Moderators for F3 Webinars | |
Kevin Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., Moderator, Chair of the F3 Challenge and Judge, Professor and Director of International Programs at The University of Arizona: Fitzsimmons has devoted the last 40 years to improving the sustainability of aquaculture in Arizona, across the U.S. and globally in over 80 countries. This work has included polyculture systems, integrated farming systems irrigating field crops and hydroponics and alternative protein sources to make diets more sustainable. Fitzsimmons served as the President of the U.S. and World Aquaculture Societies and was the second Chairman of the global charity, Aquaculture Without Frontiers. He received a Fulbright Fellowship in 2004 to teach and conduct research in Thailand and is working on a second Fulbright Fellowship in Myanmar, where he is finishing a 3-year USAID project supporting aquaculture. | |
Moderator for Session #8 (F3: A Perspective from China): Dan Luo, Editor of FishFirst and Senior Media Expert: Ms. Dan Luo has been focusing on aquaculture nutrition and aquafeed development for more than 13 years. She organized many famous aquafeed related events such as electing the ten founders of China's aquatic nutrition and feed, and the top ten aquafeed enterprises with the greatest growth potential in China. 罗丹，水产前沿主编，资深媒体人 罗丹女士从事水产营养和饲料开发的媒体宣传工作已有13余载。曾组织了许多与水产饲料有关的品牌活动，例如选举中国水产营养与饲料十大创始人、中国最具潜力的十大水产饲料企业等。 | |
Moderator for Sessions #10 & #12: Christopher Oakes, Head of Strategic Partnerships in Agriculture, Deep Science Ventures: Chris holds a B.A. and M.A. in Marine Biology from Occidental College in Los Angeles and has dedicated his career to developing regenerative ocean technologies using biotechnology. Before joining DSV Chris was the Vice President of Product and Market Development at NovoNutrients, where his role focused on interfacing with potential customers and their novel aquafeed ingredient needs and translating that into product development roadmaps. He has worked on ocean systems more broadly and has wide-ranging and applied understanding of synthetic biology. Chris also is a Board Member at the non-profit MARE, where he contributes to fisheries and Marine Protected Area management efforts in California. | |
Session #1: Insect Ingredients in Aquafeeds: fishmeal/fish oil substitution | |
Kees Aarts, CEO, Protix: Kees Aarts began his career as a consultant at McKinsey in R&D innovation and business development. In 2009, Kees founded Protix to create a more sustainable food system that is able to feed the growing world population with an eye for and conservation of the earth's natural resources. Protix has received various prizes and awards in recent years, including the Technology Pioneer award by the World Economic Forum. Kees is also a member of the board of directors of smartparks.org and is a member of the World Economic Forum for food security and agriculture. He received an MSc degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Delft. | |
Patrick Crowley, CEO, Chapul Farms: With a Masters in Watershed Hydrology and background in climate modeling, Pat founded Chapul to reverse engineer the sustainable benefits of insect agriculture, by developing a pull-through market demand. Chapul launched in 2012 with an oversubscribed crowdfunding campaign in an attempt to directly address consumer perceptions regarding novel insect protein. Since then, Chapul has pioneered many new market segments for insect products and in 2020 he launched Chapul Farms to build and scale modular insect farms to close the loop between organics waste management and animal feed markets. | |
Xingwang Liu, Ph.D., MBA, CEO, Guangzhou FishTech Co.: Xingwang Liu has long been engaged in research related to aquatic animal nutrition, physiology and feed science, as well as technology development and management of agricultural and livestock feed enterprises, and has rich experience in front-line technology, management and administration. He has published more than 40 scientific research papers in high-quality journals. He has authorized more than 40 national invention patents, and won two first prizes for scientific and technological progress at provincial and ministerial level, and two first prizes for scientific and technological progress at local and municipal level, and has been awarded as "Innovation and Entrepreneurship" leading talents and "Science and Technology Entrepreneur" in Jiangsu Province. | |
Nick Piggott, CEO & Co-Founder, Nutrition Technologies: Nutrition Technologies is an industrial-scale BSF manufacturer based in South East Asia. Nick became acutely aware of the challenges of food security whilst working for the UN in West Africa, and the company has since developed insect-based feed-ingredients for the livestock and aquaculture industries to address this issue. Founded in 2015 with R&D centres in Singapore and Vietnam and manufacturing operations in Malaysia, Nutrition Technologies specialises in tropical production systems, and is targeting rapid regional expansion in the coming two years. | |
Alain Revah, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, Ÿnsect: Alain Revah is the Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer of Ÿnsect. Most recently he was the Vice President of Business & Corporate Development at Poshmark, based in San Francisco. He started his career building digital communities for Amazon, Major League Baseball or About.com at The Well/Delphi.com. He co-founded Ulteo (acquired by AZ Network) and helped launch Telegroup (IPO Nasdaq TRGP). He also co-founded, invested or advised a number of startups including Poshmark, FreshPlanet, Stargazer or PhotoRoom, conglomerates like LVMH or Vivendi and venture funds like Accelerator Ventures (Zappos [sold to Amazon], Nutanix [IPO], Cornerstone on Demand [IPO], Zynga [IPO]), and Sunstone Capital. He holds two master degrees in Law and International Business from the University of Paris-Sorbonne and speaks nine languages. | |
Maye Walraven, Head of Business Development, InnovaFeed: Maye leads InnovaFeed’s Business Development team and is in charge of the commercialisation of the company’s innovative products and building value for customers. As part of her role, she oversees InnovaFeed’s relationships with various stakeholders across the value chain, from feed manufacturers, to farmers, distributors, NGOs and certification bodies. Prior to joining InnovaFeed, Maye worked at McKinsey & Company as part of the Sustainability and Resource Productivity practice in New York (USA) for five years and helped clients deploy sustainable business solutions. Maye has a Bachelor of Engineering from Centrale Paris (France) and a master’s in Business Sustainability from the University of Queensland (Australia). | |
Session #2: Soy Ingredients in Aquafeeds: Latest progress in fishmeal replacement | |
Zhijun Hu, CEO, Jiangsu Fuhai Biotech Co., Ltd.: Zhijun Hu, founder and CEO of Fuhai Biotech Co., Ltd, has been deeply involved in the animal nutrition and feed industry for more than 20 years. He received his Master's degree in animal nutrition from Zhejiang University, worked for Roche Vitamins, and then started his business in Shanghai in 2001. He is a member of SFMCA (Stock Feed Manufacturers Council of Australia) and CFIA (China Feed Industry Association). He and his team are committed to provide healthier and more sustainable nutrition for people’s lives. | |
Jeffery Jiang, Manager, Agribusiness Unit, DaBomb Protein Corp.: Jeffery Jiang is the Manager of the Agribusiness Unit of DaBomb Protein Corporation where he is in charge of product development, training, technical service, marketing promotion and news publication. He also helps develop collaborations with other companies. Jeffery has a research background in fish and shellfish nutrition and a Master's of Aquaculture from the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. | |
Hannah Lucas, Business Development Manager, Benson Hill Bio-Systems: Hannah Lucas serves as a Business Development Manager at Benson Hill, focused on evaluating new product and partnership opportunities and leading market development for Benson Hill’s value-added ingredients in industries such as aquaculture, animal health, and plant-based meat. Prior to Benson Hill, Hannah earned a B.S. in Plant Pathology and Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an M.A. in Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. | |
Lukas Manomaitis, Aquaculture Program Technical Contractor, USSEC: Lukas has worked with USSEC since 2002 on programs internationally and has been involved in expanding the USSEC Aquaculture Program from China to a global program in 2002, in the expansion of the In-Pond Raceway System technology from China to a global program starting in 2015, and conceptualized and help create the International Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database (IAFFD). He holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Auburn University. He is based in Thailand but travels often in the Southeast Asian region and regularly to global regions for USSEC. | |
Suresh M. Menon, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Menon Renewable Products, Inc.: Dr. Suresh Menon founded Menon Renewable Products, Inc., to stop the use of antibiotics in animal feeds, save our planet from waste practices impacting natural resources, and promote health for humans and animals. He has dedicated his life to innovation and philanthropic activities that improve food sustainability, preservation of endangered species, and enhance human nutrition. With more than 100 patents and trademarks, Dr. Menon succeeded in creating ground-breaking technologies with a recognized brand making the world safer, cleaner, and more sustainable. Creation of these technologies have resulted in capturing more than 30 markets for various products that he created. | |
Patricia Sugui, Ph.D., Sustainability Manager, CJ Selecta: Dr. Sugui has been with CJ Selecta since 2014. In her role, Dr. Sugui ensures that CJ Selecta is working towards finding innovative ways to stay green by reducing CO2 emissions. This includes developing, implementing and monitoring CJ Selecta's environmental strategies, environmental and social certifications, and regulatory affairs. Dr. Sugui has a Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the Federal University of Viçosa - Brazil and over 12 years of experience as R&D and Technical Marketing Manager. | |
Session #3: Single-Cell & Novel Proteins in Aquafeeds | |
Mike Cici, Global Pathfinder, The Scoular Company: Mike graduated from the University of Minnesota receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agronomy, minoring in Agriculture Economics. Mike has held positions from agronomics to food science and technology to developing dairy nutrition markets use of highly nutritional alfalfa and corn varieties. Since 2000 Mike has been with The Scoular Company expanding their market share where today they are a global leader supplying Specialty Proteins & Fats & Oils into the animal feed industry. Today he is using his knowledge and experience to expand Scoular’s market share of functional proteins, fats, & oils into the global animal feed markets. | |
Paul de Pauw, Business Development Director - Feed, Unibio: Paul has been with Unibio since 2019 as director and responsible for the business development and sales of the Uniprotein® product for animal nutrition. Mr. Pauw has a background as a bio-engineer and holds an MBA. For the last 35 years, Mr. Pauw has been employed in the ingredients and feed sector in various commercial functions. | |
Larry Feinberg, CEO, KnipBio: Larry Feinberg, PhD. is an entrepreneurial industrial biotechnologist and the CEO and co-founder of KnipBio. He has expertise in early-stage technology ventures, bio-product discovery and large-scale commercialization initiatives. With the advanced biofuel technology firm Mascoma Corporation, Larry held leadership responsibilities in scientific discovery and business development roles. Spearheading the Organism Discovery group, Larry oversaw bioprospecting and strain development duties. Leading the New Business Opportunities team, he was responsible for multiple commercial candidates including the development of the cellulosic ethanol biorefinery initiative in Alberta, Canada which he directed from concept through advanced engineering. In total, Larry co-authored and received greater than $80MM of Canadian government investment through three separate awards. Larry’s technical training occurred at the University of Massachusetts where he obtained his PhD through his studies of the biogeochemistry, physiology and genetics of hyperthermophile microbes living in extreme environments. Some of the ecologies he has sampled include approximately 20 different hot springs, landfills, agricultural compost piles and industrial facilities. Prior to his graduate training, Larry ran a small family business for 5 years and was a high school teacher before that. | |
Allan LeBlanc, Vice President Market Development, Calysta: Allan LeBlanc was named Vice President Aquaculture in 2020. He joined Calysta in 2013 as Director of Corporate Development and served as FeedKind Product Manager from 2015 through 2019. He is responsible for global market and sales strategy for Calysta aquaculture nutritional products. He also provides market intelligence guiding future product development. Prior to joining Calysta, Mr. LeBlanc worked in venture capital at Ballast Point Ventures and investment banking at Raymond James. Mr. LeBlanc holds an MBA from the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida. | |
Mark Rottmann, CEO, iCell Sustainable Nutrition Co., Ltd.: Mark is a seasoned executive leader and entrepreneur with over 30 years of global management experience. He currently serves as CEO of iCell and was previously an executive at GE Water. Mark has launched several greenfield development projects in waste-to-value, recycle and feed ingredient production. He has been involved in all areas of water project development: design, construction, the leadership of sales, operations, and finance teams. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from S. Illinois University and resides in the Philadelphia, PA metro region. | |
David Tze, CEO, NovoNutrients: In 2017, David became CEO of NovoNutrients. He invested in it, pivoted it, and led it through the IndieBio accelerator. NovoNutrients transforms CO2 emissions into food and feed alternative protein ingredients, through natural microbes and industrial biotech. Since 2004, David has launched and managed the Aquacopia fund, a five-company, seed-stage portfolio focused on aquaculture and nutrition. The companies ranged from a protein ingredient manufacturer to a distributor and marketer of sustainable seafood. The fund also led investments into Open Blue, InnovaSea, and Futuna. Including a prior start-up that David co-founded, those six companies raised $250 million. That prior start-up, an online industrial marketplace called NetworkOil and then Network International, was acquired by Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT). David’s career had started in “web 1.0”, doing general management, entrepreneurial corporate development, and consultative business development, after an economics A.B. from Princeton. | |
Peter Williams, Ph.D., Senior Nutritionist, Green Plains and Fluid Quip Technologies: Professor Peter Williams is senior Nutritionist with Green Plains and Fluid Quip Processing Technologies. With experience in animal nutrition in both academia and commerce he is past president of the British Society of Animal Science and Emeritus Professor at the University of Nottingham Trent. Ex R&D Director of a leading international feed additive livestock nutrition-company, he is now CEO of AG_Bio Ltd an animal nutrition consultancy, consulting in Agri Business and Science. Peter currently leads several current, high profile R&D projects focusing on alternative proteins for feed and food including a novel grain high protein product from the bioethanol industry. | |
Session #4: Algae & Seed Oils in Aquafeeds | |
Pablo Berner, Aquaculture Lead, Nuseed: Pablo’s extensive knowledge of salmon farming in Chile and Norway supports his role educating farmers and production companies about Aquaterra®. His passion for fish welfare and improving ocean environments inspires his work. Pablo holds degrees in aquaculture engineering, including an MSC in Aquaculture: Intensive Fish Farming from the Agricultural University of Norway. | |
David Hazlebeck, Ph.D., CEO, Global Algae Innovations: Dr. David Hazlebeck founded Global Algae Innovations in 2013 to develop algae solutions for global dilemmas. The unparalleled economic and environmental benefits of algae will solve the most challenging issues of our time. Global Algae has developed a suite of radical advances in open pond algae growth and down-stream processing for commercially- viable and sustainable production of oil and protein meal. Through these innovations, cost-competitive algal food, feed and biofuel solutions are now within reach. In 2017, Dr. Hazlebeck founded Global Algae Equipment with a pipeline of algae processing and analytical equipment under development to bring novel technologies to the algae and aquaculture industries. Global Algae Equipment is manufacturing and selling its first product, the Zobi Harvester®, which is a revolutionary algae harvesting and dewatering technology. Dr. Hazlebeck received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California San Diego. He completed the Executive Program for Scientists and Engineers at the University of California San Diego. He has over 30 years of experience in chemical and biological research and development from laboratory through piloting and commercial operation. Prior to founding Global Algae Innovations, he led the biofuels and algae products program at General Atomics, including a collaboration with 28 other organizations to develop algae for biofuels that culminated in the design and operation of a large-scale, advanced algae production facility. | |
Karim Kurmaly, Ph.D. CEO, Veramaris: Karim has been CEO of Veramaris since it was established in 2018. He’s a marine scientist with a PhD from the University of Wales in Bangor. Prior to Veramaris he spent 16 years working for parent company DSM where his last role was VP, Animal Nutrition & Health, Asia Pacific and India. He has been instrumental in overseeing the development of the business from concept to reality. His collaborative approach to business makes him an advocate of the value chain business model which means Veramaris shares knowledge and information with all stakeholders including retailers, farmers, millers and consumers. | |
Ruud Peerbooms, President of Algae Ingredients, Corbion: Ruud Peerbooms is President of Algae Ingredients and a member of the Executive Committee at Corbion. Mr. Peerbooms has spent most of his career in commercial roles in specialty Food Ingredients. After an initial start in the pharmaceutical division of Akzo Nobel, he joined Unilever to develop a nutraceutical business in Europe and Asia. After that, he held various commercial leadership positions in food ingredients which led to his role at Corbion as Senior Vice President Food in 2014. Next to his role at Corbion, he applies his passion for science and technology in his role as Chairman of Ingredients for Food Innovators. IFFI is a Dutch business network of producers of food ingredients that stretches members’ perspectives and business boundaries to be purposeful in creating healthy, sustainable and affordable foods. Mr. Peerbooms holds a Master of Science degree from Nyenrode Business University in Breukelen, the Netherlands. | |
Session #5: Emerging Trends with Alternative Feeds for Salmonids | |
Bill Cramer, President, Star Milling: Bill Cramer is a third generation farmer and feed manufacturer, following his father and grandfather in the commercial production of chickens, eggs and animal feeds. Cramer graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1975 with a B.A degree in Economics and Accounting. Following graduation he operated his own farms for the production of replacement pullets and table eggs, later joining his father at Star Milling Co. in 1985. Through the purchase of the stock of his father’s partner and later his father’s stock, Cramer is the sole owner of Star Milling Co. Cramer has been married to his wife Janet for 44 years with two grown children and four grandchildren. His son Paul is now the fourth generation in the family business. | |
Vegard Denstadli, Ph.D., Technical Director from the Salmon Division, BioMar Norway: Vegard Denstadli is the Technical Director in Norway within the Salmon Division of BioMar Group, a Danish global feed company that produces aquaculture feeds for 45 different fish and shrimp species for more than 80 countries. Vegard holds a PhD in Fish Nutrition from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and spent a decade in research before starting his commercial career in BioMar in the Global R&D team and now with the technical team. He has been involved with the transformation of salmon feeds with the adoption of breakthrough innovations including creating the first feeds with micro-algae as a substitute to marine resources. BioMar continues this innovation journey and is again set to revolutionise the sector with the next generation of sustainable aqua feeds. | |
Lindsay Pollock, Ph.D., Sustainability Manager for Cargill Aqua Nutrition, North Sea; Cargill: Lindsay Pollock has worked in the aquafeed sector since 2007 and has held the role of Sustainability Manager for Cargill Aqua Nutrition, North Sea since 2019. At Cargill Aqua Nutrition she is closely engaged with salmon farming customers on a range of sustainability issues, including sustainable raw material sourcing, certification, LCA and driving reductions in the environmental impacts of salmon feed and farming. She is supporting delivery of Cargill Aqua Nutrition’s major new sustainability programme - SeaFurther™ Sustainability, which set the goal of reducing the environmental footprint of salmon farming by 30% by 2030. | |
Jesse Trushenski, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Riverence: Dr. Jesse Trushenski is a fisheries scientist with specific interests in conservation and commercial aquaculture. She is the Chief Science Officer and Vice President for Animal Welfare for Riverence, the largest producer of farmed Rainbow Trout and Steelhead in the Americas with operations based in Washington and Idaho. Riverence also produces premium Rainbow Trout genetics and is the only commercial supplier of Atlantic Salmon and Coho Salmon eggs located in the USA. Jesse manages Riverence’s R&D portfolio and provides executive-level science leadership across the company’s operations. In short, she is responsible for helping Riverence find better ways to put fish on the table—to produce a better fish, to raise it sustainably and ethically, and to put wholesome seafood within everyone’s reach. | |
Session #6: Emerging Trends in Alternative Feeds for Shrimp | |
Ardi Budiono, President Director, PT Suri Tani Pemuka (STP) Aquaculture Division of JAPFA Group: Ardi Budiono, President Director PT Suri Tani Pemuka (STP), Aquaculture Division of JAPFA Group: Ardi Budiono is President Director of STP, Aquaculture Division of JAPFA Group, one of the leading agri-food companies in Asia. Based in headquarters in Jakarta, Ardi has been with the JAPFA Group for over 20 years and has led the Aquaculture Division of JAPFA Group since 2017. Prior to leading the Aquaculture Division, Ardi served various positions from Operations Manager to Head of Feed for JAPFA India. He now plays a significant role in leading the Aquaculture Division and is responsible for the company’s increasing development and expansion efforts, emerging markets both domestically and internationally. Ardi studied Business in Melbourne, Australia. | |
Erwin Suwendi, Head of Nutrition and Feed Technology, PT Suri Tani, Pemuka (STP), Aquaculture Division of JAPFA Group: Erwin Suwendi is Head of Nutrition and Feed Technology at Aquaculture Division of JAPFA Group, one of the leading agri-food companies in Asia. Based in HQ-Jakarta, he currently leads nutrition-formulation working on major freshwater fish, marine fish and shrimp. He also leads quality control and lab/NIRS to ensure every single process in the feed mill is in accordance with company operating procedure. He is also in charge of research development-innovation for reinventing cost-effective nutrient balanced diets as well as minimizing waste output of aquaculture operations. Erwin graduated with a BSc in Aquaculture from Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia. He completed his MSc in Nutritional Biochemistry from Hokkaido University, Japan in 2011 where his work primarily focused on the impact of food components on gastrointestinal health. He further advanced to satisfactorily complete “The Advanced Aquaculture Nutrition Training Program” with the UG/OMNR FNRL, University of Guelph, Canada in 2012. He did his PhD study at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany focusing on amino acids requirements and utilization at different weight classes of common carp and Nile tilapia. | |
Jennifer Kuo, Chief Technology Development & Sustainability Officer, Grobest Group: Jennifer joined Grobest in 1992, where she held various positions, including: General Manager of Animal Health Business Group, General Manager of Animal Health Research Institute, General Manager of Fuzhou Omnipro Industrial Co. Ltd, Vice President of Business Development & Planning, Vice President of Administrative Management, Director of Project Management, Special Assistant of Group Executive Director to assist business management, Supervisor of Aquaculture Research Center, and Supervisor of Quality Assurance Department. She was also appointed project manager to key projects and the leader of the Ingredient Development team. Ms. Kuo holds a master’s and a bachelor’s degrees from the Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University and has a broad experience in the aquaculture industry. She has also earned a professional certificate in Corporate Sustainability Management. | |
Robins McIntosh, Executive Vice President, Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company: Mr. McIntosh joined C.P. Foods PCL. (CPF) since December 2001 with the responsibility of revitalizing the CPF’s shrimp culture activities through introduction of sustainable and environmentally sound technologies to the company and Thailand. Mr. McIntosh has been associated with international shrimp farming and technology development since 1978, having worked in Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, Myanmar, India, Philippines and Thailand. He is most often associated with the development of domesticated high health shrimp, and the development of closed system, zero water exchange shrimp culture systems. Currently he is involved in finding solutions to the shrimp EMS crisis in Asia. | |
Ewen McLean, Ph.D., Consultant, Aqua Cognoscenti and F3: Dr. Ewen McLean has over 30 years’ experience in aquaculture and fisheries. He has held positions as Research Leader, Department Chair, and Program Professor and has mentored over 40 graduate students. With over 200 publications, he has focused attention on issues surrounding aquaculture sustainability. He has contributed to the authoring of national and international guidelines on environmental monitoring for aquaculture and has co-organized several regional, national and international symposia. Ewen has held positions on various company boards, providing guidance with research and development and has consulted for international development agencies, government and non-government organizations. | |
Loc Tran, Ph.D., Founder and Director, Minh Phu AquaMekong Co., Ltd.: Dr. Loc Tran is the founder and director of ShrimpVet Laboratory in Vietnam. He leads a team of more than 70 researchers in shrimp health management, focusing on genetics, breed, seed production, diagnostics and disease management, and farm techniques and management. He received his Ph.D. in Aquaculture Pathology from the University of Arizona, where he studied under Dr. Kevin Fitzsimmons and Dr. Donald Lightner, the two renowned aquaculture experts. While working as a research assistant at the University of Arizona, Dr. Loc was instrumental in the identification of EMS and development of diagnostic tools used for on farm management. The ShrimpVet lab provides diagnostics and research services across the shrimp production value chain including genetics, seed production, nursery, grow out, nutrition, disease control etc. It becomes a hub for laboratory testing, applied science, and public education for sustainable aquaculture. | |
Alexandre Veille, Shrimp Nutritionist, Gold Coin Group Inc.: To complete a double MSc in International Agro-development in ISTOM and in tropical animal nutrition in Montpellier SupAgro (France), I have worked with IFREMER and the French Polynesian Sea Estate division to develop the Platax orbicularis (moon fish) and Litopenaeus stylirostris nutrition and market requirements. Thanks to this experience I have learned to work within the complexity of interaction between the government, the private sector and researchers. I also have developed a strong interest in sustainable solutions created to answer field needs. After 5 years working with a French leader in seaweed based solutions for sustainable aquaculture production, I have integrated Gold Coin, a pioneer in manufacturing scientifically-balanced animal feed and animal nutrition in Asia, as their Global Shrimp nutritionist. With a great team, I have now the responsibility to formulate efficient and yet sustainable shrimp feeds. | |
Session #7: Emerging Trends in Alternative Feeds for Carnivorous Fish | |
Ewen McLean, Ph.D., Consultant, Aqua Cognoscenti and F3: Dr. Ewen McLean has over 30 years’ experience in aquaculture and fisheries. He has held positions as Research Leader, Department Chair, and Program Professor and has mentored over 40 graduate students. With over 200 publications, he has focused attention on issues surrounding aquaculture sustainability. He has contributed to the authoring of national and international guidelines on environmental monitoring for aquaculture and has co-organized several regional, national and international symposia. Ewen has held positions on various company boards, providing guidance with research and development and has consulted for international development agencies, government and non-government organizations. | |
Caird Rexroad, Ph.D., National Program Leader for Aquaculture, USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Dr. Rexroad serves as the ARS National Program Leader for Aquaculture, leading the National Program whose mission is to conduct research and deliver technologies that improve domestic aquaculture production efficiency and product quality while minimizing impacts on natural resources. The portfolio includes 65 scientists conducting research on freshwater and marine species of fish and shellfish by applying state of the art approaches in genetics, genomics, physiology, nutrition, fish health, product quality and aquatic engineering to improve genetic stocks and develop scientific information on biotechnologies and management practices that ensure a high quality, safe supply of healthful seafood. | |
Marty Riche, Ph.D., Research Professor, Florida Atlantic University - Harbor Branch Oceanographic Research Institute: Dr. Riche has more than 30 years national and international aquaculture experience in the private, public, and academic sectors. He served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer training host Nationals at the National Fingerling Production Center in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Since 2016 he has served as a Director for the USA Aquaculture without Frontiers where he continues directing development activities in Africa. He is currently a Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University stationed at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Research Institute campus in Fort Pierce, Florida. He is one of the principal investigators in a collaborative project with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service investigating larval and post-larval fish nutrition to ensure a steady supply of warm water marine finfish seedstock to the U.S. marine aquaculture industry. | |
Paul Wills, Ph.D. Research Professor and Associate Director for Research, Florida Atlantic University - Harbor Branch Oceanographic Research Institute: Paul S. Wills received his B.S. degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1987. He completed his M.S and Ph.D. at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1991 and 1998 respectively. After finishing his postdoc appointment at SIU studying methods for the production of all-female trophy muskellunge, he took a job with private industry operating a large fish farm that specializes in freshwater sportfish fingerling production for inland fisheries management. Dr. Wills joined HBOI-FAU in 2006, where he is now a Research Professor and the Associate Director for Research. His primary areas of research include fish production, new species development, and land-based aquaculture system design. He has worked on aquaculture of a large number of species during his career, including many species of marine and freshwater food fish and sportfish, and even crawfish. He has authored or co-authored 59 articles (peer-reviewed, proceedings and industry press), 99 conference presentations, 11 conference posters, and so far has one patent with other patents pending. | |
Neil Sims, Founder and CEO, Ocean Era: Neil is trained as a marine biologist (M.Sc.) and has worked for government aquaculture development in the South Pacific, and provided consulting services throughout the Pacific Islands and South-East Asia. Neil has led pioneering teams in offshore farming, pearl oyster culture and marine fish hatchery technology, and founded commercial offshore farms for marine fish in Hawaii and Mexico. He led the Velella project teams, running an offshore ‘drifter pen’, and an unmanned offshore operation, along with teams studying the gut microbiome of marine herbivorous fish as a model for macroalgae biodigestion. | |
Alex Tsappis, U.S. Aquaculture Business Manager, Alltech: Alex has an MBA from the Cyprus International Institute of Management and worked for 12 years in animal feed manufacturing in Cyprus. In August 2012, he joined Alltech Algae to assist the production and application of algae to nutritional products for all species. In 2013, Alex helped to commission and run the extrusion pilot facility in Winchester, KY focusing on aquatic diets and new product development. In 2018, he took on the position of U.S. Aquaculture Business Manager to develop and grow the aqua sector in North America. Today, Alltech is in a position to fully support aquaculture customers in North America with nutritional support within their partner feeds or through feeds that they supply directly to customers utilizing their Ridley/Hubbard group and feed partners throughout North America. | |
Boyd Way, Foreign Trade Manager, Dainichi Corporation: My name is Boyd Way. I joined the Dainichi Corporation, a Japanese feed company, almost 30 years ago after being overwhelmed by the pristine local environment that supports Japan’s major mandarin orange, pearl oyster, and fish farming industries. At that time moist pellets and frozen blocks of fish were the main types of feed and extruded pellets were a cutting-edge product. That changed some 25 years ago when my boss got tired and sat down at the EWOS booth at AquaNor! Since then, as our company’s foreign trade manager I have been responsible for importing feed, raw materials, aquaculture equipment and exporting locally grown farmed fish. | |
Session #8: F3: A Perspective from China | |
Moderator: Dan Luo, Editor of FishFirst and Senior Media Expert: Ms. Dan Luo has been focusing on aquaculture nutrition and aquafeed development for more than 13 years. She organized many famous aquafeed related events such as electing the ten founders of China's aquatic nutrition and feed, and the top ten aquafeed enterprises with the greatest growth potential in China. 罗丹，水产前沿主编，资深媒体人 罗丹女士从事水产营养和饲料开发的媒体宣传工作已有13余载。曾组织了许多与水产饲料有关的品牌活动，例如选举中国水产营养与饲料十大创始人、中国最具潜力的十大水产饲料企业等。 | |
Lei Wang, Ph.D., Technical Director, Qingdao Master Biotech Co., Ltd.: Lei Wang graduated from Ocean University of China, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Nutrition and Feed, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. He is mainly engaged in aquatic animal nutrition and bio-feed research. In recent years, he has developed full-valued soft pellet fermented feed technology, which has opened up a new category of aquatic feed, solved a series of problems from laboratory, to production plant, to end-use, and successfully realized the industrialized production of this kind of feed. 王磊，毕业于中国海洋大学，农业农村部水产动物营养与饲料重点实验室。主要从事水产动物营养及生物饲料研究。近年来开发了全价软颗粒发酵饲料技术，开辟了一个全新的水产饲料品类，解决了从实验室、到生产工厂、到终端应用的一系列问题，成功实现了该种饲料的产业化生产。 | |
Daojun Li, General Manager, Beijing Sino-Norway Joint Aquatic Science and Technology Co., Ltd.: Daojun Li is the General Manager of Beijing Sino-Norway Joint Aquatic Science and Technology co., LTD. He has ten years of experience in feed quality management and seven years of practice in aquatic feed formula operation. He is committed to the implementation and promotion of “3A feeds” and “worry-free system.” 李道君，北京新路联合水产科技有限公司总经理。在上市集团公司十年饲料品质管理经验，七年水产饲料配方操作实践，致力于3A饲料无忧体系落地推广。 | |
Xu Yang, Ph.D., R&D Manager, Shanghai Yuanyao Agricultural Co., Ltd.: Xu Yang graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2015 with a PhD in microbiology. His main research interests include functional microorganism research and development and industrial application. He has published extensively on probiotics in well-known international SCI journals in the field of microbial probiotics, and holds several patents on microbial probiotic inventions. 杨旭，2015年毕业于上海交通大学微生物学专业，获博士学位，主要研究方向为功能性微生物研发及产业化应用，在微生物益生菌领域知名国际SCI期刊发表多篇关于益生菌研究论文，拥有多项微生物益生菌发明专利，参与国家重点科技项目1项、上海市重点科技项目2项。 | |
Fan Yang, Fubon Aquatic Business Technical Director, Angel Yeast Co., Ltd.: Fan Yang is a senior technical engineer of aquatic animal nutrition at Angel Yeast Company. He holds a master’s degree in aquatic nutrition and feed science from Huazhong Agricultural University. He has engaged in product development and application research of yeast-derived bio-feed in the aquatic field, and has published more than ten technical articles in various core journals and professional media, and obtained two national patents. 杨凡，安琪酵母股份有限公司水产动物营养领域高级技术工程师，华中农业大硕士研究生，水产营养与饲料学专业，从事酵母源生物饲料在水产领域的产品开发与应用研究工作，从业近10年，在酵母源生物饲料的关键生产工艺、核心技术指标及在多品类水产动物上的综合应用方案取得重要突破，在各类核心刊物和专业媒体发表技术类文章十余篇，获得国家专利2项。 | |
Wentao Fan, Manager of Aquatic Division, Lucta (Guangzhou) Flavours Co., Ltd.: Wentao Fan holds a Master’s degree from Shanghai Ocean University, China. He currently serves as a manager of the Aquatic Division in Lucta Company. 范文涛，上海海洋大学硕士，水产事业部经理 范文涛拥有中国上海海洋大学的硕士学位，目前在乐达公司担任水产事业部经理。 | |
Cong Liu, Ph.D., Technical Director, New Hope Liuhe Co., Ltd.: Dr. Liu Cong graduated from Ocean University of China, majoring in Aquatic Animal Nutrition. He currently serves as the technical director of Special Aquatic Feed for high value species in the Feed Research Institute under New Hope Liuhe Company. He was the technical director of Tongwei premix, the deputy director of Sichuan Aquatic Engineering Technology Research Center and the technical director of Chengdu Tongwei Animal Nutrition Technology Company (Tongwei premix), and the director of the original broodstock farm of Tongwei company. 刘匆，中国海洋大学水产动物营养学博士，新希望六和饲料研究院特种水产饲料技术负责人，曾担任通威预混料技术总监，四川省水产工程技术研究中心副主任兼成都通威动物营养科技公司（通威预混料）技术总监，通威股份原种场场长。 | |
Session #9: Aquafeed Investors: Funding the Future of Food | |
Georg Baunach, Managing Partner & Co-founder, HATCH: Georg Baunach is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Hatch where he is in charge of all investment related activities and Hatch strategy. He also founded Plastic Fischer, which deploys a simple and innovative technology to collect plastic in Asian rivers. Georg is a molecular biotechnologist with a background in synthetic biology and biofuels research experience from Harvard Medical School. In parallel to his studies he worked on the development of insect and algae-based products. He also founded a renewable energy company in Ghana in 2015. Georg holds a Masters in Management from London Business School. | |
Xiao Chen, Senior Agricultural Analyst, Tianfeng Securities: Xiao Chen, Senior Agricultural Analyst of Tianfeng Securities., specializes in aquaculture industry chain, livestock and poultry industry chain research and secondary market investment analysis. | |
Kate Danaher, Managing Director - Oceans and Seafood, S2G Ventures: Kate Danaher is Managing Director of S2G Ventures Ocean and Seafood. Kate has worked at the intersection of impact investing and sustainable food and agriculture for over eight years. Kate specializes in structuring capital, facilitating syndications and providing resources to enable businesses to scale while preserving their mission. Prior to S2G Ventures, Kate was the Chief Lending Officer at RSF Social Finance, where she oversaw the capital deployment strategy to evaluate products, investment sectors, and growth objectives in alignment with the organization’s strategic plan. She has specialization in the US food system, fair trade supply chains, and consumer-facing brands. | |
Alex Kopelyan, Senior Director, IndieBio (SOSV): Alex is a Partner and Senior Director at IndieBio, funding startups solving for human and planetary health. He holds a PharmD and has a background across clinical, global health, and startups prior to joining IndieBio. | |
Matt Mulrennan, CEO, EnVest: Matt Mulrennan is the CEO of EnVest – an environmental investing membership organization. EnVest matches up leading environmental investors with the most compelling environmental entrepreneurs. Formerly Matt was a Director at the XPRIZE Foundation working on prizes for technologies that solve ocean and environmental grand challenges. He also worked as a marine scientist at ocean conservation group Oceana, as a lab researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, marketing for a residential energy efficiency software tool, and as an advocate on congressional and environmental campaigns. He is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs, innovations, and investors working to preserve the environment. | |
Lisa Rich, Founder/Managing Partner, Hemisphere Ventures: Lisa Rich is a successful serial entrepreneur, investor, strategist and communicator. She is founder and Managing Partner of Hemisphere Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm focused on frontier tech: synthetic biology, robotics, drones and space. Hemisphere has invested in 200+ U.S. companies since 2014. In addition to Hemisphere Ventures, Ms. Rich is founder of Xplore, a commercial space exploration company focused on expanding knowledge of our solar system via commercial space exploration to the Moon, Mars, Venus, LaGrange points and near-Earth asteroids. She serves on the Board of Patrons of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, has provided testimony to advance commercialization for the space industry, and in 2019 spoke at space industry events hosted by the U.S. State Department, NewSpace, The Center for Space Commerce and Finance and TechStars. A member/supporter of the Planetary Society, B612 and The Keck Foundation, Lisa holds a B.S. in English from Loyola University Chicago, a master’s degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, and is proficient in French and Italian. | |
Mike Velings, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Aqua-Spark: A lifelong entrepreneur, Mike has spent decades jumpstarting a range of successful businesses. Among other ventures, he co-founded Connexie, which has helped catalyze a professional employment industry across the Netherlands. In addition, as a very active investor, he has helped build tens of different companies in a vast array of sectors, from software to fintech to organic farming. He believes in the potential for business to create durable solutions to complex world problems. In 2011 he started dreaming up a way to transform the aquaculture industry through the right type of investment and in 2014 Mike officially launched Aqua-Spark, the first fund dedicated to sustainable aquaculture. With Aqua-Spark Mike sits on the Boards of Calysta, Proteon, Protix, Sogn Aqua, Hatch Blue and Fisher Piscultura, where his focus is growth, strategy, and furthering sustainability. | |
Session #10: Feeding Big Appetites: How Biology is Helping Ocean Conservation and Solving Aquaculture’s Biggest Problem | |
Moderator for Session #10: Christopher Oakes, Head of Strategic Partnerships in Agriculture, Deep Science Ventures: Chris holds a B.A. and M.A. in Marine Biology from Occidental College in Los Angeles and has dedicated his career to developing regenerative ocean technologies using biotechnology. Before joining DSV Chris was the Vice President of Product and Market Development at NovoNutrients, where his role focused on interfacing with potential customers and their novel aquafeed ingredient needs and translating that into product development roadmaps. He has worked on ocean systems more broadly and has wide-ranging and applied understanding of synthetic biology. Chris also is a Board Member at the non-profit MARE, where he contributes to fisheries and Marine Protected Area management efforts in California. | |
Sudeep Agarwala, Ph.D., Associate Communications Director and Biological Engineer, Ginkgo Bioworks: Dr. Sudeep Agarwala is a synthetic biologist at Ginkgo Bioworks. He holds a PhD in biology from MIT, specializing in yeast biology and genetics. He has previously worked on microbial engineering for protein production in food systems, as well as production of different fragrances, flavors, and proteins to address issues around resource limitation and climate change. More recently, Sudeep’s work has expanded to encompass challenges around scientific communication about synthetic biology with people internal and external to Ginkgo. He engages audiences, both technical to non-technical, in conversations about responsible and well-intentioned applications of synthetic biology. | |
Katrina Benedicto, Sustainability & Communications Director – Nuseed Nutritional, Nuseed: Katrina Benedicto is the Sustainability and Communications Director for Nuseed Nutritional, where she leads brand development and marketing for Aquaterra® and Nutriterra®. Katrina is also establishing the team’s sustainability program, spearheading certifications, partnerships, and progress reporting. Katrina was drawn to Nuseed’s global leadership in progressive agriculture, applying biotechnology to solve environmental challenges. She is excited to bring Omega-3 Canola to new markets in aquaculture and human nutrition. Katrina earned her degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz where she studied literature and sustainable food systems. She lives in Northern California, spending her free time adventuring outdoors. | |
Larry Feinberg, Ph.D., CEO, KnipBio: Larry is an entrepreneurial industrial biotechnologist and the CEO and co-founder of KnipBio. He has expertise in early-stage technology ventures, bio-product discovery and large-scale commercialization initiatives. With the advanced biofuel technology firm Mascoma Corporation, Larry held leadership responsibilities in scientific discovery and business development roles. Spearheading the Organism Discovery group, Larry oversaw bioprospecting and strain development duties. Leading the New Business Opportunities team, he was responsible for multiple commercial candidates including the development of the cellulosic ethanol biorefinery initiative in Alberta, Canada which he directed from concept through advanced engineering. In total, Larry co-authored and received greater than $80MM of Canadian government investment through three separate awards. Larry’s technical training occurred at the University of Massachusetts where he obtained his PhD through his studies of the biogeochemistry, physiology and genetics of hyperthermophile microbes living in extreme environments. Some of the ecologies he has sampled include approximately 20 different hot springs, landfills, agricultural compost piles and industrial facilities. Prior to his graduate training, Larry ran a small family business for 5 years and was a high school teacher before that. | |
Karim Kurmaly, Ph.D., CEO, Veramaris: Karim has been CEO of Veramaris since it was established in 2018. He’s a marine scientist with a PhD from the University of Wales in Bangor. Prior to Veramaris he spent 16 years working for parent company DSM where his last role was VP, Animal Nutrition & Health, Asia Pacific and India. He has been instrumental in overseeing the development of the business from concept to reality. His collaborative approach to business makes him an advocate of the value chain business model which means Veramaris shares knowledge and information with all stakeholders including retailers, farmers, millers and consumers. | |
Suresh M. Menon, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Menon Renewable Products, Inc.: Dr. Suresh Menon founded Menon Renewable Products, Inc., to stop the use of antibiotics in animal feeds, save our planet from waste practices impacting natural resources, and promote health for humans and animals. He has dedicated his life to innovation and philanthropic activities that improve food sustainability, preservation of endangered species, and enhance human nutrition. With more than 100 patents and trademarks, Dr. Menon succeeded in creating ground-breaking technologies with a recognized brand making the world safer, cleaner, and more sustainable. Creation of these technologies have resulted in capturing more than 30 markets for various products that he created. | |
Kedar Patel, Ph.D., Senior VP of Biology, NovoNutrients: Kedar Patel is the Senior VP of Biology at NovoNutrients, responsible for developing the foundational molecular biology and microbiology capabilities and for creating and characterizing the core production cell lines. Prior to joining NovoNutrients, Kedar recruited and led a large team of scientists and engineers at Zymergen to create and operate their high-throughput platform for DNA assembly and microbe engineering in a broad range of industrially relevant organisms (bacteria, yeasts, filamentous fungi). Prior to that, he helped establish the Automated Strain Engineering pipeline for high-throughput engineering of yeasts at Amyris. | |
Session #11: Meet the F3 Challenge Competitors | |
Bill Cramer, President, Star Milling: Bill Cramer is a third generation farmer and feed manufacturer, following his father and grandfather in the commercial production of chickens, eggs and animal feeds. Cramer graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1975 with a B.A degree in Economics and Accounting. Following graduation he operated his own farms for the production of replacement pullets and table eggs, later joining his father at Star Milling Co. in 1985. Through the purchase of the stock of his father’s partner and later his father’s stock, Cramer is the sole owner of Star Milling Co. Cramer has been married to his wife Janet for 44 years with two grown children and four grandchildren. His son Paul is now the fourth generation in the family business. | |
Zhijun Hu, CEO, Jiangsu Fuhai Biotech Co., Ltd.: Zhijun Hu, founder and CEO of Fuhai Biotech Co., Ltd, has been deeply involved in the animal nutrition and feed industry for more than 20 years. He received his Master's degree in animal nutrition from Zhejiang University, worked for Roche Vitamins, and then started his business in Shanghai in 2001. He is a member of SFMCA (Stock Feed Manufacturers Council of Australia) and CFIA (China Feed Industry Association). He and his team are committed to provide healthier and more sustainable nutrition for people’s lives. | |
Pablo Intriago, Ph.D., Feed and Pond Production Advisor, Empagran: Pablo is an accomplished Aquaculture Scientist with experience in research and operations, and a specialty in shrimp and fish nutrition and rearing. He is the owner of South Florida Farming Corp., an aquaculture and environmental consulting company. At Empagran, Pablo has designed and implemented the successful operation of 200 hectares of intensive shrimp farming greenhouses in Ecuador. | |
Felipe Mayol, Commercial Manager, Food for the Future (F4F): Felipe has been the Commercial Manager for F4f since 2019. Before that he worked in the F&B industry, Nestle and the Salmon Industry, leading sales teams and RD areas. He is a father of 3 children, living in the South of Chile, and a fan of horses, sports and wildlife. He is convinced that the future goes hand in hand with Circular Economy business models, capable of Regenerating environments in order to establish Nature’s normal path. | |
Simon Sanguin, Global Team Leader R&D Aqua, De Heus LLC: I’m currently working for De Heus LLC as Global R&D Team Leader for Aqua. I have lived and worked in Vietnam and across Asia since I graduated MSc in Aquaculture in 2014. I had the chance to see different markets across Asia and understand how diverse fish and shrimp farming can be in this region. I have a big passion for Aqua and I want to help our customers the best I can to solve the challenges they are facing everyday. My goal is to help them to grow healthy animals in the most sustainable way. | |
Boyd Way, Foreign Trade Manager, Dainichi Corporation: My name is Boyd Way. I joined the Dainichi Corporation, a Japanese feed company, almost 30 years ago after being overwhelmed by the pristine local environment that supports Japan’s major mandarin orange, pearl oyster, and fish farming industries. At that time moist pellets and frozen blocks of fish were the main types of feed and extruded pellets were a cutting-edge product. That changed some 25 years ago when my boss got tired and sat down at the EWOS booth at AquaNor! Since then, as our company’s foreign trade manager I have been responsible for importing feed, raw materials, aquaculture equipment and exporting locally grown farmed fish. | |
Session #12: Synthetic Biology: Customizing Nutrients for Aquafeeds | |
Anthony Dellinger, Ph.D., President and Founding Member, Kepley BioSystems, Inc.: A nanoscientist, entrepreneur and inventor, Dr. Dellinger has had an esteemed career that includes leadership positions in enterprise, instructional positions in academia, and led multiple grant programs funded by the federal government. Prior to forming KBI in 2014, he graduated from the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN) earning a PhD in Nanoscience. In 2015, he was named the inaugural Entrepreneur of the Year for 2015 at his alma mater. Dellinger is dedicated to improving public, societal, ecological, and economic outcomes through research, inventorship and enterprise. He has led multiple National Science Foundation SBIR grants and applied his academic publishing philosophy to enterprise development. Dellinger holds three patents and has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications across scientific disciplines. In previous work, he helped develop a sustainable solution for the fishing industry using chemoattractant molecules to replace forage fish. More recently his team has focused on creating an aquaculture and nutritional framework for husbandry of the Atlantic horseshoe crabs. Dellinger is a board member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group and has served as a special topic’s editor for Frontiers Journal of Marine Science and JoVE for emerging and sustainable oceanic research. In 2020, Dellinger was selected as a TEDx speaker and presented his company’s horseshoe crab research, future vision, and philosophies. Outside of industry, Anthony holds an Adjunct Professorship at the JSNN and is dedicated to bolstering academia-industry partnerships and shaping future STEM entrepreneurs’ through scholarship and invention. | |
Thomas Farrugia, Ph.D., CEO, Beta Bugs: Thomas founded Beta Bugs after spotting the opportunity for improved genetics in the rapidly developing insect farming industry. This led to establishing an industry-first nucleus population and selective breeding programme for Black Soldier Fly adjacent to The Roslin Institute, world leader in animal genetics. Thomas believes that for the insect industry to reach its full potential, it will need to specialize and horizontally segment. Beta Bugs and genetics form part of this supply chain, supplying quality, genetically improved livestock that are used by insect farmers. | |
Yisheng Wu, Ph.D., Senior Director, Conagen: Dr. Wu manages the flavor, fragrance and cosmetics ingredients portfolios at Conagen and leads R&D in strain engineering as well as commercialization of ingredients involving legal, regulatory, pilot plant, marketing, and manufacturing teams. Dr. Wu has been with Conagen since 2013 and has filled multiple roles during her time with the company. She obtained a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Iowa State University in 2012. | |
Session #13: Large Feed Company Progress on Fish-Free Feeds | |
Yuchi Chen, Vice President, Guangdong Evergreen Conglomerate Co., Ltd.: Yuchi Chen was born in Zhanjiang, the southern city in China which boasts the richest aquatic resources in China. He grew up in China and studied in America and Britain during his youth. After graduation, he returned to his hometown Zhanjiang in 2014 and started his aquatic career in Evergreen Group which was founded in 1991 by his family. | |
Dave Robb, Ph.D., Program Lead, SeaFurther™ Sustainability, Cargill Aqua Nutrition Business, Cargill: Dave Robb is the Program Lead for SeaFurther™, the signature sustainability initiative of Cargill Aqua Nutrition. With over 20 years’ experience in aqua feeds business, his experience spans across a broad range of issues, from supply chains and feed production, to how feeds can enable more sustainable farming. SeaFurther focuses on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with our customers’ farming activities, also supporting development across a broad range of other topics related to sustainability. Robb also works on fishery improvement programs to develop more sustainable marine ingredients and with broad supply chains to advance aqua nutrition with greater systemic resilience. | |
Jose Villalon, Corporate Sustainability Director, Nutreco: Jose Villalon is Corporate Sustainability Director at Nutreco, based in The Netherlands. Born in Cuba and raised in the USA, Jose received his Master of Science degree at the University of Washington. He was a commercial shrimp farmer for 27-years in the Virgin Islands, Ecuador and Mexico. He then joined the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US) and led its’ Aquaculture Program for six years. During that time, Jose managed the creation of environmental/social industry standards through the Aquaculture Dialogues. Along with WWF and IDH, they co-founded the independent Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). For the last nine years he has led Nutreco’s global sustainability strategy. | |
Kyla Zatti, Ph.D., Scientist - Nutrition Formulation R&D, BioMar: Kyla Zatti is a Scientist leading the Sustainable Nutrition and Raw Material pipeline within BioMar’s R&D department. BioMar is a Danish global feed company that produces aquaculture feeds for more than 45 different fish and shrimp species in more than 90 countries. Kyla holds a Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada where she specialized in aquaculture. She has spent 15 years working in aquaculture research with six of those being within the industry. She has been involved with the transformation of salmon feeds with the adoption of breakthrough innovations including creating the first feeds with micro-algae as a substitute for marine resources. BioMar continues this innovation journey with its recent launch of Blue Impact feeds that reduce the carbon footprint and forage-fish-dependency-ratio while increasing the use of restorative and circular ingredients. But the story is not over as Kyla and the R&D team continue with research projects to push the minimum impact boundaries even further. | |
