Michael is the owner of the Jäckering Group an internationally active organisation with its core competencies in wheat starch, wheat protein, mechanical engineering, and the processing and preparation of thermoplastics.

The group is the premium provider of high-quality starches, proteins and animal feedstuffs for customers in the food, pet food and non-food sector

Henk Jaap Meijer is director and owner of Meijer Consult. He graduated in 1988 from State University Groningen in the Netherlands with a degree in Polymer Chemistry. During his career he has received several marketing programs.

Mr. Meijer has worked at AVEBE, the global market leader in potato starches, during 13 years on development of modified starches and potato based side stream products for food and technical applications. At BASF Plant Science he was involved in the development of applications for AMFLORA® amylopectin and high-amylose starches from genetically modified potatoes. From 2007 till 2014 Mr. Meijer worked as Director Marketing & Innovation at Emsland Group where he was responsible for amongst others product development and market introduction of the Empure® range clean label starches and dehydrated potatoes.

Meijer Consult develops innovations for the cassava, potato and starch modification and - processing industry. Clients are located in Europe, South East Asia, South America and Africa. With focus on starch modifications, food-fibre and protein production they support clients with their product development, application research and market introductions.

Mr. Meijer founded the LinkedIn CASSAVA group with more than 1.300 members worldwide. Daily cassava news and background information are a resource for the global cassava industry.

Dr. Jovin Hasjim is a starch expert in the Functionalization R&D team at Roquette in France. He is responsible for developing new ranges of clean-label starches and starch derivatives designed to replace conventional chemically modified starches and maltodextrin. Dr. Hasjim earned his Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from Iowa State University, USA, in 2009. Prior to joining Roquette, he worked at the University of Queensland in Australia. He has authored 17 patent applications, 42 peer-reviewed scientific articles, and two book chapters.

ChainCraft is a Dutch biotech company that develops and exploits proprietary fermentation processes to produce biochemicals from organic waste, providing sustainable chemicals to improve our daily lives.

Co-founded by Niels van Stralen, ChainCraft supports the transition away from petrochemical compounds and replaces a variety of products with bio-based chemicals made from food waste.

Dr. Anne Lamp is CEO and Co-Founder of traceless materials, a Hamburg-based company on a mission to tackle global plastic pollution and drive the transition to a circular economy. With a PhD in process engineering and deep expertise in biorefinery processes, Anne combines technical know-how with strategic leadership. Her work is driven by a commitment to creating scalable, science-backed solutions that align with environmental and societal goals.

traceless materials has developed an innovative, patented technology to transform agricultural residues into a natural, compostable biomaterial. Unlike conventional plastics, traceless® materials are entirely bio-based, fully biodegradable, and produced without harmful chemicals, making them a sustainable alternative for a wide range of applications.

Under Anne’s leadership, traceless has grown from a groundbreaking idea to an award-winning company, scaling production, expanding into new markets, and partnering with industries to implement sustainable material solutions. As a pioneer in the field, traceless is driving the development and market growth of natural polymers and co-founded the Natural Polymers Group to advocate for their role in a circular economy.

After getting his PhD in Biotechnology (1988) from the Agricultural University in Wageningen (The Netherlands), Will joined DSM in the Netherlands. During his 30+ years at DSM, he held various international management positions in Research, Business Development and Business Management. Under his leadership multiple sustainable biobased processes were commercialized (fine chemicals, semi-synthetic antibiotics, bio-succinic, and canola protein).

Early 2020 Will joined Those Vegan Cowboys. Those Vegan Cowboys, is an initiative of the founders of The Vegetarian Butcher (sold at the end of 2018 to Unilever). The aim of Those Vegan Cowboys is to sustainably produce milk proteins by efficient microbial fermentation processes. Focus is especially on caseins, and using these caseins for making good tasting cow-free cheese.

Bosco Emparanza is the CEO and founder of MOA Foodtech, an innovative B2B sustainable ingredient platform that is transforming the agri-food industry since 2021. The company combines biotechnology and artificial intelligence to convert waste and by-products into next-generation proteins that are highly nutritious, tasty, functional, and sustainable. Additionally, Emparanza is an active member of the board of ASEBIO, Spain's leading biotechnology association, where he leads the Food Innovation Working Group

Jeroen is the Co-Founder and CTO of NoPalm Ingredients founded in 2021 to revolutionize the oil and fat industry, by addressing the environmental and supply chain challenges of conventional palm oil,

He also serves as Senior Scientist/Business Development Manager in the Business Group of Biobased Products at the Wageningen University and also holds a part-time Professor Chair in Industrial Molecular Microbiology at the University of Amsterdam.

Tomas, CEO & Co-Founder of Cosaic, has spent the last five years transforming the company from a student project into a thriving venture. He developed the groundbreaking technology for creating a creamy, multifunctional ingredient through biomass fermentation. Under his leadership, the company secured $6 million in seed funding to scale its innovation. Previously, Tomas worked at Planted Foods and holds an MSc in Materials Engineering from EPFL.

Dick van Beek is the founder and CEO of Aminola B.V., a Dutch company that globally unlocks high-value plant-based ingredients for the European food, pet food, and aquafeed industries. Raised on a farm in the Netherlands, he has been involved in agriculture from an early age. He holds a bachelor's degree from Dronten Agricultural University and a master's degree from Nyenrode Business University. Driven by a passion for sustainable and natural food security, he supports sustainability programs and stimulates regenerative farming initiatives. With a clear vision and broad network, he connects shared values to drive business growth and sustainable impact!

  -- Studied process engineer

- Joined Emsland-Stärke in 2015. Since 2021, he leads the Research and Development unit and in 2020 he set up a new processing plant for mung beans together with a US startup

 Iria Varela Campo is the founder and CEO of ODS Protein, a Spanish startup developing alternative proteins through the fermentation of filamentous fungi, revalorizing food industry by-products. A Biology graduate from the University of Vigo, she has been recognized among Europe’s top women transforming the agrifood sector and listed in the 2024 FoodTech 500.

Nelli Hajdu joined Starch Europe in 2025 as Managing Director. Prior to this, she served as Secretary General of CELCAA (the European Liaison Committee for Agricultural and Agri-Food Trade), representing key food sectors engaged in international trade, including cereals, dairy, meat, and processed food products.

She is also the co-founder of NAERO Consulting, a boutique consultancy specialising in agri-food trade and market access. Earlier in her career, she was Secretary General of SHAFFE – The Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (2020–2022) and Director for Trade Policy at Freshfel Europe (2015–2022), focusing on trade facilitation, SPS measures, and market access.

Nelli holds a postgraduate master’s degree in European Governance from the College of Europe and a master’s degree in political science and media science from Goethe University in Frankfurt a.M., Germany.”

Francisco Vilaplana is Professor of Carbohydrate Biotechnology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. Francisco has consolidated a broad research program focused on biomass exploitation through sustainable chemistry and enzyme technology, towards the development of lignocellulosic materials and the upcycling of agrifood side streams into healthy food ingredients. He has published over 130 publications on diverse fields coupled to Glycoscience, including plant sciences, bioprocess technology, material sciences, and food chemistry/technology. He is founding Director of KTH FOOD – a Research Centre for Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems and Director of PLENTY – a Centre for Symbiotic and Circular Food Provisioning. During 2022-2024 he was part-time principal scientist at Oatly Food Science, where he led a research program on plant structure and health

 Hermanussen graduated from Wageningen University with a Master’s Degree in Animal Science. He has held several senior management positions in procurement within highly competitive, complex and challenging industries. He has worked in the compound feed industry at Nutreco and ForFarmers and gained extensive experience in risk management, process optimisation and strategy and business development. He started his career in a technical sales role marketing pig feed, and switched few years later to procurement, buying grain by-products from the EU starch industry for over 20 years now. Three years ago he joined scale-up ChainCraft and supported their journey to a circular economy and CJ Wildbird Foods Europe who are supporting biodiversity and wildlife in gardens and on balconies. Earlier this year he started at Looop, and as Head of Procurement he oversees the valorisation and upcycling of co-products from the agri-food and fermentation industries.

Cyril Francart is a seasoned commodities trader and agrifood strategist currently serving as CEO of FlavaPulse, a company specializing in sustainable pea protein ingredients through innovative dry processing and air-fractionation technologies. With over 12 years of experience as a senior global trader at one of the world’s top agribusiness firms, and as the founder of CommoSupply, a Geneva-based commodity advisory firm, Francart brings deep expertise in procurement, trading, and supply chain optimization.