Thought Leaders Breakfast Panel

Drees Peter van den Bosch founded Dutch social food enterprise Willem&Drees in 2009 in a bid to reconnect consumers with producers.

Owned by farmers and citizens, today the co-operative delivers fresh, seasonal, local and organic food to thousands of people in The Netherlands every week.

The 43-year-old has long had an interest in food and the food chain, having spent his entire childhood growing up on his parents’ farm.

Drees Peter has also worked at Unilever, where he spent 10 years in marketing and sales.

Drees Peter graduated with distinction from Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, with a degree in Operations Research.

Cindy is a senior research analyst within the 80-strong global Rabobank Research Food & Agribusiness team in the Netherlands, where she focuses on the international fresh fruit, vegetable and floriculture sectors.

She has published numerous reports on various topics covering the complete supply chain from grower to consumer. Topics include: the berry business, the European greenhouse sector, the fresh-cut fruit and vegetable industry, fresh produce sourcing, the global floriculture trade and the impact of online grocery retail within the produce sector.

Cindy has been a keynote speaker at several international fresh produce events. Her research and analyses are key deliverables for Rabobank customers and prospects, both in the corporate and rural domains.

Before joining Rabobank in 2001, Cindy worked for Wageningen Economic Research and the European Parliament as a research analyst in the food and agribusiness sector. She earned a Master’s degree in Economics from Tilburg University in 1997.

Rune is CEO of BAMA, the Norwegian  leading trade company for fresh produce. Taking over in 1994, Rune has led the company through the most prosperous growth years of its 130-year history.

A global player with a significant operational reach, BAMA counts on a large network of producers on all continents, which is complemented by operations in other European markets. In 2016 the company’s consolidated sales reached €1.8bn.

BAMA’s vision is to make Norway fresher and healthier by linking the value chain from field to fork in the most sustainable and efficient way, combined with strong marketing programmes based on consumer insight, knowledge and inspiration. Fresh and healthy growth for BAMA’s partners is the company’s driving force.

Ed McLaughlin is the Robert G. Tobin Professor of Marketing at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University in the US state of New York, where he also serves as Director of the Food Industry Management Program.

Ed’s research interests include: retailing strategies, linking customer satisfaction to firm performance, and the economics of retailing and fresh food marketing. His research appears in numerous academic journals.

In addition, Ed teaches retailing at the Graduate School of Management in Lille, France; is the Adjunct Professor of Retailing at Nyenrode, The Netherlands School of Business; is Founding Director of the Ahold Retail Academy in The Netherlands; and the Dean of the Cornell Retail Management Program in Japan.

Ed has won several national awards for both his research and teaching, and is the author or co-author of three books. He also serves on the boards of several public and private organisations.

Peter Hoijtink is European sector leader of Agrifood at PwC. He has broad experience with companies across the agrifood value chain on topics like growth strategy, market entry, sales channel strategy, business model development, and business transformation.

Sumit is the Head of International Foods at Bloom Foods and Beverages – a subsidiary of Future Consumer Limited, which is the Food and FMCG company of one of India’s largest retailers, The Future Group.

His responsibilities include setting up distribution channels for imported foods, establishing international connections and handling global food promotions across the various retail formats that Future Group owns and operates.

Sumit’s expertise lies in food marketing and establishing successful food brands through market research, retail promotions and supply chain interventions.

Before joining The Future Group, for 15 years Sumit was the Director of agribusiness consulting firm The SCS Group.

He has also been closely involved in the successful launch of several imported produce items in India, including: California table grapes, USA pears, Washington State apples, US apples, California prunes and California walnuts.

Sumit regularly advises wholesalers and retailers in India on issues such as: retail merchandising, cold chain management and the ways in which to overcome the country’s fragmented supply chain.

James heads up the fresh produce procurement division at SPAR Group in South Africa, which he joined in 2004.

At SPAR he is responsible for sustainably sourcing over 500 fresh produce house brand lines from 200+ local growers, as well as importing from Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Spain.

Over the last four years James has been instrumental in the creation of mutually-beneficial ‘Rural Hubs’ that link rural small-scale growers to local consumer demand and retail requirements.

Prior to SPAR, James worked in the agri-food processing industry at Fisher Foods and Afgri-Fresh Cut, following over a decade in primary agriculture; first at Constantia Estate and later for mango supplier Bavaria Estates. Before that, he spent four years in R&D on completing a Master’s degree in agriculture.

James is active on several industry forums, including the National Technical Working Group for GlobalGAP and the PMA Country Council of Southern Africa. He has published over 30 scientific articles in local and international journals.

Diana is Category Group Manager, fruit and  vegetables for Mega Image Ahold Delhaize. Her responsibilities include the coordination of the F&V buying team; the development of strategic directions in the produce department; focus on share consolidation in sales and profitability; initiating and implementing strategic projects in F&V.

Diana also is responsible for sustaining the local products but requesting a responsible production under specific parameters; identifying opportunities on the local and external markets; focusing on developing sustainable business with all of the Ahold Delhaize partners; forecasts for quantities and establishing the terms for specific contracts; targeting the differentiation in assortment and concepts; interest in developing new consumption trends.