MEET THE SPEAKERS

Andrew Crawford

PrepWorld (UK)

Andrew Crawford has been working in the food and drink industry for more than 15 years, operating in both the retail and foodservice channels. He has spent the last five years heading up the Category Insights, Product Development & Marketing teams at PrepWorld. PrepWorld’s customer base spans the full retail competitive set and high street operators within the dynamic and high growth prepared fruit market.
Angel del Pino

Anecoop (Spain)

Angel de Pino is director of production and innovation at Anecoop, Spain’s biggest second-tier cooperative. He manages two experimental farms and a team of technicians tasked with evaluating, selecting and transferring new crops and varieties, as well as introducing new technologies to improve production and sustainability in agricultural production. He has a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain.
Arie Havelaar

Sawari Fresh (Netherlands)

Arie Havelaar, co-founder of Sawari Fresh – a European supplier of quality garlic and ginger – brings over four decades of experience in the trade. His passion for these ingredients was sparked in the ’90s after a transformative trip to China.
Bruno Gioffre

Dole Exotics (Germany)

Bruno Gioffre is commercial manager avocado & mango EMEA at Dole Exotics. He is an experienced commercial leader who has been working in the fruit industry for more than 15 years, specialising in mango and avocado sourcing. Bruno has a proven track record in grower and retail partnerships, cost efficiency, and team empowerment. He now leads commercial strategy and team development across EMEA to strengthen sourcing, sales, and category growth for Dole.
Cindy van Rijswick

Rabobank Research Food & Agribusiness (Netherlands)

Cindy van Rijswick is global strategist for fresh produce at Rabobank. She is responsible for setting and executing the research agenda for the fruit, vegetable, and floriculture sectors within the global RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness team. She and her colleagues publish research that is relevant to fresh produce companies worldwide, both in the corporate and rural domains.
Gianpaolo Renino

Del Monte (Monaco)

Gianpaolo Renino has served as Fresh Del Monte’s senior vice president, Europe and Africa since March 2023. He has 25+ years of experience in leading fresh, fresh-cut and prepared commercial and production operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East for the multinational. Renino has experience in business strategy and alliances, commercial development and marketing planning, and was the developer of innovative commercial successes like Honeyglow and Jet Fresh. He also was behind the diversification for and from Europe and Africa and other prepared products in Europe.
Henry Robertson

Perfection Fresh (Australia)

Henry Robertson is international business development manager for Perfection Fresh Australia. He has been in food and agriculture all his life with a background in farming, supply chain, operations, sales and technical. His remit is to share the best of Perfection Fresh’s proprietary genetics and marketing expertise to the world, and bring the best of the world’s genetics, technology, and knowledge back to Australia. He is based in the UK working on projects across the world.
Jai Thakrar

Jalaram Fruit (UK)

Jai Thakrar is the CEO of Jalaram Fruit, a Costa Rica-based pineapple exporter specialising in crownless pineapples for the fresh-cut processing sector. A second-generation fresh produce professional with over 15 years of experience, Jai is committed to driving innovation and sustainability across the tropical supply chain, from farm practices to final product. He also serves as chairman of the Global Development Committee at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, and recently completed his Executive MBA at the University of Cambridge.
Jarell Habets

Shypple (Netherlands)

Jarell Habets is the founder and CEO of Shypple, a digital freight forwarder reshaping global logistics. Shypple simplifies international shipping by combining a user-friendly platform with a dedicated, full-service logistics team, giving businesses full visibility and control across their supply chains.
Jens Gabriel

Greenyard Group (Belgium)

Jens Gabriel is group sourcing director at Greenyard Group. His main focus is on the fresh division and especially on the group’s overseas business. He is responsible for sourcing activities in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil. Jens has more than 30 years’ experience in the fruit and vegetable business and has previously worked at Metro Group, Edeka and Rewe Group.
Juan Pablo Duque

Equilibria (Colombia)

Juan Pablo Duque is the founder and CEO of the Equilibria ecosystem, which integrates production, export, and technology to transform Persian lime cultivation in Colombia. With over 25 years of experience, he leads an organisation that connects small and medium-sized producers to major international markets, promoting sustainability, traceability, and world-class certifications. His purpose is to transform lives through agriculture by democratizing access to tools that improve productivity, income, and quality of life in rural areas.
Luca Battaglio

Battaglio (Italy)

Luca Battaglio is president and CEO of family-owned Battaglio SpA, one of the leading Italian importers of exotic fruit. Fond of sports, which he supports with his company and practices competing strongly in the Master’s 800m championship, he is also a gourmet and enthusiastic discoverer of good wines. As he often jokes: “In the fruit business we don’t earn a lot, at least let’s eat well!”
Marco de Jong

Experience Fruit Quality (Netherlands)

Marco de Jong is founder and CEO of Experience Fruit Quality (EFQ). With a strong background in data-driven technologies, Marco brings a fresh perspective to the fruit industry, on a mission to reduce waste in the fruit supply chain, by understanding the development of fruit over time. His focus is to enable better decision-making in exotic fruit ripening and quality control through AI and smart data solutions. Marco will be presenting RipeWise, EFQ’s latest innovation in ripening optimisation, created along with De Laat Koudetechniek.
Maria Wieloch

ICA Gruppen (Sweden)

Maria Wieloch is head of the category management team for fruit and vegetables at ICA Sweden. With around 1,300 independent stores and a market share of around 36 per cent, ICA is the leading grocery retailer in Sweden. Maria has been in the produce industry for 15 years and has extensive experience in driving sales and a strong passion for working to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Matthew Churchill

Westfalia Fruit (Belgium)

Matthew Churchill is global brand manager at Westfalia Fruit. This is his 30th year in the fresh produce industry, having spent the entirety at Westfalia Fruit and the legacy company Greencell, prior to its acquisition by Westfalia. Matthew specialises in the avocado category, building extensive knowledge across several disciplines throughout his career, including ‘hands-on’ product knowledge, quality, ripening, technical management, source development, commercial management, business development, innovation, marketing and communications.
Philippe Beaujean

Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Belgium)

Philippe Beaujean is shippers and forwarders manager at the Port of Antwerp. He started his career in the port as stevedore at the Hessenatie Steel Terminal. After exploring other industries such as pharma and banking, Philippe returned to the port industry, first at PSA, then DP World Antwerp, where he acted in various business development roles. In 2018 Philippe started with Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Within the port authority he managed the department that looks after the interests of shippers and forwarders. He is now responsible for international business development.
Steve Alaerts

Foodcareplus (Belgium)

Steve Alaerts is director at Foodcareplus, a logistics company specialised in temperature-controlled supply chains for fresh produce. With over 20 years of experience in the sector, he serves on the Board of Directors of the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) and chairs its Supply Chain Council. He also supports the reefer logistics expertise group of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Steve leads the “Supply Chain of the Future” initiative, promoting innovation, data-sharing, and smarter cold chain logistics across global fresh produce flows.
Thierry Athimon

Frutas Montosa (Spain)

Thierry Athimon is corporate commercial director of Frutas Montosa, where he is responsible for driving new development projects. He has developed his expertise in sales and marketing at companies such as D’Aucy, Conserves France, Juver, JTI and, most recently, Bollo Natural Fruit.
Tom Hole

Kantar Worldpanel (UK)

Tom Hole is strategic insights director at Kantar Worldpanel. He brings with him a decade of experience working across FMCG, with deep industry knowledge of brands within household categories, dairy and wider fresh. He is now a thought leader at Kantar Worldpanel.