25/04
How can AI respond to the unprecedented challenges facing agriculture today due to global population growth, climate change, resource scarcity and the pressing need for sustainable practices? The role of technology will be examined, and innovative applications and solutions will be explored to address current and future challenges, as well as how to move the agricultural industry towards a more productive, efficient and sustainable future.
Speakers
Aris Kefalogiannis
A seasoned entrepreneur, strategist & innovator in the international fine foods arena.
Experience
1995-2019, founder & CEO of Gaea, a leading Greek brand in olive oil & olives.
2020-todate Senior International Advisor in Strategy & Marketing @ the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, London.
2022-todate, founder Olea Fortius IKE, upcycling of olive oil side-streams in sustainable & beneficial practices for enhancing animal welfare
Awards & Recognitions
2013: Winner Import/Export Category, European Business Awards.
2011: Visiting Academic, Academia dei Georgofilli, Florence, Europe’s oldest Agricultural University
2003: Kouros Award from the President of Greek Democracy for distinction in the International Business Arena.
1984: Olympic winner, Water Polo, Los Angeles Olympic games
Grigoris Chatzikostas
Grigoris Chatzikostas is an expert in financing innovation in agtech and foodtech. He is managing multi-national and cross-sectoral consortia, developing proposals for EU funding, and coordinating large-scale projects that promote tech-enabled entrepreneurship in the agrifood sector.
In the past 20 years he has managed projects exceeding the total value of 130 mEUR. He has delivered programs supporting more than 150 startups and SMEs with pre-seed funding and business support services. He is a General Partner at Loggerhead Ventures, a 10mEUR climatech VC that invests in early stage startups with a clear positive environmental impact. As an engaging public speaker and trainer, he makes complex subjects related to startup investments, EU funding and technologies accessible and easy to understand.
Dr. Dionysis Bochtis
Prof. Dr. Dionysis Bochtis, founder of the farmB Digital Agriculture S.A., is the Director of the Institute for Bio-economy and Agri-technology (IBO), Center of Research and Technology – Hellas (CERTH) and member of the Board of Directors of CERTH. He also acts as affiliated Professor (Agri-Robotics) at the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food technologies, University of Lincoln, UK, and Professor (Operations Management) at the Department of Engineering at Aarhus University, Denmark. His primary research is Systems Engineering focused on bio-production and related provision systems including, both, conventional systems with enhanced ICT and automation technologies and fully robotized systems.
He is the author of more than 400 publications (including 18 Scientific Books). He is the Chair of International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering – CIGR Section V (2020-2024), and was President of the European Association for Information Technologies in Agriculture – EFITA (2017-2021).
Theodoros TSAMOURTZIS
Theodoros TSAMOURTZIS holds a MSc in Civil Engineering from the Federal Technical University of Lausanne (Switzerland) a MBA from the Business School Lausanne (Switzerland). He worked at VSL International Ltd (1990–1993) in Bern, Switzerland (a subsidiary of the French construction company Bouygues) first as a Project Manager for large construction projects in the United States, Europe and the Middle East and then as a Product Manager at VSL Retained Earth Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
From 1995 to 1998 he was Head of Department for International Development Projects and Programs of Euroconsultants SA (consulting), funded by the European Union, the International Bank and National Programs. During the period 1998–2001 he became the Development Director of Tekmor N. Hellas SA (consulting) specialized in setting up business and investment plans, re-engineering, strategic planning and valuations of companies. In the period 2002 – 2011 he was Managing Partner of Innovatia Ltd. (consulting) and Head of the Consulting Services Department specializing in company re-organization and reengineering, development of performance measurement systems and balanced scorecards, new business development, strategy, company valuation and Venture Capital funding.
From 2011 to 2019 he was CEO of Prime Foods SA, the largest producer of snails in SE Europe. Since 2020, he has been the General Manager of the Agrotechnology Export Cluster, specialized in the field of agri-food, a private initiative of SEVE – Exporters Association of Greece. He is a member of the TEE – Greek Technical Chamber, the American Society of Civil Engineers (USA), the Project Management Institute (USA), the Society of Logistics Engineers (USA) and the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (Switzerland).
Ioannis Mourtzinosis
Ioannis Mourtzinosis an Associate Professor in Food Chemistry and Analysis in the Dept. of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He received his Bachelor inChemistry (2001) and his M.Sc.in Food Chemistryand Technology(2003) from the same Universityand hisPh.D.(2007) from HarokopioUniversity.
He participated in courses in Ghent University (Belgium) andCorvinus University (Hungary) on issuesrelated withfood safetyandhealth. He worked in theR&D department of PEPSICO-IVI (2008-2009)and also in the R&D and QA/QC departmentsofAPIVITA (2010-2014).He is the author/co-author of 75peer-reviewed publications (SCI journals)and 48contributions to internationalconferences andover 1900citations(h-factor 21). He was the principal investigator in 8research projectsand he hasthreepatents.
Konstantinos Kandylas
Konstantinos Kandylas is a professional with a robust background in automotive software engineering and entrepreneurship. Holding a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, he has honed his expertise in software development, particularly within the automotive sector.
With significant experience in many Tier-1 suppliers’ projects within the automotive industry, he has been involved in the development of transmission control unit software projects for electric, hybrid and conventional automotive systems. He has led teams in test-driven development and software architecture.
Additionally, he is a co-founder of Terra Robotics-an agriculture robotics startup, where he has demonstrated strong leadership in business development, strategic planning, and market analysis. Last but not least, his co-founding role at Eunoia has allowed him to pursue his passion for farming, specializing in organic farming practices.
Panayiotis (Panos) H. KETIKIDIS
Prof. Panayiotis (Panos) H. KETIKIDIS, BSc, MSc, PhD.1,2,3
Current position: 1President, Board of Directors – Thessaloniki Innovation Zone (TIZ);
Chairperson of South East European Research Centre (SEERC), and
Business Angel Investor
O Δρ. Κετικίδης X. Παναγιώτης είναι μέλος του ΔΣ στο Ευρωπαϊκό Δίκτυο Επιχειρηματικών Αγγέλων (European Business Angels Network – EBAN), Συν-ιδρυτης του Ελληνικού Δικτύου Επιχειρηματικών Αγγέλων (HeBAN) και Πρόεδρος του Τριπλού Έλικα (παράρτημα Ελλάδος). Επίσης είναι επίτιμο μέλος του Δ.Σ. του Συνδέσμου Εξαγωγέων Ελλάδος (ΣΕΒΕ) και Μέλος της επιτροπής Εκπαίδευσης-Καινοτομίας-Επιχειρηματικότητας στο Ελληνο-Αμερικανικό Εμπορικό Επιμελητήριο. O Δρ. Κετικίδης Παναγιώτης εργάζεται στο University of York, Europe Campus, CITY College, ως Αντιπρόεδρος (Vice President) του κολεγίου, υπεύθυνος για την έρευνα και την καινοτομία. Επίσης είναι ο Πρόεδρος του Ερευνητικού κέντρου Νότιο-Ανατολικής Ευρώπης (SEERC – www.seerc.org). Στο παρελθόν έχει θητεύσει σε πολύ σημαντικές διοικητικές και ερευνητικές θέσεις στις ΗΠΑ.
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-panayiotis-ketikidis-bsc-msc-ph-d-5378061/
https://www.thessinnozone.gr/en/
https://www.seerc.org/new/
https://www.eban.org/eban-board/
Dr. Machi Simeonidou
Dr. Machi Simeonidou, Co-Founder & General Manager, AgroApps
Machi Simeonidou is a Business Development Manager with more than 15 years of experience in business strategy, corporation management and operational improvement under her belt. As an Agroeconomist, passionate about agricultural technologies, in 2016, together with a team of experts she co-founded AgroApps, a company dedicated to the provision of sustainable solutions that help modern farming and agriculture.
As an active entrepreneur, Machi has played pivotal roles in founding two companies and leading them to successful exit. Throughout her career, she has overseen diverse projects, managed exceptional teams and established effective networks within the agri-food sector. Always eager to explore innovative ideas, she is equally driven to swiftly transform discussions into tangible, real-world implementations.
Hannah Louise Brown
Hend El-Sawey El-Sawey Ahmed
Seeking a challenging position in a famous company where my experience will be increased and my academic background and interpersonal skills will be developed and utilized.
Current job
▪ Assistant Lecturer at Faculty of Organic Agriculture, Heliopolis University.
▪ Founder of MicroFert Startup
Education
- PhD candidate, Botany department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University. From 2020 till now
- Master of Agriculture Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University. 2019
Master Thesis Entitled: “Plant-Based Culture Media: A Novel Approach to Improve Culturability of Rhizobacteria”. - Bachelor of Agriculture Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Biotechnology (English program), Cairo University. 2015
- Grade: Very good (GPA: 2.921)
Johannes Schmidt - Mosig
Professional experience
10|2020 -Today Co-founder and Managing Director of VetVise GmbH
04|2019 -Today Co-founderCaspari, Schmidt-Mosig, Wendt GbR
11/2017 – 05/2018 STUDENT. ASSISTANT IN THE SMALL ANIMAL CLINIC Supervision of an elective course in the field of small animals
02/2016 – 08/2017 STUDENT. ASSISTANT AT “MINT ZUKUNFT SCHAFFEN” Construction of the “CLUB Maker garages” Merger of makers
into a Germany-wide network
10/2013 – 5/2018 MENTOR SPEAKER OF THE GERMAN YOUNG RESEARCHERS NETWORK – JUFORUM E.V Supervision and coordination of the approx. 90 volunteer mentors School anduniversityeducation:
Internships:
PRACTICES
02/2018 – 03/2018 VETERINARIAN DR. WULSCHKE Treatment of small animals and pets Focus on orthopaedic patients
03/2018 – 04/2018 ANIMAL HOUSE OF THE HANNONVER MEDICAL SCHOOL Work with laboratory animals in various working groups Focus on biofilms and implant research
09/2017 – 01/2018 INSTITUTE OF PHARMACOLOGY OF TIHO Collaboration in the “AG Bankstahl” Focus on research into epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease
Martha Wenzel
Martha Wenzel grew up on a family-owned farm in central Germany and studied international business at the Technical University Nuremberg.
She spent 1.5 years working & studying in Costa Rica, UK, and the US. She worked in strategic marketing in electrification & automation at Robert Bosch Mobility Solutions as well as in an early stage startup in the area of FMCG and in a government agency supporting SMEs in internationalizing. Since mid 2020 she is co-founder and CEO of E-TERRY and recently got elected as is youth representative of the UN on agricultural robotics.
Rahma Ahmed El-Nemr
Sep 2023 – Present PhD (Genetics Department, Plant breeding & Quantitative Genetics)
Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Jun 2022 – Jun 2023 Pre-PhD (Genetics Department) (80 ECTS)
Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Jan 2016 – Mar 2019 MSc, Agricultural Sciences (Agricultural Microbiology) (120 ECTS)
Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Sep 2011 – Jun 2015 BSc, Biotechnology (280 ECTS)
“The International Biotechnology English Program”, Faculty of Agriculture,
Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Sokayna BELLAM
Sokayna BELLAM, Chief Agriculture Officer of the AgriTech startup Jodoor, began her journey at the intersection of engineering and sustainable agriculture. Armed with a degree in Agronomy sciences, specializing in Fisheries & Aquaculture from IAV Hassan-II, her passion for revolutionizing farming practices ignited. As a Co-Founder of Jodoor, she pioneers soilless and controlled environment farming solutions, infusing innovation into traditional agriculture. Yet, amidst her achievements alongside Jodoor’s team, Sokayna humbly embraces the mantra of perpetual growth, driven by a fervent desire to cultivate transformative change in the world.
Dr. Zoi Skaperda
Dr. Zoi Skaperda, FoodOxys Chief Scientific Officer, Contract Lecturer at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
Zoi has obtained her B.Sc. from the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece and has completed her postgraduate studies in the Postgraduate Program “Toxicology” of the same Department. She holds a Ph.D. title in the field of Redox Toxicology.
She has received a Ph.D. scholarship that is co‐financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and Greek national funds. Her research interests are focused on the study of the effects of foods and food components as well as xenobiotics on the redox profile using both in vivo and in vitro models. Today, she is a Contracted Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology in the field of “Business Innovation”. Also, she is the Chief Scientific Officer of FoodOxys spin-off company. She is a member of the Forbes “30 Under 30 Greece” list of the 30 most influential and successful young people under the age of 30 in Greece for 2024. She has co-authored 40 articles, published in peer-reviewed international scientific journals.
