietary shifts and consumer behavior.

Andy holds a PhD in Geography from King’s College London, and is located in Cali, Colombia.

The Dragons:

 

Katy Hartley, Director of Strategy and Special Initiatives, Laudes Foundation

In the last 20 years, Katy Hartley has worked in the fields of philanthropy, strategy development, concept creation, partnership building, international public affairs, communications and stakeholder management. Whilst being a Brit based in both The Netherlands and Russia Katy has seen the inner workings of multinational consumer, B2B and B2G business, as well as philanthropic organisations.

Previously the Head of Philips Foundation and the Director of Philanthropy Communications at the Porticus & C&A Foundation, Katy Hartley is currently the Director of Strategy at the Laudes Foundation where she is responsible for the design and adaptation of the Laudes Foundation’s strategy. In 2020, Katy led the development of its first five-year strategy consulting over 300 stakeholders, and the Laudes Foundation Economic System Map.

 

Dalal AlGhawas, Founder, SWAPAC

Dalal has a technical background, specialising in food safety, biotechnology, diagnostics, clinical research and public health. She established the first food technology accelerator in Hong Kong and World’s first alternative protein accelerator and has worked with > 100 global technology startups, focused on plant-based protein alternatives, cellular-agriculture, sustainability, smart kitchen equipment, med-tech and software.

International thought leader in the food technology space 100+ conferences, TV, podcasts, roundtables, industry reports, start-up competitions Hong Kong Permanent Resident, Kuwaiti citizen, well connected in APAC and GCC.

Doctor of Philosophy (Food Science and Food Biotechnology) from leading Asian University of Hong Kong with publications in top tier peer reviewed journals, startup manuals and industry reports.

Host extraordinaire:

Marcel van Nijnatten, Head of Food Security and Climate Policy, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, NL

 

 

After focusing on EU agricultural policy, Mr van Nijnatten worked for the United Nations Office in Geneva on trade and biodiversity issues. Coming back to the Netherlands he became part of the UNFCCC delegation in charge of agriculture and land use issues.

He is now head of Food security and Climate policy. The Food Systems summit and the work of FAO on making Agriculture more sustainable are his focus areas. Making sure the strategic projects of the 50 Agricultural Attachés the Netherlands has at embassies and permanent missions reflect these policy priorities in a fast changing international environment is a transition he is working on.

Panelists:

Felicitas Rohrig, Senior Policy Officer, BMZ

 

Felicitas Röhrig is a Senior Policy Officer at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), where she works in the division of agriculture and rural development.

Prior to joining BMZ, Felicitas spent three years as a Research Analyst at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and two years working for the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Hanoi, Vietnam, focusing on research and policy analysis in the nexus of climate change and agricultural development. She holds a Masters’ degree in Agricultural Economics as well as in Latin American Politics.

Luke Tay, Founder Cornucopia FutureScapes

 

Luke leads a globally oriented foresight and strategy consultancy with a focus on food security, food-energy-water and sustainability, technology, and geopolitics.

Working with corporates, institutions, governments, and international organisations, he advises on emerging issues, scenarios, and strategic opportunities, and supports foresight capability development on future-readiness initiatives. He speaks and writes at a range of international food, sustainability, and foresight platforms. Notable themes include urban/periurban food system transformation; consumer persuasion and countering misinformation; the future of strategic value chains for the Asia-Pacific; and tech and policy imperatives for antifragile food systems.

As Resident Futurist at Budding Innovation, Luke helps shape the venture builder’s work to ideate, innovate, and implement future-ready nutrition, wellness and sustainability solutions.

Luke graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in international relations and history and an MA in Political Science in 2003. Before founding Cornucopia, he served for two decades in the agrifood and transport spheres of the Singapore public service in a range of leadership, strategic planning, international relations, human capital and infrastructure development, operations, and corporate governance roles. His work involved advising leaders at the political and senior official level, and engagement with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, ICAO, APEC, G20, ASEAN, and various country-level stakeholders.

Ishmael Sunga, CEO, The Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU)

 

A Zimbabwean national, he holds a BSc (Economics) degree and has post-graduate qualifications, including in MSc (Strategic Management). He has more than 30 years’ wide-ranging experience in agriculture and rural development, including in policy research and advocacy, as well as development management. Apart from southern Africa where he is based, he has also worked in the UK and undertaken assignments in other parts of Africa and Asia.

Since joining SACAU in 2005, he has positioned the organisation as the main voice for farmers of southern Africa on matters of common and strategic interest at regional and global levels. The brand is associated with good corporate governance, professionalism, thought leadership and high standards of development management. He has spearheaded the organisation’s work in several key areas, including digital solutions; climate change management; the development of a new generation of farmers and of farmers’ organisations; systems management and multi-stakeholder approaches, and value-chain cooperation.

He has served or is currently serving in various capacities on several continental and global institutions and initiatives, such as the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), the World Economic Forum (WEF), African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), Malabo Montpellier Panel of Experts (MAMO), Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Generation Africa; the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification and USAID’s Bureau for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD)-subcommittee on Climate Change.

Soojin Kim, Associate Director, Food and Agriculture, Climateworks Foundation

Soojin is an Associate Director for ClimateWorks’ Food and Agriculture Program. She brings 15 years of international experience from a variety of sectors including the United Nations, private sector, and non-profits.

Before joining ClimateWorks Foundation, she was a Senior Researcher at Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), a South Korean non-profit organization where she was a founding director. Prior to SFOC, Soojin had her own consulting business, serving a variety of environmental non-profits worldwide and the United Nations on climate, forestry, agriculture, and land-use projects. Soojin has also worked as an Analyst at the Global Climate Program of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) where she was focused on market-based mechanisms. Prior to her role at EDF, Soojin was a Climate Change Officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), supporting 48 countries in the Asia Pacific region on climate adaptation and mitigation. She began her career as Research Engineer at LG Electronics, developing GHG emissions reduction programs on energy efficiency.

Soojin holds a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, a Bachelor of Agriculture in Forestry, and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Seoul National University (SNU). Soojin speaks English, Korean, and Spanish, and is conversant in Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Thai.

Imelda Bacudo, Senior Advisor, Food Systems, COP28 Presidency

 

Imelda Bacudo (Dada) is currently a senior advisor to the COP28 Presidency of the UAE, ensuring the alignment of UNFCCC agreements on agrifood systems with Presidency partnership initiatives and concurrently the Co Chair of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agri with the facilitation unit based in FAO rome

Dada previously worked as Senior Advisor to the ASEAN and ASEAN Member States for strengthened regional and international policies to support the transformation to low emissions and resilient agrifood sector. She played a pivotal role in the development and coordination of the ASEAN Climate Resilience Network—a successful platform for knowledge exchange and support on climate-smart land use; and the ASEAN Negotiating Group for Agriculture (ANGA), which capacitated the agriculture sector into engagements with the UNFCCC, and is recognized as a subgroup negotiating under the G77 and China.

Dada is a climate change expert with over 20 years of experience in the areas of biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and conservation finance. She has worked with NGOs, national governments, and international development agencies in the Philippines, Latin America, Uganda, and Southeast Asia.

Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink, Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy, The Netherlands

Christianne van der Wal has been the Dutch Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy since the start of the Fourth Rutte cabinet on January 10, 2022. Her responsibilities include: Nature and Biodiversit, Integral Nitrogen Policy, National Program for Rural Areas, Transition Fund for Rural Areas and Nature, Staatsbosbeheer (public body for state-owned forests and nature reserves) and Agricultural Land Management Office.

Having studied Facility Management at the Holland University of Professional Education in Diemen, Christianne van der Wal started her career as a project manager in construction consultancy in 1997. From 2000 to 2003, Van der Wal lectured Project Management at the Inholland University of Applied Sciences, followed by seven years of project management at a construction and software consultancy business for the healthcare sector.

In 2008, Christianne van der Wal joined the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). From 2010 to 2014, she was a vice-chairing municipal councillor in Harderwijk. As a vice mayor from 2014 to 2019, In 2019, she became a Gelderland provincial executive deputy for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Mobility and Aviation. From November 2017 until she assumed office as Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Policy, Christianne van der Wal was her political party’s national chair.