Mrs. Cristina Machado
Trader
Mac Hado Ax Trading

Mr. Michael Snodgrass
Managing Director (Spices, Herbs and Alternate Protein)
Griffith Foods

About : Mike Snodgrass is an industry veteran with strong global industry experience throughout retail & foodservice. Over the last 25 plus years he has consistently led growth in emerging businesses and is an early adopter of food trends. In his leadership role, Mr. Snodgrass works closely on strategy and development of his key teams focused on growth of Terova™ and Sustainable Protein Business. We aim to feed a growing population with nutritious and sustainable products by supporting customers with operations around the world.

Ms. Laura Shumow
Executive Director
American Spice and Trade Association (ASTA)

About : Laura Shumow has been the Executive Director of the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) since 2018. In this role, she oversees ASTA’s professional staff and works with the ASTA Board of Directors to set the association’s strategic direction and execute the organization’s goals. Her key focus areas are domestic and international regulatory advocacy, issue management, and navigating challenges related to the supply chains of food ingredients sourced from origin countries. Prior to joining ASTA, she previously led the Scientific and Regulatory affairs function at the National Confectioners Association and oversaw the Chocolate Council, a decision-making body that handles issues specific to the cocoa and chocolate industry. Laura received her Master’s in Health Sciences from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bachelor’s in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin. She is an active member of professional societies, including the Institute of Food Technologists and the Food and Beverage Issue Alliance.

Mr. Giridhar Rao
Vice President
Griffith Foods Inc. USA

About : Mr Giridhar Rao, is Vice President - Operations at TerovaTM a subsidiary of Griffith Foods and is based at the Company's Bangalore Office. Griffith Foods is a Global Food Ingredients company Headquartered in Chicago and with operations in over thirty two countries. The company is a major consumer of Spices and Herbs as well as other Raw materials. Mr Rao heads a multinational team that is responsible for sourcing agricultural commodities from farmers and deliver to the customers in the processed and value-added form. Spices, Herbs and Oleoresins of Spices are the key products handled. His role currently focuses on developing traceable and sustainable Supply Chain for these products. Mr Rao holds Masters in Rural Management from The Institute of Rural Management, Anand, India. He has over 32 years of experience in managing agricultural raw materials, starting his career in 1987 in the Oleoresins division of Bombay Oil Industries (now known as Kancor). He worked in several reputed Indian companies like Marico Industries, VKL Spices and Reliance Retail prior to his current role at Griffith Foods Mr Rao has spent several years in understanding the supply chain for agricultural commodities in several origin countries. Mr Rao is passionate about Sustainable Supply Chain and Regenerative Agriculture and has been instrumental in developing the implementing the Griffith Foods "Griffith Sustainable Spices and Herbs" program whereby 80% of spices and herbs sourced by the company are now certified Sustainable by Rain Forest Alliance. His team is involved in training farmers in sustainable Agricultural practices He joined Griffith Foods in July 2010 and currently heads a dedicated team of professionals involved not only in sourcing, but also in partnering key suppliers and organizations in bringing in Sustainable practices into the Supply Chain.

Mr. Boris Rafalski
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Soulspice

About : Boris Rafalski is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SoulSpice, a European brand specializing in premium organic spices sourced directly from smallholder farmers. Prior to founding SoulSpice, he spent over 10 years at Unilever in global procurement and sustainable sourcing roles, focusing on end-to-end sourcing of agricultural raw materials, supplier development in emerging economies, and livelihood strategies for smallholder farmers. He has extensive experience in high-quality spice supply chains, with a strong focus on quality, sustainability, transparency, and long-term partnerships between producers and European markets. www.linkedin.com/in/boris-rafalski

Mr. Ranjith Sasikumar
Business Unit Leader
Son Ha Spice and Flavorings

About : MBA (Marketing) with 17 years of rich experience in whole spices, ground spices, food ingredients like natural colours, natural anti-oxidants, spice oleoresins, essential oils, floral extract, nutraceutical ingredients & other value-added spice extracts.

Mr. Prakash Jhawer
Managing Director and CEO - Spice
Ofi USA

Mr. Benoit Winstel
President
European Spice Association (ESA)

About : Engineer in agronomy, Master of Science in Post Harvest technology from Cranfield University, UK, I have been working in the food industry since 1994. After 3 years in Morocco as a factory manager producing dehydrated vegetables, I became in charge of the Purchasing Department of Groupe Colin, a French company specialized in spices and dried ingredients for the European Food Industry (www.colin-ingredients.com). I am currently the Director of the Vegetal division of the company. I am also chairman of the technical commitee of the French Spice Association and Chairman of ESA (European Spice Association).

Mr. Chon Nguyen Quang
Agriculture Expert
EUROFINS SẮC KÝ HẢI ĐĂNG

Mr. Christiaan De Leeuw
Group Sustainability Manager
Nedspice

About : As manager of Nedspice’s farmer partnership programme, Christiaan emphasizes the importance of sustainable farming practices and the support for smallholder pepper farmers, to enable them to earn a fair income. Starting as data analyst for Nedspice four years ago, Christiaan learned about the importance of research to make meaningful change in the spice supply chain. Working alongside various stakeholders and placing sustainability insights in a broader perspective is fundamental to have a positive impact. In addition to his work for Nedspice, he is finalizing his PhD in Marine Biology at Wageningen University & Research.

MR. DAVID BARBERA
SALES DIRECTOR
RAPHANEL SYSTEM COMPANY, S.L.

About : David Barbera (Master in Sciences and Technologies for Food Industries (Polytech’Montpellier, France) / MBA (Combined Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris-Dauphine). David has an extensive experience in the Food Industry, he started his career in the Flavors industry with major organizations like Givaudan and Solina. He wrote his MBA thesis on the Vanilla production in Madagascar: moulds’ issues being a great concern for the queen of spices, David naturally ended up in the Food Safety industry and more specifically Steam sterilizers. He has over 15 years of experience in Food Safety both as a customer and supplier of heat treatment technologies. He has interacted with all the major players within the nuts, spices, seeds, herbs, dried fruits and other low moisture products segment. Today, he is the Sales Director of Raphanel System based out of Murcia,Spain, world leader in spices&herbs natural sterilization.

Ms. Hoang Thi Lien
Chairwoman
Viet Nam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA)

About : Mrs. Hoang Thi Lien was elected as the Chairperson of the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (in short VPSA) in December 2021 by the Vietnam pepper community to lead the Viet Nam spice industry and to implement the sustainability & development policies formulated by the Government. Mrs. Lien has been invited to present at various forums and conferences to share her knowledge on spice business, sustainability and economics gained through decades of experience in the domain. She has a Master background in economics in the U.K. She has worked with the Ministry of Industry & Trade of Viet Nam and as the Executive Director of International Pepper Community (IPC), an Inter-Governmental Organization of pepper producing countries under the UN-ESCAP. During her tenure she has co-ordinated with all stakeholders to systemize, harmonize, promote and accelerate the economic development of the global pepper industry as well as the pepper farmers. Prior to joining the International Pepper Community, she worked as the Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam where she mastered the trade and investment policy framework, familiarised with the rules and regulations of Asia countries and acquired a comprehensive knowledge of regional and international economic integration and global economy trends. Furthermore, she has also established networks and liaised with various Governments, international agencies, spice associations and the industry. She was also posted as Commercial Attaché at Viet Nam Embassy in Malaysia during 2010-2016 which helped her gain experience in international trade issues.

Mr. Jasvinder Singh Sethi
Founder and CEO
NAMAGRO

About : He is the founder of Namagro, a brokerage house and management consultancy . The company moves niche agro produce including pepper across all six continents. With over 140000 MT the annual throughput of the company has reached over 500 Mn USD within 6 years of establishment. Mr Jasvinder consults International Pepper community, The World Bank and several corporate houses on Sourcing of Spices and Nuts.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phat
CEO
Organic Fumigation

Mr. Soumen Mahanty
Founder
PT Mahalaya Agri Corp, Indonesia

About : Mr. Soumen Mahanty is the Founder of PT Mahalaya Agri Corp, Indonesia, with more than 20 years of experience in agribusiness, agricultural commodities, and international trading. He holds an MBA in Agribusiness from the College of Agribusiness Management and a B.Sc. in Agriculture from Agra University. Since 2015, he has been leading PT Mahalaya Agri Corp, focusing on agricultural sourcing, trading, and value-chain development in the region. Previously, he served as Trading Director at Cornhouse Pte Ltd and held senior positions at the Singapore Mercantile Exchange and NCDEX, gaining strong expertise in commodity markets and exchange operations. Earlier in his career, he worked with Dow AgroSciences and DSCL, building a solid foundation in agri-inputs and commercial management. His professional background combines technical agricultural knowledge with deep market insight.

Mr. Sudhanshu Kaul
Senior Vice President & Business Head - Spices
OFI Viet Nam

About : Mr. Sudhanshu Kaul has been with Olam for 15 Years and is currently the Senior VP and Business head of ofl's spices business in Vietnam. This is a true end to end integrated spices business with 2 plantations, 2 Processing facilities and procurement assets and boots on ground in Vietram, Indonesia, Cambodia, Indla, Nigerla, Brazil. The business has warehousing and sales assets in North, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. Sustainability is a core foundation for this globally leading business. A majority of his profesional career has seen him leading businesses in the foods and beverage ingredients sector. Prior to his move to Vietnam, he has worked in a varlety of leadership roles and products in Olam/Ofi across different geographies of West Africa and South East Asia in Dairy, Spices, Edible Nuts, Sugar and others. He is an Executive Scholar of kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and also holds a masters and a undergraduate degree in management from India.

Mr. Tran Nam Hung
Vice Chairman
Da Nang People's Committee

Mr. Vivek Mohan P
Supplier Quality Manager
McCormick Global Ingredients Limited

About : I have built a distinguished career in food safety and supplier quality, working with leading organizations across the spice and fruit processing industries. In my current role with McCormick & Company Inc., I oversee supplier quality for key spice categories, Peppercorns & Seeds Spices and leads compliance initiatives addressing critical global concerns such as contaminants and regulatory standards. Previously, at Döhler Group’s Exotic Fruits division, I contributed to strengthening supplier relationships and advancing sustainable agricultural practices, guiding farmers and processors through evolving compliance requirements. My work included designing workshops and training programs that fostered a culture of transparency and trust across the supply chain. At AVT McCormick Ingredients, I managed quality and food safety systems for the seasonings business, coordinated international inspections, and played a pivotal role in crisis management during the pandemic. Earlier in my career, I laid the foundation for his expertise by directing food safety operations, conducting supplier audits, and developing training modules that reinforced compliance culture. Across these roles, I have consistently combined technical rigor with collaborative leadership, ensuring that food safety, sustainability, and supplier development remain central to organizational success.