Discover our speakers

Lars Battle

As Director of Thought Leadership and Communications at CAF America, Lars manages content development and distribution to both donors and nonprofit audiences to promote a more informed cross-border philanthropy that drives enduring social progress. He comes from a background in the social sector with a strong belief in the power of cross-sector partnership to advance our Global Goals while serving diverse interests. Lars previously served as editor for the Global Engagement Forum publication and has worked across Latin America on various grassroots development projects. He holds a bachelor’s in economics and a master’s in natural resources management.

Richard Brabec

Richard Brabec was born on 5 July 1966 in Kladno, he graduated from the Faculty of Nature Science, Charles University, Department of Geology, combined with foreign languages​​. He worked as the director of the Czech-Moravian Commodity Stock Exchange Kladno, in various positions in the financial section of the company Unipetrol, as Chief Financial Officer in Spolana Neratovice and as CEO of Lovochemie company. Since 2007, he deals with issues relating to European and domestic legislation on the environment, particularly the issue of REACH, an integrated permit system and emission allowances. Richard Brabec has two sons, speaks English, French and Russian.

 

In elections to the Chamber of Deputies in October 2013, he was elected from the political Movement ANO 2011, on 29th January 2014 he was appointed as Minister of the environment by Milos Zeman, President of the Czech Republic.

 

Claire Bury

Claire Bury is currently Deputy Director-General in DG Health and Food Safety with responsibility for food safety and sustainability. She is also a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges.

She was previously Deputy Director-General for the Digital Single Market in DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology and Director of Modernisation of the Single Market in Directorate General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

Before that, she was Head of Unit for Company Law, Corporate Governance and Financial Crime in Directorate General Internal Market and Services, and Deputy Head of Cabinet to Internal Market Commissioners Charlie McCreevy and Frits Bolkestein. 

An English barrister by training, she worked in the Commission’s Legal Service and, before coming to Brussels, in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Loris Di Pietrantonio

Loris Di Pietrantonio is Head of Unit for the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD): Policy and Legislation at the European Commission. He was previously Deputy Head of the Unit dealing with employment and social aspects of the European economic governance, focusing on economic policy coordination through the European Semester cycle as well as the design and implementation of employment policies. In the past, he was also involved with the design of policies, evaluations and impact assessments in the areas of information technologies addressing societal challenges and digital inclusion. Before joining the European Commission in 2004, he worked in the business sector, establishing research and innovation strategies for the sustainable transport industry. He has a Master’s in European Economics from the College of Europe, Bruges, a Master’s in Energy Management from BI Norwegian School of Management and ESCP-Europe (France) and a degree in International Relations from the University of Trieste.

Nicola Dixon

Nicola Dixon is Executive Director of the General Mills Foundation and director of philanthropy and employee engagement for social impact at General Mills Inc., a leading multinational food company headquartered in Minnesota, USA. 

Nicola and her team develop philanthropic impact strategies, programs and partnerships to advance targeted social and environmental outcomes within three focus areas: Alleviating Hunger & Increasing Community Food Security; Advancing Regenerative Agriculture and Strengthening Hometown Communities. The team’s work extends beyond financial giving to include creating pathways for the company’s 38,000 employees to uniquely engage for social impact — a cornerstone of the company’s culture.

Originally from South Africa, Nicola grew up in Australia and later the United States. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism, an MBA in business management, and a Master of Public Affairs degree in business, society and the environment from the University of Minnesota.

Jindřich Fialka

Mr. Jindřich Fialka was born in Prague in 1974. After his graduation at the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague in 2000 he joined the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. At the beginning of his professional career, Mr. Fialka was involved in the pre-accession process to the European Union in the field of agricultural trade and commodities. In 2003 he was appointed Head of international trade agreements division, responsible for the implementation of commitments arising from bilateral trade agreements, namely European Agreement and Central European Free Trade Agreement. In 2004 he was appointed Head of trade policy division, coordinating trade policy in agriculture in the context of the multilateral trade system, arising from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement. In April 2005, the Czech Food Authority was established and as from July 2005, Mr. Fialka became Director of Food Production and Legislation. In March 2019 Mr. Fialka became Deputy Minister of Agriculture, responsible for Agriculture and Food production. Mr. Fialka coordinates major part of national activities in the area of foodstuffs and agricultural policy, in particular for drafting and implementing national legislation, policy development in the area of food production, sustainable development, risk management, development of food standards, national food quality schemes and  co-ordination of consumers protection within Ministry of Agriculture. Mr. Fialka has taken personal responsibility in activities relevant to agriculture, food safety and quality, serving as:

National Convenor for UN World Food Summit 2021;

Member of Central Crisis Staff;

Head of National Codex Alimentarius Committee;

Chairman of section on “Quality of Foodstuffs and Agricultural Products” within Czech Quality Board, established by the Government of the Czech Republic;

Chairman of National Food Quality evaluation commission;

Member of National Council for Sustainable Development;

Chairman of National Food Safety coordination group;

Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board within International Commodity Organization ICO based in London (2008-2009);

Chairman of the ICCO Council based in London (2009-2010).

Angela Frigo

Since 2010 Angela Frigo has been working in the EU field dealing with food, agriculture, and social affairs. Angela Frigo currently works as Secretary General at European Food Banks Federation (FEBA), a European non-profit organization which works in collaboration with 24 Full Members and 5 Associate Members in European countries. Angela Frigo’s duties include managing the organization, promoting the core mission and the values of FEBA, providing a central point of contact for all stakeholders interested in FEBA, and supporting the development of opportunities for collaboration with international and European institutions and stakeholders. She represents FEBA at meetings of the FEAD (Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived) Network and EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, European Commission. She previously worked as EU and International Liaison Officer at Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus, and had a work experience at the European Parliament.

Anne-Laure Gassin

Anne-Laure Gassin joined the European Commission in 2013 where she is supporting the development of EU policy on food waste prevention as part of the Farm to Fork Strategy. She previously served from 2003 as Director of Communications at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) where she developed and implemented EFSA’s risk  communication strategy. Prior to that, she spent more than 15 years with the Kellogg Company, where her last appointment was as European Director with the responsibility for nutrition communications, and scientific and regulatory affairs. She graduated from Harvard University in 1981, where she majored in biology, and was awarded a Masters in medical management and marketing in 1987 from the École Supérieure de Commerce in Paris. 

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Laura Gavinelli

Born in Italy, Laura Gavinelli is a management consultant and trainer. With a degree in Foreign Languages, a post degree in Marketing end Digital Economics, and a Ph.D. in Business Management, she has been teaching management, marketing, and corporate communication for 15 years at Italian and foreign universities. She has carried out research activity on tourism, culture, competitiveness of Italian SMEs, digital reputation, circular economy and sustainability, publishing articles and monographs in Italian and English. She has participated for 6 years in international tables on transparency in mining sector. Since March 2019 she also collaborates with FEBA as consultant, project manager and moderator. 

Liz Goodwin

Liz Goodwin is a chemist by background and started her career in the chemical industry. In 2001, she joined the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and was appointed CEO in 2007 which position she held until 2016. Liz joined the World Resources Institute (WRI) in 2016 as Senior Fellow and Director, Food Loss and Waste. She is a Champion of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 whose aim is to halve global food waste by 2030. In 2015 Liz was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. In 2017 Liz was appointed Chair of the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) by the Mayor of London. 

Paul Henrys

As Chief Financial Officer, Paul Henrys oversees Feeding America finance and corporate strategy. In his role, Henrys helps maximize Feeding America resources to get more food to more people in need, and maintain its position as a leader in financial transparency and efficiency. He also serves as Treasurer of the Feeding America Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Feeding America in 2013, Paul spent 8 years in finance at U.S. Foods – a leading foodservice distributor. His most recent role at U.S. Foods was Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis. Paul also has five years of experience in the supply chain technology industry, where he held several leadership positions in marketing and consulting. He successfully managed several consulting projects and developed corporate and product messaging to drive brand identity and broad market awareness.

Paul began his career in strategy consulting, with a firm now known as Oliver Wyman. There, he managed project teams to identify and successfully implement supply chain and strategic business opportunities.

Paul has a B.A. from Harvard University. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two children.

Jens Krieger

Jens Krieger (48) has been working for the REWE Group for many years. He took up his current position of CEO PENNY Czech Republic at the end of 2018. Prior to that, he was the Director of PENNY in Hungary since 2009. Before he worked as CEO for PLUS and ALDI.

Veronika Láchová

Veronika Láchová is the CEO of Czech federation of food banks. She is the coordinator of Czech food banks and is responsible for their national cooperation. Veronika is also the founder of Food bank of South Bohemia – the fourth biggest food bank in Czech Republic.  

She is responsible for managing the largest food donation initiative and she also represents the Czech food banks at national field. She in chargé internal and external communication and relationship with big donors and market chains. She also represents food banks in public at national level. 

Lisa Moon

Lisa Moon is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN). GFN is an international nonprofit organization based in Chicago that nourishes the world’s hungry through uniting and advancing food banks in more than 40 countries. GFN focuses on combating hunger and preventing food waste by providing expertise, directing resources, sharing knowledge and developing connections that increase efficiency, ensure food safety and reach more people facing hunger. Since the start of COVID-19, GFN partner food banks served more than 27 million people facing hunger.

Previously, Lisa served as Vice President of Global Agriculture and Food at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where she spearheaded a project that has become one of the leading global contributors to discussions around hunger and food security. There she conducted studies and policy dialogues on the role of agriculture in emerging economies, the nexus between agriculture and health, the pressures water scarcity and climate change will place on the global food system, and the importance of trade and food price volatility to social stability.

She holds a Master of Arts degree in Security Policy Studies from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies, Political Science, and Spanish from Bradley University.

Roberta Sonnino

Roberta Sonnino is a Professor of Environmental Policy and Planning in the School of Geography and Planning (Cardiff University, UK).  Working across the research-policy interface with an expertise on food security and food system governance, Professor Sonnino has worked as an advisor for several national and international food policy organisations, including FAO (as lead author of the 2019 Framework for the Urban Food Agenda) and the European Commission (as vice-Chair of FOOD2030 High-Level Expert Group and presently Rapporteur of the High-Level Group that is assessing the need for an International Platform on food Systems Science).  

Andriana Sukova

Ms Andriana Sukova is currently the Deputy Director General of DG EMPL in the European Commission. She is an economist with a long experience in the national administration in Bulgaria (more than 15 years, from researcher to a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of agriculture) as well as in NGO sector (5 years) and business management (chairperson of the Board of Directors of a big foreign company).

After Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, Ms Sukova joined the Cabinet of Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva.

Ms Sukova has numerous post-graduate trainings in the UK, Italy, Japan, USA.

Daniel Svoboda

Daniel Svoboda is the regional director of the non-governmental organization NADĚJE. He works in Prague, where he coordinates social work focused on homeless people. He is involved in organizing a network of shelters, street work and health care for people in need. Naděje has been cooperating with Food Banks for a long time on the distribution of food and material aid. Daniel is also a co-founder of Potravinová banka Plzeň, where he worked as a director until 2020.

Maximo Torero Cullen

Dr. Máximo Torero Cullen is the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He joined the Organization in January 2019 as Assistant Director-General for the Economic and Social Development Department. Prior to joining FAO, he had been Executive Director at the World Bank Group since November 2016 and, before the Bank, Dr. Torero led the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). His major research work lies in analyzing poverty, inequality, importance of geography and assets (private or public) in explaining poverty, and in policies oriented towards poverty alleviation based on the role played by infrastructure, institutions, and on how technological breakthroughs (or discontinuities) can improve the welfare of households and small farmers. His experience encompasses Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. Dr. Torero, a national of Peru, holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of the Pacific, Lima, Peru. He is a professor on leave at the University of the Pacific (Peru) and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at University of Bonn, Germany, and has also published in top journals (QJE, Econometric Theory, AER-Applied Microeconomics, RSTAT, Labor Economics and many other top journals). In 2000, Dr. Torero has received the Georg Foster Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, won the Award for Outstanding Research on Development given by The Global Development Network, twice, in 2000 and in 2002 and received the Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole in 2014.

Jacques Vandenschrik

Born in Belgium, Jacques’ education was primarily oriented toward public Health. He started his career in Somalia working for the European Development Fund. He then assumed a hospital manager position at a local University Clinic in Belgium and after that, he led the Human Resources department of a large industrial group in South Africa. He finally founded his own business specialized in the development of antiseptics.

During the 25 years of his stay in South Africa, Jacques was the Honorary Consul of Belgium for the Eastern Cape. When he returned to Belgium in 2007, he took the helm of a local Food Bank and assumed the vice-presidency of the Belgian Food Banks Federation.

In 2015, he entered in the Board of Directors of the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA). Elected in May 2018, he is the current President of FEBA.