Dionys Forster is the Director General of SAI Platform since April 2022. Bringing 20 years’ experience as a dynamic and respected leader in agri-food value chain, he was previously the Raw Material Sourcing Lead at Nestlé SA, where he developed sourcing strategies from field to factory, leading on the business’ sustainable agriculture impact assessment tools and innovative raw material sourcing.
Prior to his involvement at Nestlé, he led international applied agricultural and environmental research for the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG).
He brings a wealth of knowledge in agri-food value chain management and the implementation of applied agriculture research and development programmes in biodiversity, soil, water, GHG emission reduction, and inclusive growth.
Robert M. Erhard is a trained Agronomist with degrees in International Agriculture (University of Bern), Teaching (Cambridge) and an MBA (Open University). He has additional qualifications in sustainability and international agriculture. In 2003, Robert joined Nestlé and has taken on various roles including Head of Fresh Milk and Agricultural Services in the Greater China Region, Managing Director of the multistakeholder Dairy Farming Institute and since 2015 Global Head of Fresh Milk Sourcing.
Axelle Bodoy is a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience in driving sustainable and regenerative agriculture initiatives across various organisations. Currently serving as the Global Head of Regenerative Agriculture at Louis Dreyfus Company, Axelle plays a pivotal role in spearheading the company’s efforts to promote sustainable, regenerative and climate-smart farming practices worldwide.
With 30+ years food and ag experience, Grazielle Parenti is a passionate, committed leader who currently serves at Syngenta as the Head Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Brazil, and Global Head of Value Chain Alliances, where she leverages her expertise in ESG, international trade, food and beverage industry, marketing, DEI, corporate governance, compliance, and corporate affairs. She is also a board member and chair of the sustainability committee at Alvoar Lácteos, vice-president of the board at Associação Brasileira do Agronegócio, the Brazilian Agribusiness Association, and has been recognized as one of the 500 Top Bloomberg LATAM Leaders, a Forbes Agro Women Leader, for four consecutive years. Grazi has an MBA with emphasis in Marketing from FIA/USP and a postgraduate degree in Public Policy from FGV.
Olivier CLYTI
Head of CSR, Digital, Strategy and Marketing, Innovation and Purchasing, INVIVO GROUP.
After starting his career at Groupe Soufflet, a family-owned agricultural and agri-food group, in 1995 in the Treasury and Financing Department, Olivier Clyti joined the Vivendi Environment Group (now Veolia) in 2001 in the Treasury Finance Department. He held various positions within the Finance Department for 13 years. In 2014 he returned to the Soufflet Group as Chief Operating Officer and member of the Executive Board. His responsibilities include IT and digital functions, CSR, strategy and industrial management. Olivier Clyti will actively contribute to the merger between the Soufflet and InVivo groups, which will be finalised in 2021. Since then, he has managed several cross-functional functions within the InVivo group, covering the entire scope of the group: CSR, Digital, Strategy and Marketing, Innovation and Purchasing. Olivier Clyti is a member of the InVivo Group Executive Committee.
A farmer and agricultural business owner based in Pocancy, east of Paris, Christoph Büren took on his first responsibilities within VIVESCIA in 1999. As president of VIVESCIA cooperative Group since January 2017, Christoph Büren is convinced that the grain industry, agriculture and the food industry have a role to play in facing global challenges like climate change, the preservation of biodiversity, demographic pressure, global food security, and the energy transition… they are part of the solution today, and even more so in the future.
Christoph Büren will talk about the challenges of carbon and biodiversity for plant and grain industries. He will also discuss TRANSITIONS, a pioneering programme launched by VIVESCIA in 2023, which aims to help 1,000 cooperative farmers transition to regenerative, low-carbon agriculture that promotes soil health and biodiversity by 2026.
Working in DG Clima Unit for Land Economy and Carbon Removals, Valeria is specialized in the land sector’s pivotal role in combating climate change. She focuses on reducing agricultural emissions, enhancing carbon sinks in soils and forests. With a background in environmental economics, she previously contributed to European space policies at UCLouvain and worked extensively in microeconomics, industrial organization, and public economics.
Gottlieb BASCH
Agronomist
Full Prof. Crop Science Department of UEvora
Integrated member of MED
European Conservation Agriculture Federation
Gottlieb Basch holds a Doctorate degree in Agricultural Sciences from Georg-August-University Göttingen/Germany. Since 1991, he is professor at the University of Évora/Portugal and member of the former “Institute of Mediterranean Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (ICAAM)”, now MED, located at this university. He is working on soil & water conservation and soil carbon dynamics. His main interests are focussed on sustainable land use and the implementation of Conservation Agriculture systems. Apart from several H2020 projects, he has been involved in three EIP Focus Groups. Gottlieb Basch has been president of the European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF) between 2002 and 2008 and is it again since 2011. At present, he is member of the DG CLIMA Expert Group on Carbon Removals and excited to start the recently awarded HE project TRAILS4SOIL.
Hans Jöhr was the former Corporate Head of Agriculture at Nestlé. As such, he was responsible for providing technical and strategic leadership in the groups’ worldwide agricultural raw material supply chain. This includes the agricultural policy, the raw material quality control and R&D, where Nestlé buys its agricultural materials at farm level, called “The Farmer Connect” procurement program.
Furthermore, he was alike in charge of External Relations linked to agriculture and rural development and NGOs interactions for field pilots projects (production systems, technology, assurance, quality, ESG).
Mr Jöhr is currently a C-level advisor on sustainability and ESG topics, Board Member, and non-ex. Director of Board of IFCN (Dairy Related Research Network), Former Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Business Incubator Platform of lITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) and member of the Board of Trustees of SwissContact, a Swiss business-oriented foundation for international development cooperation.
Sarah Singla is a French agronomist and farmer renowned for her advocacy of regenerative agriculture in France and around the world.
She took over her family’s farm in 2010, which has been practicing soil conservation techniques since 1980. She grows different kind of cereals, pulses, various cover-crops and cash crop with living perennial crops. The farm has also meadows with mob grazing techniques and agroforestry.
Nuffield scholar in 2011, she travelled the world to focus on soil fertility, cover crops and regenerative agriculture.
Co-producer of the documentary-film « Bienvenue les vers de terre » in 2019, she actively participate to its diffusion in France. The documentary aims to shed light on the challenges and solutions related to sustainable farming, emphasizing the importance of soil regeneration.
Inspirational voice for agriculture, she was honored as « International No-Till Legend » in december 2024, she was recognized for her significant contribution to developing, promoting and spreading the word about the many benefits of no-tillage and regeneration agriculture internationally.
Mercedes Groba is an accomplished innovation leader and expert in sustainable food systems, currently serving as Head of Regenerative Agriculture at the European Institute of Innovation & Technology in Food (EIT Food). In this role, she leads the development and scaling of regenerative landscapes across Europe, integrating regenerative agriculture into broader innovation strategies, expanding sustainable practices, and aligning EIT Food’s diverse initiatives under a cohesive vision to promote sustainability, resilience, and innovation across the agrifood sector.
With over 25 years of experience, Mercedes has worked across the food innovation ecosystem, helping shape sustainable food systems through strategic programmes and hands-on stakeholder engagement. Her time managing the European Common Agricultural Policy in northern Spain deepened her understanding of agriculture, environmental stewardship, and the importance of working closely with farmers on the ground.
Her academic background includes a degree in Agricultural Engineering with a specialization in agrifood systems. Mercedes’ lifelong commitment to sustainability is rooted in her early experiences on her family’s regenerative farm in Galicia—a connection she continues to nurture every time she returns home.
Above all, Mercedes is passionate about driving meaningful change believing that now is the time to act to build a better world for all.
Audrey Michaud is a lecturer and researcher in animal science at the VetAgro Sup agricultural engineering school in Clermont-Ferrand. She is in charge of the « global quality in euroepan livestock production » master’s program. A specialist in grazing systems, particularly permanent grasslands, she conducts her research at INRAE. She works on the services provided by grazing systems and grasslands. She is particularly interested in agroecological systems and the role of regenerative agricultural practices in farming systems. In particular, she is working on the role of regenerative grazing in French farming systems.
Knighted with the French Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole, winner of the 2020 Agro-ecological Innovation Prize, today a National Trust tenant farmer and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Agricultural University, Andy’s shift from music to farming brought fresh perspectives to the challenge of making the food system both resilient and a source of ecological regeneration rather than destruction. With over 17 years of hands-on farming experience, Andy co-founded Wildfarmed in 2019, a pioneering regenerative food and farming business that brings quality food grown in nature-rich landscapes to the high street.
She is agronomist and used to work at the French Livestock Institute (IDELE) and for led the French national scheme of good practices in beef and dairy farms for the National Breeding Confederation (Confédération Nationale de l’Elevage). She arrived at McDonald’s more than 5 years ago and has launch the co-construction of the 2020-2030 Sustainable Sourcing on the 5 main categories : beef, chicken, potatoes, wheat and salad, based on climate, biodiversity, animal welfare and the main parties concerned, farmers. After several pilot projects, the aim is now to scale up good practices leading to an agriculture more regenerative linked to McDonald’s Corporation Strategy.
Since 2 years she also lead Environment in Restaurant Strategy on energy, water,…
Lianne van Leijsen is Executive Director in the Food System Transition team at Rabobank and focuses on Regenerative Agriculture. Lianne started at Rabobank in 1995 and has a strong background in structuring financial solutions that are “out of the box” for Wholesale clients in the Food & Agri sector. In 2018 Lianne joined Rabobank Group Sustainability where she worked on integrating sustainability in financial solutions via tools such as the Biodiversity monitor dairy and via sustainable finance transactions. Currently, Lianne focuses greatly on advocating Regenerative Agriculture both internally as well as externally by building multistakeholder partnerships with Wholesale clients that have commitments on Regenerative Agriculture. All this with the aim to find new financial solutions to finance the transition. Working with the idea “create a business model for the farmer, and he or she will follow” the strategy is to stack incentives together with supply chain actors to accelerate the transition. Next to that, the Food System Transition team is seeking to enable Rabobank to green its portfolio by building strategies for the bank on upcoming markets that enable more sustainable and healthy food production.
Valentina MATERIA
Associate Professor – Innovation and Entrepreneurship – WAGENINGEN University & Research centre
Dr Valentina C Materia, PhD in Economics, is Associate Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Agri-food Systems at the Business Management and Organisation group, Department of Social Science of Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands. As applied economist who developed an interest in innovation as connected to organization theories, institutional economics, business management and entrepreneurship, Valentina’s research focuses on how the adoption of agroecological innovations can help small agrifood businesses – especially led by women entrepreneurs – transition and contribute to resilient and inclusive food systems. In this process, she is particularly interested in aspects including sustainable business modelling, opportunities for upscaling, the role of socio-economic contexts.