Please click on their name to find out more about each speaker
Valia has over 30 years in the food industry in Product Development and Innovation roles. She is a Senior Lecturer at the National Bakery School at London South Bank University, where her core subject is New Product Design and Development. Valia is also the cofounder of a biscuit brand and a consultant to the food industry. She is a fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, where she is the Vice Chair of the Publications Committee and one of the inaugural members of the Food Innovation Special Interest Group.
Sterling has 35 years of experience working in the field of food safety and global supply chain governance. He started his career in government before a successful track history in retail. Sterling’s experience as a regulator, retailer, brand owner and food manufacturer has given him a unique perspective of the challenges of the global food supply network.
He has previously served as Vice President of the Institute and, until recently, chaired its Food Safety Special Interest Group. He was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Institute in 2020 for his contribution to the food sector. He is also a member of the CIEH food expert panel and sits on the IFST, CIEH and FSA COVID advisory groups.
Jack Bobo is the Director of the University of Nottingham’s Food Systems Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Jack served as the Director of Global Food and Water Policy at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and as the CEO of Futurity, a food foresight company. He is the author of the 2021 book ‘Why smart people make bad food choices.’ Recognized by Scientific American as one of the 100 most influential people in biotechnology, he also served as the Chief Communications Officer and SVP for Global Policy at Intrexon Corporation and as a senior advisor for food policy at the U.S. Department of State. A global thought leader, Jack has delivered more than 500 keynote speeches in 50 countries on the future of food. Degrees include: J.D. in Law, M.S. in Environmental Science, B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Psychology and Chemistry.
Tom is Innovation and Technical Director at established national manufacturer Raynor Foods. An accomplished food scientist, he has worked in government (Food Standards Agency) and private sector.
Tom is a recognised innovator and has many national and international accolades, featuring in The Manufacturer’s 2021 Top100 as an Exemplar Innovation Leader for UK manufacturing.
Specialising in sustainability, food safety, meta food systems and emerging technologies, his focus on technology leads naturally to developing real-world systems to improve sustainability, cut waste and reduce emissions.
He was the inspiration and project leader for the Digital Sandwich, a successful demonstration of blockchain-based supply chain management and communications, and is now leading the S3 (Smart people, Smart process, Smart factory) project which takes live process data analysed via dedicated AIs and opens it to the workforce via a gamified interface where interaction improves efficiency and introduces new ideas. Both projects have gained substantial UKRI funding.
Geraldine leads Forum for the Future’s work on food system transition in UK/Europe, overseeing one-to-one partnerships with food-related organisations, as well as multi-stakeholder collaborations on specific food system challenges. She helps businesses (from established multinationals to innovator brands), as well as non-profits, government agencies and others, to understand their role and opportunities in building a better food system - to establish and raise their ambitions, develop their strategies for action, and prepare for and shape the future of food and sustainable nutrition. Her experience stretches from agriculture to retail, brands and foodservice. She is also a co-founder and trustee of Flavour School, a children’s sensory food education charity, and she sits on the board of Growing Communities, a community-based, sustainable food social enterprise in London, UK. Geraldine started off with an MA Understanding and Securing Human Rights (University of London) and a BSc Anthropology, University College London. Formative experiences include working for French Fairtrade organic food start-up Alter Eco, and 17 years of evolving roles and projects with Forum for the Future.
Susan Arkley FIFST is a product development and innovation specialist with 30 years of experience in the food manufacturing industry. She has managed innovation teams and projects (from concept to launch) in a variety of different companies from SME’s to global corporations. Susan now divides her time between her Food Consultancy (foodier), lecturing in many different aspects of food science, development, innovation and manufacturing (for University College Birmingham and Cardiff Metropolitan University) and is an active IFST volunteer. Susan is Chair of the Food (Product and Packaging) Innovation Special Interest Group and Vice Chair of the IFST Midlands Branch.
Charles is a Co-Founder, a fourth generation foodie, an expert in food futures and a ‘champion of change’. thefoodpeople, established for over 16 years, are a global trends business, specialising in future foresight in the food and beverage sector. A united group of trend spotters and innovators, we’re a team of psychologists, chefs, marketeers, product developers, academics, flavourists, historians and anthropologists. But more than that TFP are ‘champions of change’ that bring their inherent experience and human intelligence to foresight, as well as an obsession for food and drink, natural curiosity, intuition and tenacity. This is underpinned by our vision ‘to shift the future of food and drink’. What drives us is our desire to shape a better future across society by harnessing the power of trends.
Helen has been operating in senior technical roles within food, drink, and packaging supply chains for over 30 years. As the Technical Director of ZERO2FIVE, Cardiff Metropolitan University she leads the technical team to actively support companies across all product categories in the UK (United Kingdom) in all aspects of innovation, food safety and compliance. Helen is an active collaborator as a member of the International Association of Food Protection since 2009. As a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), SIG member and Chair of the Wales Branch (IFST). Helen currently serves on the Welsh Food Advisory Committee (Food Standards Agency). She is an experienced SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval) auditor and member of the technical Advisory Committee. A serving member of the BRCGS START! Standard working group and a member of the UK food safety research Network UK – Innovation Board.
Debbie Tully is Knowledge Transfer Manager for Food and Drink within the AgriFood team at Innovate UK Business Connect. Debbie has worked to support the acceleration of innovation support within the sector for many years, in the UK but also Internationally. She has been instrumental in developing the Innovate UK Business Connect “Food Sector Advisory Group” which comprises opinion leaders from industry, research, government, devolved administrations and funders, providing a coherent industry voice on major technology and innovation needs and opportunities in the sector to inform the innovation strategies of Innovate UK and other funders. Debbie works closely with academic networks in an advisory capacity, including the Scottish Government funded SEFARI Gateway, and the SFC funded Scottish Alliance for Food - Health, Sustainability & Equity.