József Popp

John von Neumann University Hungary

Balanced diversity and the responsible use of global resources to produce healthy food

József Popp is a Full Professor at John von Neumann University Hungary. His main research field includes global food-, energy- and environmental security analysis, competitiveness of the food economy, rural development, supply chain management and renewable energy. Professor József Popp obtained his PhD of economics at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and his Dr. Sc. Oec. Degree at the Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. He is a corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences where he is the chairman of the Bolyai János research scholarship Committee, the chairman of the Committee on Agricultural Economics and the vice-chairman of the Scientific Committee on Circular Economy. He also serves as a member on a number of editorial boards of international journals worldwide. He has participated in several international research projects and is a member of several national councils related to science and education. He has received several national and international awards and honours, including: Lifetime Achievement Award, Delhi School of Professional Studies and Research, 2011.Doctorem Honoris Causa Pannon University, Hungary, 2010 and “Honoris Causa Professorship”, Delhi School of Professional Studies and Research, 2010. Award of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Recognition of Research Contributions, 2011.

Antti Kause

LUKE

Breeding for Resilience – Are we ready?

Antti Kause leads the genetics and genomics of the fish breeding programmes activities at Luke, and his group has over 20 years of expertise in research and implementing the results in practical fish breeding programmes for the benefit of fish farmers, processors and consumers. He has a total of 79 peer-reviewed publications, 31 h-index, and over 60 popularized articles in fish and aquaculture magazines.

He is the coordinator of the AquaIMPACT EU-project that develops genomic and nutritional applications for the aquaculture industry of the 4 main farmed fish species in EU.

Morten Rye

Benchmark

Breeding for Resilience – Are we ready?

Morten Rye has 35 years of experience in genetic research and large-scale selective breeding programs for 20 aquaculture species worldwide, including the majority of those farmed in Europe. He earned his PhD in Animal Breeding from the Agricultural University of Norway in 1992 and has (co)authored more than 80 scientific papers and book chapters on genetics and selection. He is currently heading Benchmark Genetics’ External Services division.

Lissy Smit

CEO Aqua-Spark

Moving aquaculture to more sustainable, healthier and affordable production, an investor viewpoint

Lissy is CEO of Aqua-Spark, an impact fund investing in innovative, novel solutions to some of aquaculture’s biggest challenges. Aqua-Spark focuses on investing in solutions across the whole supply chain creating sustainable production by using novel feed ingredients which can replace fishmeal, promoting fish health, finding alternatives for antibiotics, supporting companies and technologies that can improve farm practices, from feeders reducing feed waste to systems collecting data to optimize production, companies creating marketplaces and platforms increasing transparency in the supply chain.

Lissy has over two decades of banking experience mainly in food & agribusiness finance at Rabobank. She set-up the leveraged finance team in Asia and significantly grew the business in North America by working closely with investors to finance companies in the food and agricultural sector. After eight years working in Hong Kong, New York and London, Lissy returned to the Netherlands to lead Rabobank’s global lending business. While sitting on Rabobank’s Investment Committee Lissy first learned about Aqua-Spark and realized the real challenges and opportunities in aquaculture and the role capital can play to develop the perfect food system for the future.