Dr Andrew Mwihia Karanja

Dr. Karanja has over 36 years’ experience in the public sector both locally and internationally in the fields of development economics, rural development and finance, agriculture and livestock development, and project formulation, management, and evaluation. He started his career as an extension officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. He also worked as a Planning Officer in the same ministry. Later he joined Coffee Research Foundation (CRF) as a Research Officer/Agricultural Economist where he rose to Senior Agricultural Economist and Head of Economics Department.

Dr. Karanja joined the World Bank in 2003, as an Agricultural Economist.

Rose Mwebaza, Ph.D.

Rose Mwebaza previously served as the Director and Advisory Board Secretary of the United Nations Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN), the implementation arm of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Technology Mechanism.

Rose was a lecturer at Makerere University between 1997 and 2008 where she also served as the Head of Department for Commercial Law, and Deputy Dean of the Law School. She then served as the Regional Policy Adviser for Eastern and Southern Africa on Climate Change in the Environment and Energy Group, at the United Nations Development Programme Bureau for Development Policy in Johannesburg, South Africa. She later served as Programme Manager for UNDP’s regional office for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she was also designated as Advisor to the Chairperson of the African Union and Advisor to the Committee of Heads of State and Government on Climate Change. Rose then joined the banking sector and served as Chief Natural Resources Officer at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Rose holds a Ph.D. in Environment and Natural Resource Governance from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; a master’s degree in international Comparative Law (With a Certificate of Academic Excellence) from the University of Florida, U.S.A, and a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL. B, Hons.) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. She is a Carl Duisburg Research fellow at the World Conservation Union (IUCN), a member of the UN Master Minds, a Member of the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers in Africa, and a founding member of the Network for African Women Environmentalists.

Ertharin Cousin

Ertharin Cousin is a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs; a Bosch Academy, Robert Weizsäcker Fellow; and a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford University, Center on Food Security and Environment. Cousin is currently a member of the Bayer AG Supervisory Board, the Mondelez International Board of Director, and a Trustee of the African agriculture think-tank Academia2063.

From 2012 until 2017, Cousin led the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). As Executive Director, Cousin guided the 14,000- member WFP team feeding more than 80 million people each year. In 2009, Cousin was nominated and confirmed as the US Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome. Prior to her global hunger work, Cousin helped lead the U.S. domestic fight to end hunger including service as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of America’s Second Harvest – now Feeding America.

Cousin is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago; the University of Georgia Law School and the University of Chicago Executive Management Program-Finance for Non-Financial Executives.

Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore

Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore has been working in European affairs for more than 20 years, with a focus on research and innovation policy, programme implementation and support to enterprises. Before joining the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU, the predecessor of CBE JU) as Head of the Administration and Finance Unit in 2016, he worked for the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency, where he was responsible for financial and legal support in the implementation of European research projects.

After two years in the role of interim Executive Director, Nicoló was appointed the Executive Director of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking in 2023.

He holds a degree in economics and international trade from the University of Trieste.

Dr Jean Jacques Mbonigaba Muhinda

Christine Lang, Ph.D.

Christine Lang is a microbiologist and a biotechnology entrepreneur. She serves as Co-Chair of the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy (IACGB). Christine is Associate Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the Technical University, Germany, and Trustee of the Prof Christine Lang Foundation Biobased Future.

Linda Davis, Ph.D.

Linda Davis is the founder and CEO of Giraffe Bioenergy, a company developing ethanol cooking fuel from cassava in Kenya. With over 20 years of experience in renewable energy, Linda is a prominent advocate for clean cooking fuels and sustainable development in rural East Africa.

Her leadership emphasises innovation, environmental stewardship, and community service. She serves on the board of the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK) and the Graca Machel Trust Energy Advisory Board. Linda is dedicated to women’s economic advancement and ensuring access to sustainable cooking fuel for all. She is a certified mountaineering instructor; she enjoys gardening, birding, and spending time outdoors with her family and friends.

Linda holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Western Sydney and a Food Science and Technology degree from Jomo Kenyatta University, Kenya.

Pekka Pesonen

Mr. Pekka Pesonen has been the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland since February 2024. Previously, he served as the Secretary General of Copa-Cogeca, the organization representing European farmers and agricultural cooperatives in Brussels, Belgium (from 2007). Before his tenure at Copa-Cogeca, he was the State Secretary at the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Helsinki, Finland (from 2005). Mr. Pesonen graduated with a Master of Science in Agriculture as an agronomist from the University of Helsinki (1991).

Peter A Minang, Ph.D.

Peter A. Minang is Director Africa for Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and Global Coordinator, ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margin. He is an established leader with a background in social ecology, climate change, land governance and green economy with close to three decades of experience. He serves in several advisory roles and boards and has won several scientific and development awards. His current passion is in enabling tree / forest commodities and services contribute to poverty reduction, climate change, green growth and sustainable development in Africa.

Julius Ecuru, Ph.D.

Julius Ecuru is a chemist, research & innovation management expert, and business advisor. He currently serves as a Principal Scientist and Manager for Research Innovation Coordination Units at icipe – presently BioInnovate Africa and the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif) programmes. He is also a Co-Chair of the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy (IACGB).

Abdou Tenkouano, Ph.D.

Abdou Tenkouano is the fifth Director General & Chief Executive Officer to lead International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), an organisation that conducts research on insects and other arthropods to create and disseminate affordable, accessible solutions to crop pests and diseases. 

A citizen of Burkina Faso, his academic expertise is in plant breeding and genetics, and holds a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He has had a long career in international agricultural research covering genetics, breeding, biotechnology, pathology, agronomy, and postharvest in support of extension and development efforts on a variety of crop species including sorghum, millet, maize, cassava, yam, banana, and plantain.

He has had a remarkable career in agricultural research spanning more than three decades, supported by enormous scientific knowledge generation, technology development, and dissemination, and has worked for organisations such as the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the World Vegetable Centre (AVRDC) in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Xian-En Zhang, Ph.D.

Xian-En Zhang is currently the professor of the Faculty of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, and retired professor of the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). From 2002 to 2012, he served as the Director General of the Basic Research Department of the Ministry of Science & Technology.

He graduated from Hubei University, received MSc and Ph.D. from CAS, and the Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the University of Alberta, Canada. He engages in interdisciplinary research and has published about 400 papers in biosensors, nanobiology, synthetic biology, virology, and cell biology.

He is the Vice President of the Chinese Society for Biotechnology, an elected Fellow of American Institute of Medicine and Bioengineering, and a Fellow of Royal Society Chemistry.

He places a crucial role in the National Key Project of Synthetic Biology and participated in the strategic study on the impact of synthetic biology on biomanufacturing and bioeconomy.

Sylvance Okeyo Okoth, Ph.D.

Sylvance Okeyo Okoth is currently the Executive Secretary (CEO) of the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO). He is a distinguished scientist and institutional manager with experience spanning over 27 years. He is a member of a number of Boards and professional bodies. He has wide experience and training in research and development (R&D) in science, technology and innovation (STI) and has worked in several organisations locally and regionally. His interests are in insect transmitted zoonotic infections. He has researched and published widely on teste fly population genetics, and transmission dynamics of trypanosomiasis in humans and livestock under rangeland farming systems.

Sylvance has held several positions including Director of Biotechnology Research Institute (BioRI); Centre Director of Biotechnology Research Centre (BioRI-TRC) of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO); Deputy Regional Coordinator of Lake Victoria Research Initiative (VicRes) of the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA); Head of Department of Scientific Research and Development at the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO); and Deputy Executive Secretary in charge of Projects and Programs at EASTECO.

He holds Ph.D. in medical entomology and parasitology; master of science in entomology; and bachelor of education (science) from Kenyatta University. Dr Okoth also holds master of business administration (MBA) from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI).

Elspeth MacRae, Ph.D.

Elspeth MacRae currently serves as a Co-Chair of the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy (IACGB). She also co-led the Forest bioeconomy working group of the International Bioeconomy Forum, and the previous KBBE Industrial Biotechnology working group. She has previously been contracted to the bioeconomy team at FAO, and co-led the design, materials and manufacturing theme for the National Science Challenge in Science and Technology for Industry, New Zealand (NZ). She currently sits on the Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Ecoadvisory Board.

Previously she was a senior executive of Scion – a NZ Crown Research Institute leading biomaterials, bioproducts, and manufacturing. She has experience in biorefinery, bioenergy, biodiscovery and bioplastics, packaging, 3 and 4D printing, clean technology, wood and fibre and biotech/omics. Among other things, previous lives included regulatory aspects of genetic modification, industrial biotechnology, carbohydrate and terpene sciences, packaging, biopolymer/bioprocessing/bioproduct industry activities, horticulture and food research and commercialisation and work for the NZ Government in Futures.

Lily Eurwilaichitr, Ph.D.

Lily Eurwilaichitr is currently an Assistant Executive Director of the National Energy Technology Center which is a member of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), under the Ministry of Higher Education Research and Innovation, Thailand. She also serves as an executive board member of the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC), a founder and a former secretariat of ASEAN network on Microbial Utilization and the ASEAN BCG network (Bio- Circular and Green Economy).

She received her Ph.D. from the research school of bioscience, University of Kent at Canterbury, on molecular genetics in yeast.  She also led a team of researchers at the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) to establish and optimize technology for gene discovery from unculturable microorganisms from environments. She has published over 90 international scientific papers. She also received several awards namely, L’Oreal Fellowship For Women In Science, Taguchi award from Foundation for the Promotion of Biotechnology in Thailand and The Innovation awards from The National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT).

Peggy Oti-Boateng, Ph.D.

Peggy Oti-Boateng is a seasoned leader in science, technology, and innovation (STI) with over 40 years of experience. Currently the Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences, she has previously held influential roles at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), where she spearheaded initiatives like the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.

Her career is marked by a strong focus on Africa, driving STI policies and capacity building for sustainable development. Oti-Boateng has led numerous high-impact projects such as the  EU-African Union-AAS ARISE program and AAS-US National Institute of Health-Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation African Post-Doctoral Training Initiative (APTI) among others. Dr Oti-Boateng was the first chairperson of the BioInnovate Africa Programme Advisory Committee and served consecutively for 5 years from 2017-2022. 

With a background in research and academia, she brings a holistic approach to addressing Africa’s challenges through science. Oti-Boateng’s extensive experience in policymaking, coupled with her deep understanding of research and innovation, positions her as a key figure in shaping Africa’s scientific landscape. 

Fortunate Muyambi

Mr. Fortunate Muyambi serves as Deputy Executive Secretary of the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO). He previously held roles as Acting Executive Secretary and Principal Officer for Innovation, Technology Development, and Acquisition at EASTECO. His focus is on advancing science and technology to strengthen regional integration and drive socio-economic development across the East African Community (EAC) region.

At EASTECO, Fortunate plays a crucial role in coordinating stakeholders from EAC partner states to design and implement regional science and technology initiatives. He has developed regional policies, strategies, and programs that leverage science, technology, and innovation (STI) to promote socio-economic progress and enhance regional cohesion, with a particular emphasis on nurturing innovation capabilities across East Africa.

He has led significant initiatives including the Eastern African Regional Bioeconomy Strategy, the first EAC Regional Status of Bioeconomy Report in 2022, and key policies such as the EAC Regional STI Policy and EAC Regional Intellectual Property Policy. He has also developed strategies in Space Science and Technology, Digital Transformation, and Innovation and Technology Transfer within the EAC framework.

He is dedicated to promoting sustainable bioeconomy development in East Africa, ensuring that environmental stewardship is integrated with socio-economic advancement. He advocates for equitable access to bioeconomy opportunities and benefits, particularly for stakeholders in the informal sector, smallholder farmers, and youth in the region.

Hailey Ciantar

Hailey Ciantar is a law graduate and advocate for environmental sustainability, equality, and youth empowerment. She is recognised for her role as an European Union (EU) Bioeconomy Youth Ambassador, where she works to raise awareness about the value of natural environments and bioeconomy.

Hailey has spoken at various high-level conferences internationally, representing the younger generation, and promoting sustainability. During her time at St Aloysius College Sixth Form in Malta, Hailey co-founded the SAC Green Team (formerly known as SAC Green Council), demonstrating her early commitment to environmental causes. 

She recently graduated with a degree in Global Law from Tilburg University, having also studied law in Hong Kong and Colombia. Hailey is also the host of a podcast titled “Bioeconomy Matters” which aims to make bioeconomy a household topic and inspire sustainable change across Europe.

Daniel Ndima

Daniel Ndima is a structural biologist of infectious diseases, with a current dissertation on genome editing innovations. He is an Allan Gray Fellow, Mandela Rhodes Scholar, Brightest Young Minds Alumnus, Mail and Guardian Top 200 South African in science and technology, and one of the African influencers for change (by UNDP Africa). He serves as a council member at South Africa’s National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) – under the National Department of Technology and Innovation (DSTI).

Daniel is one of South Africa’s officially recognised black industrialists and his company – CAPEBIO – won the presidential black industrialist award under the innovation and technology category in 2022. He also won the top African biotech entrepreneur award at the BIO Africa Convention in 2022. In 2023, he won all Africa innovator of the year at the All-Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA) ceremony. Capebio was also recognised for its highly commendable artificial intelligence (AI) technology by Sentech at the Africa tech week awards.

Daniel strongly advocates for scientific innovation that creates jobs, improves the quality of ordinary lives, and contributes to social development and the economy. His company is bioprospecting South African microbial biodiversity and uses AI to discover healthcare-related biological molecules (enzymes, proteins, peptides and SGCs) towards high-value manufacturing and commercialisation.

Mónica Trujillo

Mónica Trujillo is an economist with a master’s degree in agribusiness and food, and a postgraduate degree in international cooperation and project management. She is currently the project manager of Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)’s Governing Bioeconomy Pathways Initiative, coordinating research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She leads bioeconomy projects at SEI Latin America, especially in Colombia, Guyana, and Cuba.

Her professional experience is rooted in sustainable development strategies, strongly emphasizing green economic growth, value chain management, and biodiversity conservation. With extensive experience in agribusiness, she has supported smallholders and enterprises in Colombia and Argentina with market intelligence and business planning. Her work also includes conserving biodiversity and promoting green business in protected areas and ecosystems by enhancing governance and aligning public policies across Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Mónica bridges conservation with economic development, ensuring environmental stewardship and socio-economic viability are harmonized for sustainable development.

Carina Pimenta

Carina Pimenta was appointed National Secretary of Bioeconomy, at the invitation of the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva. She has a degree in Business Administration from EAESP-FGV and a master’s degree in Social Development from the University of Sussex. Carina co-founded Conexsus in 2018, having previously worked in the private sector and civil society organisations.

Throughout her career, she has developed expertise in green finance, innovative impact financing instruments, market access strategies, development of community businesses and small businesses, entrepreneurship and development of the bioeconomy in areas linked to socio-environmental issues in Brazil, especially in the Amazon.

On June 5, 2024, after intense coordination by Secretary Carina Pimenta, the MMA launched during the World Environment Day Ceremony, with President Lula and Minister Marina Silva, the National Bioeconomy Strategy, which is the first national regulation of bioeconomy. With the Strategy, the next steps will be the constitution of the National Bioeoeconomy Commission, which aims to create the National Bioeconomy Policy and the National Sociobioeconomy Plan.

Måns Nilsson, Ph.D.

Måns Nilsson currently serves as Executive Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). He leads and delegates all work at the institute, with 350 staff and 7 centres around the world. He has researched in particular what makes for an effective innovation system, including the institutional set up, for promoting a modern bioeconomy in eastern Africa. 

Måns is an accomplished scholar in the policy sciences related to sustainable development, with key areas of interests including policy integration and coherence, institutions and governance, and innovations in energy, agriculture, industry and transport sectors. Måns has published more than 60 papers in academic journals and has edited two books. He is listed as Web of Science highly cited researcher. He received his master’s degree in Economics and Business from University of Lund, Sweden, and his Ph.D. degree in Policy Analysis from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. He has served for 12 years as Professor of Practice at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.

Måns is a regular advisor to, inter alia, the UN, OECD, the European Commission and the Government of Sweden on topics such as policy coherence, sustainable development, and research policy.  He is appointed as climate advisor with the Swedish Export Credit Agency and with a climate-positive international venture capital fund in Stockholm and sits on the Programme Advisory Committee of BioInnovate Africa at icipe, Nairobi, Kenya. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Sveaskog AB and IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet AB.

Warinthorn Songkasiri, Ph.D.

Warinthorn Songkasiri serves as the research group director and principal researcher at the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand. With a background in chemical engineering, she excels in environmental and renewable energy sectors. She has pioneered the Starch Engineering and Process Optimization (SEPO) Program, revolutionising sustainable cassava starch production through innovative university-public-private partnerships. Nationally, in collaboration with the Thai Tapioca Starch Association, the team’s initiatives have boosted factory productivity and minimised losses through comprehensive capacity-building curricula. Regionally, she led the projects under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund and the Mekong-Republic of Korea Corporation Fund, aiming at enhancing productivity, livelihoods, resource and energy efficiency, and the competitiveness of the ASEAN cassava value chain. Her efforts have also fostered a community of practice dedicated to sustainable cassava value chains. Additionally, she has spearheaded numerous EU collaborative projects, advancing environmental and renewable energy solutions.

Francis Sullivan

Francis Sullivan is the Managing Director, Serre Solutions Limited, and Board Chair of Sustainable Biomass Program Limited. He is a renowned sustainability expert with a strong background in environmental strategy and policy. With a master’s degree in sustainable forestry and land use from Oxford University and extensive experience working with WWF, HSBC and the certification organisations FSC, ResponsibleSteel and the Sustainable Biomass Program, Francis has played a pivotal role in shaping international bioeconomy sustainability initiatives. 

He is also an adviser to Built by Nature, which advocates for the increased use of sustainable timber in construction, thereby reducing the use of high-carbon manufactured materials. Now working as a freelance consultant, his expertise in carbon management, sustainable finance, and independent certification provides him with the necessary experience to drive positive biodiversity and carbon outcomes in global supply chains.

Joachim von Braun, Ph.D.

Joachim von Braun is a Distinguished Professor of Economic and Technological Change at the University of Bonn, in the Center for Development Research (ZEF).  His research is on economic development, food nutrition and agriculture, bioeconomy, and science and technology policy.

He was Co-Chair of the German Bioeconomy Council, the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy (IACGB), and of the Global Bioeconomy Summits 2015, 2018,and 2020. In 2020 and 2021, he served as Chair of the Scientific Group for the Food Systems Summit 2021 of the UN Secretary General. He was the Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington DC.

Currently, he serves as the President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences of the Vatican, and member of German National Academy of Science Leopoldina, the German Academy of Engineering, the African Academy of Science, other academies, and the International Science Council and AAAS. He has published more than 250 peer reviewed publications.

Talash Huijbers

Talash Huijbers is the Founder and CEO of InsectiPro, an insect-rearing farm producing insect-based food, feed,  and fertilizer products for communities across East Africa. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Food and Agribusiness from HAS University of Applied Sciences. Her vision is to transform food systems across Africa driven by a passion to create fair, circular, and sustainable local food value chains.

Ginette Karirekinyana

Ginette Karirekinyana is a researcher and social entrepreneur at Karire Products Limited, and a trained philosopher. Following her studies and research in philosophical anthropology, business ethics, bioethics and environmental ethics, she became an entrepreneur to answer questions of sustainable development. She has numerous collaborations with universities, research, and international institutions including icipe, the Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable – IFDD, EASTECO (board member).

In Burundi, she is known as a promoter of 100% natural products, in particular anti-mosquito products for the fight against Malaria, food supplements in the form of herbal teas, cosmetics by essentials, and vegetables oils. She is a member of the Business Women Association and a former Vice-chair of Burundian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She has initiated an Ecovillage in Burundi where she has installed grace factory and an eco-tourism botanical farm.

Morten Enggaard Rasmussen

Vikash Abraham

Vikash Abraham is a passionate implementer of sustainable agriculture models, dedicated to making regenerative farming the most efficient, convenient, and profitable option for small landholding farmers in India.

In addition to his role at the Naandi Foundation, he leads Urban Farms Co, a social enterprise addressing the urban food system. He ensures the supply of nutrient-dense, fully traceable vegetables to cities across the nation and enables farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture through an innovative back-end hub that streamlines adoption.

With 15 years of corporate experience, a degree in engineering, and over a decade of hands-on work with farmers, Vikash brings a multidisciplinary approach to solving challenges in food systems. He believes that science-driven solutions, aligned with nature’s cycles, can create sustainable and financially viable agricultural models. By blending modern science, traditional knowledge, technology, and empathy, he drives positive change, benefiting both the environment and farming communities. 

Francis X Johnson, Ph.D.

Francis X. Johnson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). He is a co-lead of the SEI Initiative on governing bioeconomy pathways, and climate policy lead for the Asia regional centre of SEI, located in Bangkok. He has over thirty years of experience in interdisciplinary policy analysis, capacity-building and research, focusing especially on sustainable use of land and biomass in relation to bioeconomy, renewable energy, climate resilience, and sustainable development goals.

He was a lead author for the IPCC special report on Climate Change and Land (2019) and a member of the writing team for the IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report (2023). He has a Ph.D. in Energy and Climate Systems from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and master’s degrees in Public Policy and Operations Research. Prior to joining SEI, he was a Senior Research Associate in the Energy Analysis program at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, USA.

Anthony Okon Nyong, Ph.D.

Anthony Nyong is the Director of Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank. Prior to joining the bank, Anthony was a program specialist with the International Development Research Centre of Canada and before then, a professor of climate change at the University of Jos, Nigeria. He has over 30 years of experience in environmental and natural resources management, safeguards, renewable energy, gender, and climate change and green growth that span academia, private sector and development finance.

He has served on several global advisory and scientific boards including the Sustainable Stock Exchange Green Finance Advisory Group, the World Economic Forum Advisory Panel on Circular Economy, the Scientific and Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility, and on the Leadership Group of the Platform for Accelerating Circular Economy (PACE). He was a coordinating lead author for the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. He has served on the jury of several global initiatives including on the Zayed Sustainability Prize, WWF’s OPCC Jury among others.

He holds a Ph.D. in Geography from McMaster University, Canada, a D.Sc. (hc) from the University of Calabar, a master’s degree in Land Surveying, a post-graduate diploma from Said Business School, Oxford University, and is a senior executive fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Nyong is a chartered geographer of the Institute of British Geographers and a fellow of the African Academy of Science. He was named among the top 20 of the 100 most influential people in climate policy (2019) and among top 20 most influential leaders on climate change (2022/2023). He is a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize with the IPCC.

Claudia Müller

Claudia Müller is the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany. She has been a member of the German Bundestag since October 2017, Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group. She has been active in German politics from 2009 to 2022. Long-time parliamentary group manager of the Green party group in the Vorpommern-Rügen district council, chairwoman of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Green party, and member of the Stralsund municipal council. In her first term in the German Bundestag, she was a member of the Economic Affairs committee and the European Affairs committee.

From the beginning of the 21st legislative period until January 2023, she was a full member of the defense committee and an alternate member of the transport committee. From January 2022 to January 2023, she was the Federal Government’s Coordinator for Maritime Industries and Tourism.

Previously, she worked as a freelancer in the tourism and cultural sectors. She has studied International Business Administration at the University of Applied Sciences in Stralsund. Spent 1998/1999 abroad in the USA, with additional stays in Kristiansand (Norway), Munich, and Stralsund.

Karoli Nicholas Njau, Ph.D.

Karoli Nicholas Njau is the Director of ENVSOL Technology Company Limited dealing with consulting and engineering design of wastewater treatment systems with resource recovery. He has worked at the University of Dar es Salaam from as an academic staff (1984-2011), and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Arusha (2011–2023). He has been doing research in various areas related to water, wastewater, renewable energy, and environment. In particular, he has been implementing wastewater treatment with energy recovery, water and nutrients reuse from highly loaded streams especially from industrial establishments. He has led several international teams working in the areas of water, wastewater, renewable energy, and environment. He has also implemented practical projects in these areas both in Tanzania and abroad. He has supervised many Ph.D. students and published over 200 publications in international peer reviewed journals.

He holds a Ph.D. from the Technical University, Eindhoven, Netherlands, a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, Norway, and a bachelor’s degree in Process Engineering from University of Dar es Salaam.

Stéphanie Baumberger, Ph.D.

Stéphanie Baumberger is a Professor of Green Chemistry at AgroParisTech, the National Institute of Technology for Life, Food, and Environmental Sciences, France. She has a thirty-year career experience as a teacher/researcher. She has founded several master of science and engineering training programmes, and she currently serves as the coordinator of the European Master in Biological and Chemical Engineering for a Sustainable Bioeconomy (EMJM Bioceb). This Erasmus Mundus Joint Master involves five European universities and trains students selected worldwide for two years. She received in 2021 the award “Les étoiles de l’Europe” – special prize of the jury – from the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. This prise recognises her work on coordinating a European research project funded by Horizon2020 under the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (H2020 BBI JU project Zelcor).

Since 2013, she is a team leader at the Institute Jean-Pierre Bourgin for Plant Sciences (IJPB), a joint research unit shared between National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), AgroParisTech and Université Paris-Saclay. She co-authored 60 international scientific publications related to lignin and lignocellulose biorefinery and edited a book entitled “Green chemistry and agro-food industry: towards a sustainable bioeconomy” published in 2024. 

Éliane Ubalijoro, Ph.D.

Éliane Ubalijoro is Chief Executive Officer of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF). An accomplished leader with a background in agriculture and molecular genetics, she serves on several boards and has been recognised for outstanding contributions in the areas of innovation, gender equity, and sustainable prosperity creation.

She has been a professor of practice for public-private sector partnerships at McGill University since 2008, with research interests focusing on innovation, gender, and sustainable development for prosperity creation. From 2021 to March 2023, she was the executive director of Sustainability in the Digital Age, and the Canada hub director for Future Earth. She is a member of Rwanda’s national science and technology council and presidential advisory council, the impact advisory board of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet, the Science for Africa Foundation, the Capitals Coalition supervisory board among others. She is a fellow of the International Science Council and a member of the Africa Space Council.

Kelly Seagraves, Ph.D.

Kelly Seagraves, Ph.D. is a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, where she leads the coordination of biotechnology policy across the State Department. Her mission is to promote the responsible development and use of emerging biotechnologies, by facilitating international cooperation that supports the U.S. and global bioeconomies and protecting against misuse of technologies where necessary. Prior to this role she was a global emerging technologies analyst, also at the U.S. Department of State, where her portfolio included advanced computing, artificial intelligence, quantum information sciences, and biotechnologies. Dr. Seagraves transitioned to the Department of State after spending a decade as an academic neuroscientist. Her laboratory research focused on how the brain controls social interactions. Most recently, she was a CV Starr Fellow at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, and prior to that, she received her B.A. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and her PhD in Zoology from the University of Cambridge.

Mandla Nkomo

Mandla Nkomo has a rich, twenty-five year career in the African agri-food sector. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Partners in Food Solutions, a consortium of seven world-class food companies working together to provide technical and business expertise to African food processors. Previously he served as chief growth officer for CGIAR’s Excellence in Agronomy Initiative.

Mandla was born in Zimbabwe, but has spent most of his life moving between Zimbabwe and South Africa. After studying biochemistry and food science in college, he started out working in agricultural production where he helped farmers solve challenges like access to markets, finance and lack of technical know-how. He also has experience in the food processing space, including running a small dairy factory. He  has previously worked with the international organisations including TechnoServe and Solidaridad. All of these professional sojourns, in his own words, “have given me a good perspective of how the entire food sector functions and intersects.” 

He has a strong belief in the potential of the African continent and its people, and is committed to contributing to transitioning the food and agriculture space to a point where it is sustainable, supports livelihoods, and provides safe, healthy and nutritious food to its people.

Ana Del Hierro Calvachi

Ana Del Hierro Calvachi is currently a PhD candidate in Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering at the BiOrbic SFI Research Centre, University College Dublin.

Ambassador Caroline Vicini

Manuel Otero

Hoesung Lee, Ph.D.

Elisabeth Werner

Zhengzheng Qu

Stefania Abakerli, Ph.D.

Michael Kellner

Michael Kellner is a member of the German Bundestag and the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, since 2021. He is also the Federal Government’s contact person for the cultural and creative industries (from October 2022), as well as the Federal Government Commissioner for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (from January 2022). Previously, he served as the Political Managing Director of ALLIANCE 90/THE GREENS at federal level (from 2013 – 2022).

Michael has studied political sciences in Potsdam, Canterbury (UK), and East Lansing (US) (from 1996 – 2002).

Margrethe Vestager

Margrethe Vestager has been the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age since December 2019 and European Commissioner for Competition since 2014. 

She was previously the Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior (2011-2014) and Minister for Education (1998-2001) of Denmark, and President of the ECOFIN Council (2012). She led the Danish Social Liberal Party (2007-2014), and worked for the Danish Ministry of Finance (1993-1995). Ms. Vestager holds a masters of science degree in Economics (University of Copenhagen).

She coordinated at political level the Commission Communication on biotech and biomanufacturing issued in March 2024, which acknowledges the support biotech brings to Europe’s economy and its competitiveness, reducing its dependency on fossil-based input and other sources of raw materials. The Communication aims to create the right environment for this sector to grow and deliver global solutions to societal and environmental problems Europe and overall the world face and to provide a basis for a future EU Biotech Act in the upcoming mandate of the European Commission.

Máximo Torero Cullen

Maximo Torero Cullen joined FAO in January 2019 as Assistant Director-General for the Economic and Social Development Department. Prior to joining FAO, he was the World Bank Group Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay since November 2016, and before the Bank, Mr. Torero led the Division of the Markets, Trade, and Institutions at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Franck Leroy

Bettina Stark-Watzinger

Julio Berdegué Sacristán, Ph.D.

Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago