biographies of speakers and moderators

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Omar BenayachiManaging Director,Zalagh Holding

Omar Benayachi is Managing Director of Zalagh Holding and the President of the National Association of Industrial Poultry Slaughterhouses.He has nearly 20 years of experience in banking and consumer credit, particularly as a member of the Board of AFASALAF and Director of Risk in retail banking Attijariwafa bank. He then joined the Group in 2007 as the ELDIN company’s CEO. He graduated at the Institut supérieur de commerce et d›administration des enterprises (ISCAE Casablanca, Morocco).

Kacem Bennani-Smires CEODelassus Group

Kacem Bennani Smires, Chairman of Delassus Group, Chairman of Citruma and Founder of The Sanady Foundation, celebrates this year 30 years of progressively responsible experience directing as many as 5,000 employees in companies with revenues over USD 150 million. Kacem has led these companies through start-up, survival, improvement and growth modes. Kacem is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of industries, including agriculture, packing and export of fruits and vegetable, juice industry, pack houses equipment and sustainable projects such as water management and corporate social responsibility (CSR).Kacem is distinguished by his passion for business, his focus on collaborative team management, and his commitment to meeting customer and market demands. He is very committed to CSR and is the founder of Sanady foundation, a non-profit social enterprise that provides free after school educational support to more than 4,500 underprivileged children.Kacem holds Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University (US) and an Executive MBA from ESC Toulouse University. He speaks Arabic, French, English and Spanish.

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Philippe Binard General DelegateFreshfel Europe

Philippe Binard, a Belgian national, is the General Delegate of Freshfel Europe, the European Fresh Produce Association (www.freshfel.org). This association is the European fresh fruit and vegetables representative body incorporating more than 200 members (associations and companies) from the fresh produce sector. Philippe has a legal degree from the University of Leuven (1984) and joined the European Fruit and Vegetables Importers Association (CIMO) in 1987, after several trainings in both the public and private sector. He became General Delegate of that organisation in 1992. In 2001, he was appointed General Delegate of Freshfel Europe, the new association launched as the single platform for the European fresh produce sector. Apart from his responsibilities within Freshfel Europe, Philippe is also in charge of other trade associations, namely the European Banana Trade Association, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) and the Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE). He was also the Secretary General of the European Cold Storage and Logistics Association (ECSLA) from 1989 to 2002 and Secretary General of the European Community Trade Association (ECBTA) from 1993 to 2009.

Jocelyn BlériotExecutive OfficerEllen MacArthur Foundation

Jocelyn Blériot, co-founder and executive officer of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, has an academic background in literature, philosophy and sociology. Having spent most of his career in the media industry as a journalist and editor, he joined Ellen MacArthur in 2007 and is responsible for effective communication of many of the circular economy ideas. He notably develops written and video content, coordinates academic and professional reports and edits educational resources produced by the Foundation. He represented the Foundation on the European Resource Efficiency Platform of the European Commission and manages the relationship with European Union institutions.

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Carlos Cabanas GodinoHeadGeneral Secretariat of Agriculture and Food, Spain

Carlos Cabanas Godino is the head of the General Secretariat of Agriculture and Food and he chairs the Interministerial Council on Genetically Modified Organisms and the Council for Rural Areas The functions he covered since 2002 have included planning, leading and coordinating the active policies related to the Common Agricultural Policy; agricultural, livestock and forestry products; animal and plant health; sustainable rural development and territory; modernization of farms and irrigation; food markets and industries; foreign trade of agricultural products. Carlos defines ministry partnerships in the above fields, with other public administrations and organizations or entities representing different sectors and sets the Spanish position in negotiations with the European Commission and other institutions and forums of the international arena. He also develops strategies and establishes guidelines for research & innovation and promotion in the agrifood sector. He was Counsellor for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union (2002-2007), Vocal Advisor in the Technical Cabinet of the Under-Secretariat of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (2007-2008), Deputy Director General Regional Fisheries Organisations and Agreements (2008-2010), Deputy Director General of Fishery (or Marine Resources) and Aquaculture(2010-2012 and Managing Director of Productions and Agricultural Markets (2012-2014). He holds a degree from the Veterinary Faculty at the University Complutense de Madrid.

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Claudio CorteseSenior Deputy Secretary GeneralUnion of the Mediterranean (UfM)

Claudio Cortese was appointed Senior Deputy Secretary General of the UfM on 1 April 2013. He started his career in the private sector and in 1981 joined the European Investment Bank (EIB). He participated in the launching of the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) and contributed to defining and implementing its strategy for the Mediterranean region. He retired from the EIB as honorary Director General. He is also an Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana and Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la République de Côte d’Ivoire. Claudio holds a degree in Economics and International Affairs and a Certificate of Higher Education in Economics.

Jonathan CharlesDirector of CommunicationsEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Jonathan Charles is Director of Communications at the EBRD and a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee. He is a specialist in economics, the European Union and international diplomacy, with a keen interest in issues surrounding the single currency. Jonathan came to the Bank in 2011 after a long and distinguished career at the BBC, winning several awards for his journalism. As a BBC presenter and foreign correspondent, he has appeared on BBC1 and BBC World News. Having established television operations for the BBC in Brussels and Frankfurt, he is well practiced in recruiting and leading teams of reporters, researchers, producers and technical staff. He holds an MA (Oxon) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oriel College, Oxford University, and is fluent in French and German.

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Andrii DykunPresidentMilk Producer in Ukraine

Andrii Dykun is the President of the Association of Milk Producers (ADP) in Ukraine and in March 2014, he was temporarily appointed Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. ADP was founded in 2009 with the aim of helping farmers gain the best results and meet high standards in milk production and to provide every citizen of Ukraine with natural, high quality milk. ADP is currently made up of more than 100 dairy farms across the country. The average annual yield of the Association’s enterprises is more than 1.5 times higher than average indexes in Ukraine. In 2003, he also founded the agroconsulting company Dykun, which helps Ukrainian farmers learn best worldwide practices and apply them in Ukraine. The company also provides exchange programs for farmers from abroad to become acquainted with the experiences of Ukrainian farmers and leading agricultural enterprises.

Martin EllingInternational Consultant

Martin Elling is a non-executive Director for Lenta Ltd, one of the leading hypermarket operators in the Russian Federation, and advises businesses on corporate governance issues, broadening their equity base or preparing them for a (partial) exit. He also serves as a Senior Agribusiness Advisor to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). He has over 30 years of experience in agribusiness, B2B and financial services. He started off his career as an Economist with the United Nations, where he worked for 11 years on World Bank projects as an economist for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In 1992, he joined the recently established EBRD in London as a Senior Banker where he worked in the Agribusiness and Infrastructure Departments. In 1997, Martin left the EBRD to pursue investment opportunities in agribusiness, leasing and B2B services in Ukraine and Russia, where he achieved two successful exits. Martin graduated in Economics from the University of Amsterdam in 1979 and obtained a post-graduate degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Wageningen.

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Régis FournierGeneral ManagerMaïsadour Semences

Régis Fournier is General Manager of Maïsadour Semences Group, which is headquartered in France, with 12 subsidiaries in Europe, the most important of which is in Ukraine. After a year working at the Institut Agronomique Médirerranéen, he joined Maïsadour Semences as an Agronomist in 1992. He became a Product Manager for seeds in 1994, Marketing Manager in 1997, and a Commercial Manager in 1999. Most recently, in 2003, he became General Manager of Seed Branch of Maïsadour Cooperative Group, which has EUR 1.5 billion in turnover. Between 2008 and 2012, Régis was in charge of the Vegetable Branch, in addition to his responsibilities with the Seed Branch, which he restructured, building a new partnership with Agrial Group. His responsibilities include the management of the Morrocan subsidiary, which produces fresh vegetables in partnership with a local farmer network. Since 2012, again in addition to Seed Branch, he has also been in charge of International Development and Innovation for all the activities of Maïsadour Cooperative Group. Since 2013, he has been Chairman of the French Union of Seed Companies, which encompasses 99 percent of the business. He is a member of the management board of Maïsadour Cooperative Group and is also in charge of international development and innovation for the entire Maïsadour Cooperative Group. He is also a Board Member of the French Corn Producers Organisation (AGPM), Seeds French Interprofession (GNIS). Régis graduated from Montpellier Sup Agro in 1991.

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Hildegard GacekManaging Director, Southern & Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED)European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD)

Hildegard Gacek took up her position as Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region at the EBRD in April 2012. The appointment underscored the Bank’s commitment to supporting emerging Arab democracies.Based in EBRD headquarters in London, Hildegard is responsible for the formulation and delivery of the Bank’s strategy and business plan for this new region of operations, covering Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. She manages the EBRD’s banking operations in the SEMED region, directing the activities of teams based both in the relevant countries and in London. Hildegard has more than 25 years of banking experience in project and corporate finance, equity investment and corporate advisory. A German national, she started her career as a financial analyst at the DEG (Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft), where she later ran the department responsible for the Middle East, West and North Africa for a period of eight years. She joined the EBRD in 1998 as a Senior Evaluation Manager from the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS). She was subsequently appointed Director for the Caucasus, Belarus and Moldova and then Director for Romania, based in Bucharest. Prior to her new appointment, Hildegard was the EBRD’s Director for Serbia since 2007, based in Belgrade. A graduate of the Cologne Business School, Hildegard holds an MBA and a Masters in International Trade. In addition to her native German, she speaks fluent English and French.

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Hafez GhanemVice President, Middle East and North Africa World Bank

Hafez Ghanem has been the Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa since March 2015. He is a development expert with more than thirty years of experience in policy analysis, project formulation and supervision, and management of multinational institutions. Hafez leads the World Bank’s engagement with 20 Middle East and North African countries through a portfolio of ongoing projects, technical assistance and grants worth more than USD 13 billion. Eradicating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity through the creation of opportunities are core to his vision for the Middle East and North Africa Region. Prior to his appointment as Vice President, he was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in the Global Economy and Development program leading the Arab economies project, focused on the impact of political transition on Arab economic development. Between 2007 and 2012, he served as Assistant Director-General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), where he was responsible for the Economic and Social Development Department and FAO’s analytical work on agricultural economics and food security, trade and markets, gender and equity, and statistics.Hafez returns to the World Bank where he had already 24 years of experience (1983-2007), and has worked on Bank operations and initiatives in over 20 countries in Africa, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Southeast Asia. His previous positions at the World Bank include: Country Director for Nigeria where he led a multinational team of more than 100 professionals, managing the Bank’s loan portfolio of some USD 1.5 billion; Country Director for Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles; and Sector Leader for Public Economics and Trade Policy in the Europe and Central Asia Region. He holds a BA and MA in Economics from the American University in Cairo and a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Davis. He is fluent in Arabic, English and French.

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Jane Harrigan Professor of EconomicsSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)

Jane Harrigan is a Professor of Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. She works on food security in the Middle East and North Africa as well as in sub-Saharan Africa. She has also worked extensively on the political economy of IMF and World Bank economic reform programmes in both regions as well as on foreign aid more generally. Prior to joining SOAS, Jane has held posts at the University of Manchester and in the Ministry of Agriculture in Malawi. She has also acted as a consultant to numerous international organisations, including the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the African Development Bank and UNCTAD. She is the author of 8 books and numerous journal papers, including the 2009 book ‘Aid and Power in the Arab World’ and the 2014 book ‘The Political Economy of Arab Food Sovereignty’ published by Palgrave Macmillan.”

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Mustapha HassiniIndustrial Director Lesieur Cristal

Mustapha Hassini is Industrial Director with Lesieur Cristal. With over 20 years of experience, he is an expert in the agrifood industry, specifically on topics of crushing, refining, and packaging, olive oil plantations, the development of renewable energies, lean manufacturing and business development. He is a member of the Commission régionale de l’INDH and the Association Guir (activités socioculturelles) and won first prize for Innovation in 2010 and for sustainable development in 2011. Mustapha has an MBA from the ENPC School of International Management (EHTP) in Paris. He also holds a BA in Mathematics.

Cosimo LacirignolaSecretary GeneralCIHEAM

Cosimo Lacirignola is an Agricultural Economist and has been the Secretary General of CIHEAM since October 2013. He has worked on issues of Mediterranean agriculture, food security and rural development for over 30 years. After having been an official of the European Commission from 1982 to 1983, he becameAdministrator at the CIHEAM General Secretariat from 1983 to 1987, and then Head of the CIHEAM-Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari in 1987. These roles provided him with extensive experience in the field of scientific and technical cooperation in the Mediterranean, having developed numerous training and research projects and having been at the heart of high-level regional diplomacy.He has also acted as Advisor for international relations to the Ministers of Agriculture of three different Italian governments. He was also Head of the International Relations Office of the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MIPAAF) from 1998 to 2000, then from 2002 to 2006. He was President of the Fiera del Levante in Bari from 2006 to 2011. Cosimo is the author of numerous articles and several books on agricultural, water and Euro-Mediterranean issues. He is Commander of the Italian Republic and Commander of the National Order of the Cedar of the Republic of Lebanon. He received a Laurea Honoris Causa from the Agricultural University of Tirana in Albania and is a graduate of the University of Bologna.

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Philippe Le Houérou Vice President, Policy & Partnerships Member of the Bank’s weekly Executive CommitteeEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Philippe Le Houérou took up the position of EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships in January 2015 and is responsible for leading the coordination of strategies, policies and related initiatives that support the Bank’s transition mandate. He is also responsible for the mobilisation and management of donor funds and for oversight of the EBRD’s engagement with key external stakeholders and organisations. Before joining the EBRD, Philippe was the World Bank’s Regional Vice President for the South Asia Region. Prior to that, he was the World Bank’s Regional Vice President for Europe and Central Asia and led efforts to mitigate the impact of the global economic crisis. In addition, he focused on strengthening analytical work and developed reimbursable advisory services. Other key leadership positions held at the World Bank included Vice President of Concessional Finance and Global Partnerships, Acting Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Director of Finance and Resource Mobilisation, Macro-Fiscal Sector Manager, and Resident Representative in Madagascar.

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Mohamed ManssouriService Chief, Europe and Central Asia, North Africa and Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean Service, Investment Centre DivisionFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)Mohamed Manssouri is an Agricultural Economist and an expert in agricultural and rural development, food security and poverty reduction. Before leading the Europe and Central Asia, North Africa and Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean Service of FAO Investment Centre, Mohamed worked as a Senior Adviser in the Investment Centre in charge of quality enhancement, knowledge sharing and learning. He also coordinated FAO’s “Renewed Commitment to a Hunger-Free Horn of Africa” and led the development of resilience-building strategic plans and investment programmes in the Horn of Africa. Prior to joining FAO, he was Country Programme Manager with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) where he led the development and management of various country investment strategies and programmes (Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Ghana, Niger, Republic of Congo) and several regional strategies and programmes in rural finance, community-driven development, conservation agriculture and policy development and dialogue (West Africa Rural Hub). Within the scope of the IFAD reform to enhance its development effectiveness, he led the preparation of IFAD’s Knowledge Management strategy and other organizational change initiatives. Mohamed also served on the multi-agency team that prepared the Comprehensive Framework for Action in response to the 2007/08 food crisis, in the framework of the United Nations High-Level Task Force on Food Security Crises, chaired by the UN Secretary-General. For many years, Mohamed worked as a consultant in support of agricultural investments and policies for several national and international development agencies. He was also a trainer in agricultural economics and gave lectures at University Roma III’s Master on Human Development and Food Security. Mohamed holds an MA degree from AgroParisTech, Paris, France.

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Gilles MettetalDirector of AgribusinessEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Mr Mettetal is Director of the Agribusiness Department and oversees the Property & Tourism Department at the EBRD. The EBRD is an international financing institution owned by 64 countries and 2 intergovernmental organisations. The Bank operates in over 30 countries across Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. EBRD is the largest provider of financing to the private agribusiness sector in this region. It provides approximately €900 million annually of financing to the sector with a total portfolio of €3.5 billion of investments. The institution counts amongst its agribusiness clients leading international and local companies, operating throughout the food chain from farming to agro processing, food distribution and retail. Gilles’s previous work experience was with the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), where he was in charge of the identification and preparation of projects to be financed by major international financing institutions such as the World Bank and the International Fund of Agriculture (IFAD) in Asia, Africa and South America. He also worked for the OECD/Club du Sahel on the Analysis of the Competitiveness of Agriculture in the Sahel and Grain policies in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and Mali. Gilles Mettetal holds a postgraduate degree from L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier. He also holds an MSc degree in Biology and Environment.

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Gianpiero NacciHead, Industrial and Business Energy Efficiency Pillar in the Energy Efficiency and Climate Change (E2C2)European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Gianpiero Nacci is the Head of the Industrial and Business Energy Efficiency Pillar in the Energy Efficiency and Climate Change (E2C2) Team at the EBRD. He has more than 20 years of experience in sustainable energy and cleaner production with expertise in energy efficiency, industrial processes and renewable energy technologies. The E2C2 team is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the EBRD Sustainable Resource Initiative which, since its inception in 2006, has provided over EUR 16 billion in financing to sustainable energy projects resulting in annual GHG emission reduction of 70 million tonCO2e.He joined the EBRD in 2003 and has lead the development of cleaner production, sustainable energy and carbon emission reduction projects for corporate clients in manufacturing, agribusiness, property and tourism and transport resulting in more than EUR 4 billion of EBRD finance. He has conducted or supervised the implementation of over 300 business development assignments including energy and resource efficiency audits in manufacturing (steel, non-ferrous metals, pulp & paper, glass, automotive, cement, food processing, building materials, oil & gas), carbon emission reduction assessments and energy management trainings. Gianpiero’s work covers the whole EBRD region; in particular, he has developed field experience in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, BiH, Croatia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine.Before joining the EBRD, Gianpiero worked with Enron as a Senior Engineer in the Asset Management and Engineering Services Team developing investment opportunities in CCGT, waste-to-energy, RDF pyrolysis and wind farms. He also has significant experience in other emerging economies outside the EBRD region, including India where he worked with IT Power India (2003) developing renewable energy applications in the health care sector and with Fiat Engineering (1997-1998), where as a Project Engineer he was responsible for the design and construction of utilities systems for three manufacturing facilities of the Fiat Group.Gianpiero holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino (1994) and an MSc in Renewable Energy from the University of Oldenburg Germany (2003).

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Alex PaineSenior Manager, Enterprise Growth ProgrammeEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Alex Paine has been working in SME advisory for the majority of the past 18 years, predominantly based in the field, focusing on both direct investment and investment advisory work with SME’s as well as at the macro business enabling level.Prior to working as a Senior Manager for the EBRD’s Enterprise Growth Programme, he was a partner in an M&A advisory company advising SME’s in Southeast Europe. The company successfully closed 56 M&A transactions and became the leading M&A specialist in the region.Before this, he spent 11 years working with the IFC both at headquarters and in the field. Alex ran the IFC’s largest SME programme in Southeast Europe which provided him with a unique insight into the particular challenges facing SMEs in transition economies facing large changes and often following conflict. He holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management and is a retired British Army officer.

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Oleksiy PavlenkoMinisterMinistry of Agrarian Policy and Food, Ukraine

Oleksiy Pavlenko has been the Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food since 2014. Previously, he was a Member of Supervisory Board at “European milk technologies” and also consulted on matters regarding investment into the agricultural sector for Agroprogress Holding Ltd and Forum Capital. In 2004-2006, he was CEO of Rise Group in Ukraine, where he was responsible for general, strategic and investment management of the Group in Ukraine, Russia and Moldova and for the efficient implementation of budget and control systems. From 2007 to 2009, he was Chief Executive Officer at Foxtrot, where he was responsible for general and investment management in Ukraine and Moldova. And from 2009 onwards he was a member of the Advisory Board of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He has also worked as a supervisor at KPMG in Ukraine, as a management consultant at ABN AMRO in the Netherlands, and, in 2002 to 2003, as a Member of an Audit Committee, Head of Restructuring team and Business Development team with Damen Shipyards Group (Netherlands), where he worked on the realization of projects in Ukraine, Romania and Netherlands. Oleksiy holds a PhD in Economics. In 2002 he received an MBA from the School of Business of University of Nyenrode in the Netherlands. In 2000, he received an MA in Management of Foreign Economic activity at the Ukrainian Academy of Foreign Trade. Oleksiy graduated with a BA in Economics from the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”. In 1999 he received a Specialist degree in Finance at the International Center of Privatization (International Business School). Oleksiy fluently speaks Ukrainian, English and Russian.

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Sergio PiazziSecretary GeneralParliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM)

Amb. Sergio Piazzi is a Senior Executive Officer of the United Nations and in April 2007, Sergio was appointed Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.Sergio has served as a Political Officer at the US Department of State in the early 1980s. He coordinated UN relief operations in Northern Ethiopia from 1985 to 1988. He conceived and managed the UN Programme on the use of international Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief from 1989 to 1995. In 1996, he was appointed Head of the UN/DHA Regional Desk for Europe and CIS. From 2001 to 2006, he was responsible for UN/OCHA’s External Relations. In January 2007, he was appointed Senior Adviser on European Affairs. He has been inter-alia, responsible for policy cooperation with the Council of the European Union, European Commission, NATO, Arab League, G77, G8, OIC, Council of Europe and OSCE, and their Parliamentary Assemblies. In his career, he served, inter alia, also as UN Representative in Romania in 1989-90, UNDRO delegate in Persian Gulf Region in 1990, as Special Assistant to ASG Matti Ahtisaari, Policy Adviser to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Iraq in 1991-92, UN Representative to Operation Turquoise in Rwanda in 1994, he negotiated the cease-fire in Georgia in 1994, and coordinated international assistance to Poland in 1997 and Turkey in 1999. He developed the UN NATO policy framework in relation to cooperation in civil emergency management in the context of Partnership for Peace (PfP). In 2000, Sergio organized the Fribourg Forum, the UN Ministerial Conference on European Cooperation and Coordination in Crisis Management. In 2001, he finalized the UN-Greek-Turkish trilateral cooperation protocol. In 2004, he negotiated the UN/EC agreement on cooperation in emergency operations. And in 2005, he was offered the position of NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Operations.He is an Alumnus of the Nunziatella military school of Napoli. He holds an Honours Degree Doctorate in Political Sciences, University of Naples, Italy, and attended the Diplomatic School in Rome. He also holds a Masters in Economics and Foreign Trade, MFT, Rome, and a Crisis Management Certificate, University of Wisconsin, USA.

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Alain PillouxManaging Director, Industry, Commerce and AgribusinessEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Alain Pilloux is currently Managing Director in charge of the following activities across the EBRD’s 36 countries of operation: (1) the corporate sector business (industries, information and communication technologies, services, healthcare, agribusiness, retail, property & tourism), and (2) the EBRD’s direct equity and private equity/venture capital business across all sectors of activity (corporate, financial institutions, energy & natural resources, infrastructure). These activities account for about one third of the EBRD’s portfolio, annual business volume and number of transactions. In addition, Alain is responsible for the EBRD’s innovation agenda and for its worldwide business development strategy. After starting his career at the Inspection Générale des Finances in Paris, Alain joined the EBRD in June 1992. He held various senior management positions over the years, including Country Director for Poland, Managing Director for Central Europe, and Managing Director for Russia. He studied at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC), the Ecole de L’Arme Blindée-Cavalerie (Saumur), the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (IEP Paris), and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA).

André Pinto Rocha Executive Director, Frulact and Business Ethics FacultyPorto Business School

André Pinto Rocha is the Executive Director at the Frulact and Business Ethics Faculty at Porto Business School. He was previously the Head of Corporate Affairs at MDS Group and Head of M&A and Corporate Communication at Sonae Capital. He is a manager with extensive international and corporate knowledge, after over 10 years with Sonae and MDS Group and with an executive MBA and leadership formation. André has a wide range of experience in strategy implementation, consulting, M&A and institutional affairs. He holds an Executive MBA from IE Business School (Madrid, Spain), Advanced Program on Negotiation (Harvard Business School) and High Potentials Leadership Program (Harvard Business School).

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Josep Maria Plegrí i Aixut Regional MinisterMinistry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment, Generalitat of Cataloni

Josep Maria Plegrí i Aixut is the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment. In this capacity, he serves as chairman of several government-owned agencies: IRTA (Institute of Agribusiness Research and Technology), PRODECA (Catalan Agribusiness Exports Promotion Agency), INCAVI (Catalan Institute of Vine and Wine), and the Catalan Forestry Agency. He is also the President of the CTFC (Forest Technology Centre of Catalonia), and has chaired the Mediterranean Diet Foundation since October 2012. Josep has been the Secretary General of the Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC) since 2004.Josep previously held a seat on the Lleida City Council (1991-1999) and served as Vice President for the County Council of Segrià. Between 1999 and 2001, he was the Director of Environmental Quality for the Department of Natural Environment. He then served as director of Local Administrations in the Ministry of Governance and Institutional Relations (2001-2002) for which he then became Minister a year later (2002-2003). In November 2003, Josep won a seat in the Parliament of Catalonia and was appointed Deputy Speaker for the Convergence and Union (CiU) coalition and has remained a Member of Parliament ever since.He holds a law degree from the University of Barcelona.

Jose Pont Amenós CEOBorges Group

Jose Pont Amenós is CEO of Borges Group, where he has progressively worked since 1966. He is also the President of Asoliva, which is the Spanish Olive Oil Exporters Association, and the Vice President of Interprofessional Olive Oil. He has an MBA from the University of Georgia, United States.

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Krijn J. PoppeBusiness Economist, Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI) of Wageningen University and Research CentrE

Krijn J. Poppe is a business economist working in the research management of the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI) of Wageningen University and Research Centre, located in The Hague, the Netherlands. He is involved in the management of several large, multidisciplinary research projects for the EU. He co-chairs the collaborative working group Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) of the European Union’s Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR). Current research interest includes a focus on agricultural policy issues, monitoring, the agricultural knowledge and innovation system, cooperatives and ICT. From 2009 – 2011, he worked part-time as Chief Science Officer at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. Krijn was for 12 years (1999-2011) Secretary-General of the European Association of Agricultural Economists. He is honorary secretary-treasurer of the EAAEP Foundation (that publishes the ERAE), chairs the Steering Group of the journal EuroChoices, chairs the foundation eRNAC on research concerning cooperatives. He co-owns a small arable family farm.

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Steven N. SchonbergerPractice ManagerWater and Agriculture, Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank

Steven N. Schonberger is the Practice Manager for the Water and Agriculture Global Practices, responsible for the World Bank’s programs in the Middle East and North Africa and the Western Balkans. In this capacity, Steven ensures that the World Bank is providing the highest quality technical and implementation support to clients in the region through its lending, analytical, advisory and other knowledge exchange services. Steven is an economist who has worked in the public, private and civil society sectors on issues of agricultural development, water resources management, agribusiness and rural and microfinance services. In addition to the World Bank, Steven has worked with private banks in his native California, in farming in several parts of the world, and with United Nations agencies.

Mattia RomaniManaging Director, Officer of the Chief EconomistEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Dr Mattia Romani was appointed as Managing Director of the Office of Chief Economist at the EBRD in 2014. In his role he holds responsibility for country and sector economics. He is also Senior Visiting Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics. Before joining the EBRD in 2014, he was the Deputy Director General and Chief Economist of the Global Green Growth Institute, an international organization based in South Korea created to support developing and emerging countries on their green growth plans. He was previously with McKinsey and Company, where he worked as a senior expert since 2009. He served as Lord Nicholas Stern’s deputy on the UN Secretary General High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Finance in 2010. Between 2007 and 2009, he worked as the lead economist on the Stern Review team in the UK Government. He was previously at Shell International working on long-term scenarios. Between 1999 and 2003 he worked at the World Bank in Washington DC, Abidjan and Antananarivo. He holds a doctorate (D.Phil.) in Economics from the University of Oxford and an M.Sc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.

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Fathallah SijilmassiSecretary GeneralUnion for the Mediterranean (UfM)

Mr Fathallah Sijilmassi has been Secretary General of the UfM since 2012. A career diplomat for the Moroccan government since 1989, he specializes in international relations in particular with regards to Euro-Mediterranean issues. After working in the banking sector, he participated actively in the negotiations of free trade agreements with the European Union, the United States, and several Arab and African countries. From 1999 onwards, he held numerous positions within the Moroccan Government, including Director of Multilateral Cooperation, Director of European Affairs and Ambassador to the Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean Process. At 37, he was appointed Ambassador to the European Union and two years later Ambassador to France. In 2009 he was named Director of the Moroccan Investment Development Agency, leading its launch and subsequent growth. He is an Officer of the Legion of Honor and Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit of the French Republic.

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Ralph SimsProfessor of Sustainable EnergyMassey University, New ZealandDirector of the Centre for Energy Research

Ralph Sims is a Professor of Sustainable Energy at Massey University in New Zealand and also is Director of the Centre for Energy Research. He was recently based at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris as a Senior Analyst for four years and in 2013 was appointed to the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for a 4-year term. For the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace prize, for Mitigation he was a lead author covering renewable energy and agriculture for the 3rd Assessment Report (2001), led the chapter on “Energy Supply” in the IPCC 4th Assessment Report 2007, led the “Integration” chapter in the Special Report on Renewable Energy for Climate Change Mitigation (2011), and led the “Transport” chapter of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report- Mitigation (2014). Ralph is a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand, a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Engineers, a Fellow of the UK Institute of Agricultural Engineers and a chartered engineer. He has been widely published and is sought-after as a keynote speaker for many energy and climate change events. Ralph has also been a board member of various businesses and organisations and has acted as a consultant to many organisations over the past decades, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

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Abdlekarim SmaLead Regional Economist, Near East, North Africa and Europe DivisionInternational Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Abdelkarim Sma is the Lead Regional Economist of the Near East, North Africa and Europe Division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution based in Rome with the goal of empowering poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food and nutrition security. Prior to his current assignment, he managed several IFAD country programs in the Mediterranean region as well as the transition countries of the former Soviet Union. Abdelkarim, an expert in agricultural and rural development, joined the Fund after spending about seven years coordinating the international operations of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in North Africa. Prior to that assignment, he spent an 8-year stint in a major Tunisian consultancy where he headed the Agribusiness Department. He graduated from the French ‘’Grandes Ecoles’’ as a Food Industry Engineer and holds an MA in Agricultural Biotechnologies.

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Pasquale StedutoDeputy Regional Representative, Near East and North Africa FAO Representative in EgyptFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Pasquale Steduto is FAO Deputy Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, and FAO Representative in Egypt, directing a large regional programme on water scarcity. He has been working for more than 20 years on agricultural water use efficiency and water productivity, with a focus of crops water requirements, their yield response to water and associate modelling development under water scarcity conditions. Scientific and technical activities have been conjugated with the management of many water-related development projects in Southern Europe, North Africa, Near East and Sub Saharan Africa, also in cooperation with Centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. Author of over 100 publications in scientific journals and books, he joined FAO in 2003 as Chief of the Water Resources, Development and Management Service. He has been the UN-Water Chair for the years 2007-2009 and has served as a member of the Global Agenda Council for Water Security in the Global Economic Forum, of Advisory Committee of the World Water Week at the Stockholm International Water Institute, of the Board of Governors of the World Water Council, and as a coordinator of the priority theme on water and food security for the World Water Forum. From 2010 he has served as Deputy Director of the Land and Water Division at FAO, and in 2013 as Officer-in-Charge of the Liaison Office with the United Nations in Geneva. Pasquale holds an MSc in Water Science and a PhD in Soil-Plant-Water Relationships from the University of California in Davis.

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Peter TalksAgricultural Policy and Institutions Consultant, Investment Centre DivisionFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Peter Talks is an agricultural policy and institutions consultant for the Investment Centre of FAO and has worked on projects that cover food security, grain and grain trade, public-private partnerships and international trade relations with both the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries and with Eastern Europe. Over the past 20 years, his professional experience has included working for the European Commission and USDA on international agricultural trade negotiations, including bilateral negotiations with Eastern European countries and the Mediterranean Partner countries and at the multilateral level, OECD, the private sector and as team leader of USDA grain analysis and forecasting in Europe. He has a Ph.D from the University of Nottingham in agricultural economics.

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Salah Tawfik CEOMedsofts Commodity Trading

Salah Tawfik, CEO of Medsofts, is a well-established commodity expert with experience in US markets as well as the Middle East. Throughout his career, Salah has created a responsive, market-driven organization to compete and grow into a major Egyptian trading organization. He increased sales and market share substantially, from 0 to EGP 3.5 billion in ten years. His achievements include the opening of new business and value added operation via strategic alliance and partnerships, as well as the company grow to reach creditworthiness, with over 100 million dollars from banks and 30 million dollar supplier credit. Other working experiences include his position as Sugar Trader at Cargill LTD, Egypt (1996-1998), and as a Market Specialist at Cargill Investor Service in Chicago, Illinois, USA (1998-2001). While working for Cargill in Chicago, Salah developed key Middle Eastern and South American markets for commodity broker’s products. He created and assisted clients to develop hedging and risk management programs for their organizations. Salah received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. He holds a Masters degree in Business Administration, with a focus on International Business from the Maastricht School of Management.

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Laurent ThomasAssistant Director-General, Technical Cooperation DepartmentFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Laurent Thomas leads the Technical Cooperation Department at FAO. He is an Agro-economist by training and has over 33 years of experience in development assistance and humanitarian emergency response. For over a decade and prior to joining FAO headquarters, he worked at the grass root level in developing countries as a farming systems researcher and specialist of agriculture extension. With FAO for 25 years, he has held positions of growing responsibility, including in technical advisory services, investment programming, oversight of the Organization’s decentralized offices’ network and the management of programmes to protect and restore the livelihood of farmers, fishers and herders in crisis situations. Throughout his career, Laurent has worked on development issues with a focus on agriculture and food security. In his current role, he is leading a senior team in charge of supporting countries with i) programming investment in food security, agriculture and rural development; ii) preparing for and responding to food and agriculture threats and crisis; iii) mobilizing resources including through South-South Cooperation; and iv) overseeing FAO’s Technical Cooperation Programme partnerships to achieve results under FAO’s priority programmes.

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Metin Turker Deputy Director General, General Directorate of Agrarian ReformMinistry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Turkey

Metin Turker is an Agricultural Engineer and the Deputy Director General at the General Directorate of Agrarian Reform at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. He has extensive experience in groundwater cooperatives, land and water management, irrigation, land consolidation, and rural development. Previously, Metin was the Head of Support Services with the General Directorate of Agrarian Reform at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. He has also held the position as the Deputy Head of the Department of Operation and Maintenance at the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works at the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. He has also worked as an Engineer at the Department of Groundwater at the General Directorate of State Hydroulic Works. Metin holds a PhD in Planning of Investment and Production in irrigation areas from the University of Ankara and a MA in Groundwater Management. He studied at the University of Ankara at the Agricultural Faculty, Department of Agricultural Economy.

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Xavier Trias i Vidal de LlobateraMayor of Barcelona

Xavier Trias i Vidal de Llobatera has been the mayor of Catalonia’s capital since June of 2011. Previously, between 2003 and 2011, Xavier was the Barcelona city councillor. He has also led the Convergència i Unió list in the elections for the Congress of Deputies and became leader and spokesperson for the Catalan Parliamentary Group (CiU) in Congress, as well as Chairman of the Science and Technology Commission. In 1996, he was appointed Minister of the Presidency and went on to work closely with President Jordi Pujol as the government’s second in command and spokesperson, where he set up the Catalonia Audiovisual Board (CAC) and made improvements to the employment terms of civil servants working in the Generalitat. He has also worked as a pediatrician at the Vall d’Hebron Children’s Hospital, as a national hospitals representative on the Spanish General Council of Medical Practitioners, and represented hospitals on the Board of the Barcelona Official Medical Practitioners’ Association.In 1981, he started working at the Generalitat of Catalonia’s Department of Health and Social Security as the head of the Hospital Care Service. In 1983, Xavier took over as head of the Directorate General of Health Organisation and Planning. In July 1984, he was appointed Director General of the Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), a post held until he was appointed Minister of Health in July 1988, where he was responsible for promoting and developing the Catalan healthcare model. He has a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Barcelona and a postgraduate degree from universities in Genoa and Berne, where he worked on research into metabolic diseases, their diagnosis and their subsequent treatment.

biographies of speakers and moderators