Alexis Flores-Betancourt is currently an Account Manager at Uncountable, a San Francisco based company that is helping accelerate scientific research and development. She graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 2018 with a degree in Applied Mathematics with a concentration in Chemical Engineering. Upon graduating and prior to Uncountable, she worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where she worked on various research projects in materials science and engineering using her background in math, chemistry, and programming to develop and improve materials and simulation models. She has contributed to over 10 publications in academic journals including the Journal of Applied Physics and ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. She currently resides in San Francisco with her dog, Camper, and both enjoy exploring the outdoors and building community.

Amanda Hennessey, a trailblazing woman leader in AI for Food, is revolutionizing the industry as Sales Manager at Innov8 NXT. She spearheads cutting-edge AI initiatives across product formulation and manufacturing, driving innovation in the global Manufacturing Ecosystem. Amanda's expertise in leadership, business development and customer relationship management propels Innov8 NXT to the forefront of AI-driven solutions. Her pivotal role in advancing AI platforms and applications for R&D, knowledge mining, product quality, and vision solutions positions Amanda as a key influencer shaping the future of AI technology.

Andy Reichgut is a seasoned executive with 28 years of experience in CPG Brand Management, most recently focused on building healthy food companies that are good for people and the planet. He is currently CEO and board member for Dr. Praeger’s, a leading natural frozen foods brand, acquired by Vestar Capital Partners in 2021. Before joining dr. Praeger’s, Andy spent 8 years building emerging natural brands, including Violife Vegan Cheese and Veggies Made Great. Prior to taking on these entrepreneurial ventures, Andy worked at large CPG companies including Pinnacle Foods, M&M Mars and Reckitt Benckiser.

He currently is an advisory board member for Naturally New York, Montclair State University School of Food & Nutrition and active member of Northeastern University McCarthy Venture Mentoring Network.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Marshall serves as the Vice President of Culinary for Goldbergs Group. He is responsible for the oversight of the production and development of more than 300,000 daily meals across multiple facilities, with a steadfast commitment to maintaining the highest standards of quality and flavor in every dish.

With a history spanning 11 years at Goldbergs, Marshall has been an integral part of its journey, contributing to its expansion and diversification. Under his guidance, the group has undertaken a range of culinary projects, including the management of 11 full-service restaurants, three food manufacturing facilities, and two airline catering operations. Additionally, Goldbergs Group operates two full-service catering facilities capable of handling events for over 30,000 people.

Chiara leads Commercialization at Savor: she is passionate about highly scalable approaches for climate change mitigation, and how to bring them to the 8 billion eaters on planet Earth. In her previous role as CEO of Future Food Americas, she has worked with Fortune 500 F&B companies, supporting them in creating innovation strategies, and launching SKUs able to advance the UNSDG. Chiara is a Partner at Future Food Institute and a Board Member at Food for Climate Leagues, two NGOs leveraging education and behavior change strategies to promote climate-beneficial food choices. She lectures about sustainable business and innovation at San Francisco State University and has been recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe for Social Entrepreneurship in 2020. When she’s not working, she runs around with her family, harvests honey, bakes bread, and writes poems.

Claudio Francisco Chavez Saenz is a 37-year-old father of two and a Chemical Engineer with a Master's degree in Technology and Entrepreneurship Innovation. With over 15 years of experience in integrating and strategizing technology and innovation as growth drivers, Claudio has collaborated with the academic, public, and private sectors. For the past four years, he has been a key player in Sigma's Global Technology Department, focusing on the company's long-term R&D strategy and transformation. Currently, Claudio leads the team responsible for connecting Consumer Insight, R&D, and innovation capabilities both internally and externally, while also managing Sigma's Global Technology Center.

Curtis Luckett is a sensory scientist who has shifted focus to leading research and development efforts in sustainability-focused food-tech startups. Before his foray into early-stage food-tech, Curtis was an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee. He is currently the Director of Research at Voyage Foods where he leads all core research functions and focuses on integrating data from core research through the product development process. This involves applying data science and machine learning to ingredient and process technology datasets for optimal product design.

A food enthusiast at heart, Dan Margulis is a Sr. R&D Manager on the Global Disruptive Innovation Team at Kraft Heinz. Fueled by curiosity ignited through the study of Food Science at The University of Illinois, Dan has now spent time in various innovation roles at PepsiCo, Tropicana Brands Group, & most recently Kraft Heinz. In his current role at Kraft Heinz, Dan is the R&D lead for a team exploring new business models and also manages a pool of product developers that flex to support teams across the Global Disruptive Innovation organization. With a focus on leveraging agile methodologies to better understand consumer needs, Dan hopes to drive the development of truly innovative food solutions to create a more sustainable and delicious future.

With over 30 years of experience in the Food & Beverage industry, Dan Follese has become a pioneering force in bridging culinary artistry with strategic innovation. Born and raised in Minnesota and now a proud resident of Tallahassee, FL, Dan has spent his career blending a passion for culinary excellence with an entrepreneurial spirit to reshape the food industry.

Dan’s culinary career began at just 16 years old, fueled by a robust education from Johnson & Wales University. Early on, he worked within diverse culinary environments, from fast-casual dining to prestigious establishments like Caesars Palace. These foundational years equipped him with dual expertise in both culinary techniques and business management, providing a solid platform for his rise in the industry.

Dan has continuously pushed the boundaries of food innovation. He ventured into food styling and recipe development for food equipment manufacturers, a niche requiring both creativity and technical precision. Keenly aware of the evolving food landscape, Dan founded Food Trend Translator, a consulting firm dedicated to leveraging culinary trends to meet business challenges. Through his consultancy, he worked with notable brands such as Amylu’s Chicken, The Better Meat Co., Bongards, and Schreiber Foods, creating on-trend recipes, formulas, and concepts that drove market success. Today, Dan leads the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Culinary Consulting Cooperative, where he orchestrates groundbreaking partnerships between esteemed ACF chefs, industry strategists, and consultants. This initiative leverages actionable culinary intelligence to fast-track product launches, menu innovation, and development for businesses seeking a competitive edge.

Danielle Ryan Dawson, RH (AHG) is a key player in the worldwide mushroom movement. As a Registered Herbalist (RH) of the American Herbalists Guild (AHG), Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Best-Selling Author, Instructor of Mycology, and Head of Innovation at Four Sigmatic, she brings her passion and expertise in herbal medicine, clinical practice, teaching, formulation, and her deep love for fungi to everything she does.

Dr. Bernd Koehler is the Vice President of Global Research & Development at Edlong, a woman-owned, customer obsessed leader in dairy and dairy-type flavor solutions. Bernd leads Edlong’s global R&D team to fuse scientific innovation with culinary expertise to create breakthrough technologies that tackle real-world market challenges. A native of Germany, he brings 24 years of high-impact leadership across R&D, Quality, and Regulatory Affairs at global food giants like MARS-Wrigley and McCain Foods Ltd, where he has consistently pushed the boundaries of food innovation.

Dr. Cordell Hardy currently serves as Vice President, Core R&D for Cargill, Inc. The Core R&D organization has responsibility for advancing foundational scientific knowledge and key technical capabilities critical to Cargill’s long-term growth. Prior to joining Cargill, Cordell spent 20 years with 3M Company, most recently as Senior Vice President, Corporate R&D Operations. He has also served in numerous other leadership and individual contributor roles through his 3M career.

Eric has spent the last 10+ years working as a Solution Consultant for Infor in their Process Manufacturing consulting organization. He is first & foremost a research scientist with a background in Biology and Food Science. Eric began his career in 1994 working for The Keebler Company, as a pilot plant technician. From there, he went on to go work for Kraft Foods where he spent 13 years as a research scientist and quality specialist. During this time at Kraft, he became deeply involved with R&D and Quality specification management systems. After leaving Kraft, he spent years working as process manufacturing industry consultant for Siemens. Later, he returned to the food industry and worked for Wrigley/Mars in their global quality organization. In total, he has 20 years of working experience in the process manufacturing space.

Federico Fontanella is a product manager with background in Software Engineering and more than 20 years of experience in software development, project management, and product management. In his role as Sr. Director of Product Management at Trace One, Federico applies his strong software engineering background coupled with excellent understanding of business and market needs to define new product categories, improve business processes, and innovate solutions. Specialties included product management, project management, software development, AI, business strategy

With over a decade of experience in project management within the IT industry. For the past four years, I have dedicated my expertise to implementing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems in Bimbo Bakeries USA to driving efficiency and innovation within the organization.

Michigan State Grad, Jack Joseph is the co-founder and president of rmbr (pronounced "remember"), a groundbreaking brand dedicated to reimagining non-alcoholic beverages for social settings. Driven by a vision to make wellness-oriented drinks more accessible and enjoyable, Jack started the company from his parents' basement with his wife and co-founder, Kiara Tomirotti. Together, they set out to transform kombucha from a niche health product into a vibrant lifestyle beverage.

Completely bootstrapped, their journey is a testament to grit, creativity, and unwavering dedication. Jack and Kiara have grown rmbr into a thriving business, with products now available in nearly 1,000 retail locations and counting. Through innovation and authenticity, they continue to disrupt the beverage industry, challenging norms and elevating the non-alcoholic beverage category with every sip.

RMBR’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and purpose—perfectly suited to inspire and empower others on their entrepreneurial journeys

Jessica brings more than 15 years of experience in innovation, strategy, and consumer insights gained from diverse global roles across a range of companies. She is currently a Partner at TheMindCo, a boutique global innovation and strategy agency. Previously, Jessica led Insights for Innovation and Portfolio Transformation at PepsiCo, informing the future growth strategy of the beverage portfolio. She also helped establish an Open Innovation team at Ferrero, serving as Lead Global Strategist and developing an innovative prioritization methodology for breakthrough innovation. Jessica’s passion for food innovation extends to startups; she has worked closely with them throughout her career, including serving as Director of Strategy in a Silicon Valley-based foodtech company and even launching a pop-up restaurant while living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In addition to her professional experience, Jessica is a certified Leadership Coach specializing in career success and personal growth. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from NYU Stern with a specialization in Entrepreneurship & Innovation.

Jill Wilson is a brand marketer with 18 years of experience working in both start-up and global companies in food CPG, supplement and foodservice industries. She has marketing, innovation, and go-to-market experience on Udi’s Gluten Free (Boulder Brands), Honest Tea and Honest Kids (Coca-Cola), Justin’s (Hormel), various brands at Danone, Charlotte’s Web and now Four Sigmatic.

Joseph Lake is a big picture thinker with deep food innovation, research and collaboration experience across the global food industry. Joe’s career in diverse and progressive positions with the global powerhouse McCain Foods sparked his entrepreneurial spirit, confirmed his passion for transformative innovation, and honed his analytic and collaborative negotiating skills. While at McCain, he successfully created and launched a global food innovation platform, as well as gained knowledge of innovation network models, incubators, and accelerators in other countries, including the U.S., U.K. and Europe. As CEO of the Canadian Food Innovation Network, Joe played a key role in building the organization from its conception, attracting talent from across the country, and launching CFIN’s online connector platform, YODL. Under his leadership CFIN awarded more than $8 million to 32 Canadian food tech projects. Since, Joe has returned to McCain Foods, leading a global team driving food technology innovation. Joe studied at Dalhousie University where his meticulous and thorough work in food science and technology to completing his PhD.

Kitty Dowgert is a Senior Manager, Specification Program at Taylor Farms, a fresh salads and prepared foods company. Her diverse career path from Technical Sales in Agriculture to restaurant ownership, to Staff Management in an international law firm, has provided her with a unique perspective for streamlining business operations. With extensive experience in Regulatory Best Practices at Taylor Farms, she is currently deploying a unified specification system and workflow across multiple user groups and manufacturing plants in the US and internationally. Kitty recognizes the critical importance of accessible specifications across multiple levels of this vertically integrated company. Kitty received her Bachelor's degree at Villanova University, holds a Master's Degree in Plant Physiology from Rutgers University and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Kurt Manke is an accomplished Information Technology Director of Security at Organic Valley, with over 15 years of experience in managing cybersecurity risk for global food and agriculture companies. With a robust strategic vision, Kurt ensures that security aligns with business initiatives, positioning cybersecurity as a business enabler rather than a hindrance. He leads the Organic Valley AI Governance Strategy Team, promoting innovation through Artificial Intelligence in a safe and secure manner.

With over 15 years of military service in the Army Reserve, Kurt brings a wealth of experience from his roles in multinational exercises and is currently serving in a leadership advisory role. This background provides him with a unique perspective on cybersecurity challenges. His commitment to fostering secure environments for innovation data, especially in the food industry, establishes him as a thought leader at the intersection of cybersecurity and business growth.

Experienced professional in food innovation, product development and research, with expertise spanning Europe, the United States, and Canada. Maroun has a strong track record of developing innovative food solutions, launching premium products, and optimizing production processes. He is passionate about creating impactful, consumer-focused innovations and he is committed to diversity and inclusion, having served as a global D&I Champion in his previous role. Maroun recently joined Andriani Spa, where he will be focusing on driving the future of food innovation within his new company in USA, Canada and Europe.

Matthew Wright is the founder & CEO of Specright, the first cloud-based platform for Specification Management. Specright has been recognized by Fast Company’s prestigious Most Innovative Companies list, named a Gartner Cool Vendor, and as one of the Top Places to Work by the OC Register and Built in LA. Wright is also a published author and his book, “The Evolution of Products and Packaging,”was named to the Amazon Hot New Release List for Industrial Relations Business and has a five star rating. Prior to founding Specright, Wright spent more than 25 years in the packaging industry, holding leadership positions at International Paper, Temple Inland, and rightPAQ — a packaging company he co-founded. He has also been involved in leading multiple M&A deals in the packaging industry, currently sits on the MSU School of Packaging and Industry Advisory Board and previously served on the Packaging Advisory Board at Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo.

A people-oriented technical leader with 25+ years of FMCG experience spanning North America, Asia, Middle East & Africa in the Food & Beverage industry. Mukesh has been with PepsiCo for 17 years, with leading roles in Engineering, Supply Chain, and R&D. He has previously worked for General Mills and Kraft Foods. Mukesh holds a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Nick Reynolds is an Industry Process Consultant Director in North America at Dassault Systèmes.  He has a background in Materials Science, with a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering.  Nick’s and his team’s role is in providing scientific and technical support for Dassault Systèmes’ customers in adopting our solutions for computational materials science, formulation management, laboratory informatics, and data science, across a range of industries.

Nicole Krouse is an Associate Insights Director at Black Swan with years of experience working with the world’s leading CPGs, from PepsiCo to COTY.

Niina Wredfors is a candy product development professional blending sensory expertise with a profound love for crafting confectionery. She serves as the Director of Product Development for Fazer Confectionery’s Candy Business Unit, with responsibilities that include managing and development of the sugar candy bags, pastilles, and chewing gum categories.

As collaboration with the product development team, Niina Wredfors focuses on crafting new products and refining the existing range, giving special attention to plant-based and sustainable options while upholding the highest standards of quality and meeting consumer preferences.

Furthermore, Niina Wredfors has successfully established the Sensory Evaluation and Consumer Insight team, which plays a crucial role in validating novelty ideas, conducting consumer studies and carrying out sensory profiling for Fazer Confectionery products.

The R&D department is currently conducting a comprehensive study in co-operation with the operations team to identify the optimal production technologies for successful implementation of new raw materials and the constant supply of irresistible novelties.

In her leisure, Niina enjoys biking, knitting and long walks with her dog Biscuit.

Rajneesh is a highly dedicated and dynamic R&D professional, working as Chief Science Officer at Califia Farms, since September 2022. Additionally, he also serves as a board of director for a flavor company, FlavorSum. Rajneesh holds a master’s degree in Food Science from University of Guelph, Canada. He has about 22 years of work experience in food and beverage industry across various categories, including dairy products, dairy & plant-based beverages, culinary and nutrition. His past experience includes working with companies like Chobani, NotCo, Nestlé, Danone, Parmalat, and GlaxoSmithKline consumer healthcare, across various geographies.

As Chief Commercial Officer of Oishii, Rita Hudetz leads growth strategy, scaling the company’s retail footprint, overseeing new market entries and driving product launches for the revolutionary farming company. Prior to joining Oishii, Hudetz held roles as the General Manager of Milk Bar’s Grocery Division, where she expanded the company’s ice cream business, introduced the “Crunchies” line of cookies to market and negotiated a partnership with General Mills to release a line of Milk Bar cookie doughs, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Hu Kitchen, where she expanded the chocolate bar line to include Hunks, Gems and crackers and helped to build national distribution and online platforms. Hudetz also previously held Chief Operating Officer and Directorial roles at Universal Standard and PepsiCo, respectively.

Ryan McGinnis is a Sales Director at Black Swan Data, helping clients leverage social data and artificial intelligence to fuel winning innovation.

Sara Jane has led R&D, quality, and regulatory teams throughout the NPD lifecycle from innovation to commercialization. She has over 10 years of experience in the natural foods industry and an educational background in Nutrition Science and International Food Law and Regulations. Her professional designations include Lead Instructor for the FSPCA Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals (PCQI), BRCGS Professional, and Certified Food Safety and Quality Auditor (CFSQA) through the American Society for Quality (ASQ). She works as a Networked Ingredients Functional Consultant for TraceGains guiding our Strategic Accounts through continuous improvement projects and streamlining their quality and R&D initiatives.

Sonali is a passionate and accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, having contributed her expertise to both CPG and ingredient companies such as PepsiCo, Ingredion, Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), and currently leading R&D at Kodiak. These diverse experiences have equipped her with unique approach to solving customer and consumer challenges, enabling her to drive product innovation through design thinking, consumer insights, and cutting-edge technology. Sonali has successfully planned and executed a variety of R&D initiatives, consistently delivering high-impact programs that drive growth and value. Additionally, Sonali has built and developed technical talent on a global scale, fostering teams that excel in innovation and execution.

Sonali holds a Master’s degree in Food Science from Rutgers University, NJ, and is dedicated to mentoring early career cohorts in STEM, empowering the next generation of talent in science and technology.

Thierry began his career in France and has since gained two decades of experience in the design, manufacturing and marketing of many food platforms including baby foods, fresh dairy and plant-based products, holding positions of increasing responsibility in France, Belgium and the UK for a leading dairy company. He moved to the USA in late 2009 and spent many years building and leading Innovation and Product Development teams for the Yogurt Category in North America. He is named inventor in multiple patents in the fields of probiotics, functional foods, bioactive peptides, alternative sweeteners, low-sugar yogurt, and dairy technology.

After leading Science & Technology for two startups in the plant-based and water technology spaces, Thierry joined Chobani to support its disruptive innovation efforts and further the all-important mission of creating and delivering good, nutritious foods to all.