Food Hydrocolloid Conference 2012
Valencia, Spain - April 22-24

Speakers

Back to main conference page

Speakers and Presentation Titles

The following have accepted the speaker invitation to join us in Valencia.
Please visit this page for frequent updates.
This page last updated on March 2, 2012

Our challenge is to convince end-users that times now require their pro-active participation in guiding future developments in hydrocolloid supply.

CSIRO • Adelaide, Victoria, Australia
Dr. David Topping • Chief Research Scientist
Nutritional Fiber Sustainability

David ToppingDavid Topping is a biochemist and gained his BSc from Liverpool University and his PhD from London University. He has worked in several areas of research including actions of insulin on the liver, smoking and health and the metabolic actions of dietary fibre in the intestinal tract. He is a Fellow of the Nutrition Society of Australia and is a past President of that Society. He was the first non-North American to become a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Nutrition. Currently, he is actively involved in several major CSIRO initiatives including the National Food Futures and Preventative Health National Research Flagships. David is particularly interested in the conduct of basic research and its subsequent application to the development of food products which add value for the manufacturer and improve public health. He was elected to Fellowship of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering for his achievements in this latter area. He is an author of more than 180 papers and 9 patents.

Go Back to Top

Danisco/Dupont • Copenhagen, Denmark
Mikkel Thrane • Life Cycle Assessment Manager
Life Cycle Assessment of Hydrocolloids

Mikkel ThraneMikkel Thrane is an Environmental Engineer and gained his MSc and PhD degree from Aalborg University in Denmark. He has worked with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of food products for almost 10 years - partly in his role as Associate Professor at Aalborg University and later in the role as Life Cycle Assessment Manager at Danisco. Mikkel joined Danisco in 2010 and has been responsible for implementation of a proactive LCA strategy. This means that he not only focuses on completing LCA studies, but also is heavily involved in embedding Sustainability and Life Cycle Thinking in the entire organization, including innovation, purchasing, marketing, production, logistics, etc. Externally, he is involved in The Sustainability Consortium and in promoting LCA in various industry associations such as IPPA and EFEMA.

Go Back to Top

Fiberstar • River Falls, Wisc., U.S.A.
Brock Lundberg • Vice President of Technology
Expanding the Interface of Novel Fibers and Traditional Hydrocolloids

Brock LundbergBrock M. Lundberg, M.S., M.B.A., P.E., is the Vice President of Technology for Fiberstar. Mr. Lundberg joined Fiberstar in February, 2001 and holds a B.S. and M.S. in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering from the University of Minnesota. While at the University of Minnesota, he developed new and improved processes to produce expanded fibers from agricultural byproducts and crop residues, which served as the foundation to develop Fiberstar's technology as well as the development of the Citri-Fi® and Imulsi-Fi™ product lines and the technical aspects for how customers use the products. Brock oversaw the engineering and construction for the company's production plant in Florida and is actively engaged in assisting with the production plant in Brazil. Brock earned his Executive MBA from the University of St. Thomas in 2008, is a professionally licensed engineer (Chemical Engineering), and a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with an expected graduation date of December, 2012.

Go Back to Top

General Mills • Labatut, France
Kamel Chida• Associate Director Open Innovation Europe
Connected Innovation at General Mills: Past, Present and Future

Kamel ChidaKamel has been at General Mills since 1996 where he has held several R&D roles and responsibilities in different countries leading brand R&D teams and functions. Before being transferred to Europe in 2001, Kamel was Häagen-Dazs New Product and Process Development Manager based in General Mills' Minneapolis US headquarters. In Europe, Kamel worked on Häagen-Dazs in France focusing on New Product and Process development, then was tasked with building a European Packaging and Process development organization while based in General Mills' EMEA headquarters in Switzerland. Kamel was given the additional responsibility for the Green Giant vegetable and Bugles salty snacks brands and transferred to France in 2006. In 2009, Kamel handed off his Packaging responsibilities and became responsible for Nature Valley, Green Giant, and Bugles brands. Finally, as of August 2010, Kamel was charged with leading and developing the General Mills Open Innovation strategy and program in Europe. Prior to General Mills, Kamel spent a few years at Keebler in Chicago as a Process Engineer and at Nestlé in Tunis as an assistant Production Manager.

Go Back to Top

Hogan Lovells International LLP • Brussels, Belgium
Jacqueline Mailly • Senior EU Regulatory Affairs Advisor
Sustainable Enforcement and Safety of Hydrocolloid Supply

Jacqueline MaillyJacqueline Mailly has been working in the area of European regulatory affairs since 1990. She advises clients (public and private) on the impact of EU policy and regulation on matters involving EU food law and biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device law, environmental law, and trade regulation at the EU and international level. Her regulatory practice includes the representation of clients before EU institutions in developing, supporting, opposing, or modifying legislation. Her work involves close contact with European Commission (EC) institutions and its advisory committees, member state governments, trade associations, as well as environmental and consumer organizations. She is familiar with EC administrative procedures and the roles and responsibilities of administrators, scientists, private parties, and politicians in ensuring consumer, plant, and animal health and safety. Jacqueline has been described in Chambers Europe as being "widely recognised by the European market as an experienced public policy adviser with prominence in assisting companies in EU food and biotechnology legislative matters".

Go Back to Top

IdeasInFood.com • Levittown, Penn., U.S.A.
H. Alexander Talbot • Chef and Consultant
Cooking with Hydrocolloids - Ingredients of Refinement

Alex TalbotH. Alexander Talbot is the co-owner of Ideas in Food: a book, a blog and a culinary consulting business. He works with chefs, food lovers, and food service professionals by offering individually tailored educational workshops, photography and writing services. Alex brings a passion for innovation and experimentation to everything he does. Professionally this means embracing a blend of traditional and modern ingredients and techniques to make food more delicious. The goal of Ideas in Food is to make everyone better at what they do, both in the kitchen and out. Alex is also the co-author of Ideas in Food, Great Recipes and Why They Work. Alex can be found at http://www.ideasinfood.com.

Go Back to Top

IMR International • San Diego, Calif, U.S.A.
Dennis Seisun • President
Sustainable Performance and Price

Dennis SeisunDennis Seisun has worked in England, France, Belgium, and, for the last 25 years, has been based in San Diego, California. He graduated from Bath University in England with a bachelor of science degree in engineering and a master of science degree in industrial marketing. He worked as an engineer for Foster Wheeler, as a consultant for C.H. Kline S.A. in Brussels, and for Kelco (then a division of Merck) as commercial development product manager. He was closely involved in the market development of many new biopolymers to follow xanthan in the marketplace. In 1985, Dennis founded IMR International and has since focused his attentions on the food hydrocolloid markets of the U.S. and Western Europe. The Quarterly Review of Food Hydrocolloids was started by IMR International in 1991 and has become established as a comprehensive and independent source of information on the food hydrocolloid market. IMR has chaired the International Conference on Food Hydrocolloids for the past sixteen years alternating between the USA and Europe.

Go Back to Top

Innova Market Insights • Duiven, The Netherlands
LuAnn Williams • Head of Research
Importance of Texture Claims in Sustainable Markets

LuAnn WilliamsMs. LuAnn Williams is Head of Research at Innova Market Insights. She started her career in The Netherlands twenty years ago with Wolters Kluwer before moving to leading science publisher Elsevier. For the past fifteen years she has been involved in the international food industry where she works with the world’s largest food and beverage companies on product development and marketing strategies, trends analysis, open innovation projects and technology scouting. She comes from Georgia (USA) and graduated from Georgia Tech and received her MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Go Back to Top

Mars/Effem GmbH • Verden, Germany
Dr. Andreas Koliandris • Physical Chemistry & Gels Manager R&D
Hydrocolloid Challenges and Opportunities in Pet Food

Andreas KolidandrisAndreas Koliandris has studied Veterinary Medicine before switching to Food Science by doing an MSc in Food science at the University of Reading, followed by a PhD in Food Science at the University of Nottingham. His PhD investigated the relationship between hydrocolloid gels and solutions and flavor release. He has then joined the Disruptive Innovation group at Mars PetCare as Physical Chemistry and Gels Senior Scientist where he was leading the physical chemistry laboratory with particular emphasis on hydrocolloids functionality and characterization, as well as efficient usage of hydrocolloids. He has then taken the role Physical Chemistry and Gels Manager in the Global Applied Science team leading the hydrocolloids science area for Mars PetCare on a global level. Andreas is also a member of the Gums and Stabilizers for the Food Industry committee actively attending hydrocolloid and other scientific conferences and has initiated several external collaborations with universities and institutions in particular areas of interest.

Go Back to Top

National Starch • Hamburg, Germany
Ms. Claudia Fiannaca • Business Development Manager, Beverages and Flavors
Sustainable Delivery Systems by Design

Claudia FiannacaClaudia Fiannaca is a Chemical Engineer by background, and gained her Master at the University of Palermo, Italy, with a master thesis on the link between structure-morphology-properties of γ-irradiated polymers. She started her career within the R&D Strategic Technology Group at ICI in the UK, where she worked on the influence of a unique atomization technology on starch-based spray dried particle morphology, and patented the unique benefits offered by this technology in the end-product. Claudia moved then to the flavour and fragrance world as part of Quest International, where she worked as Technology Development Manager for homecare applications. She joined National Starch in 2006, where she has been responsible for Business Development in the area of delivery technologies that enable the inclusion of challenging actives into food and beverages. Claudia’s responsibilities include the management of the long-term innovation roadmap for the encapsulation and beverage markets. Her group latest launch was awarded Beverage Innovation of the Year at Food Ingredient Europe 2011.

Go Back to Top

Nestlé • Beauvais, France
Ms. Martine Capelle • Project Manager and Global Material Stabilizers Expert
Achieving Stability in Frozen Desserts

Martine CapelleMartine Capelle is a Biotechnology and Food Engineer. She has worked in Research and Development for Nestlé in dried food applications and in ice cream applications. She has expertise in the following two areas: Stabilizers and Quality & Sustaining Quality in dried foods and in ice creams.

Go Back to Top

South China University of Technology • Guangzhou, China
Jian Xiong • Food Safety Inspector - School of Light Industry and Food Science
Chinese Food Texturizers – Cellulosics and Other

Jian XiongJian Xiong is a Professor at the School of Light Industry and Food Science, one of 25 schools in the South China University of Technology (SCUT) system. He received his PhD from South China University of Technology and undergraduate degree from Sichuan University. His field of research includes the structure and functional modification of biomacromolecules, such as protein, cellulose and starch for use in food additives and food packaging materials. Projects he is currently leading are the study of protein in food packaging material and cellulose plastics under high shear, the study of polymer OLED engineering and the study of environmentally benign oxidants.

Go Back to Top

Tembec • Toronto, Canada
Dr. Derek Budgell • Vice President Business Development
Upstream Cellulosic Sustainability

Derek BudgellDerek Budgell is Vice President of Tembec's Specialty Cellulose & Chemical Group. Dr. Budgell earned a Ph.D. in Physical Polymer Chemistry from McGill University in Montreal where he studied cellulose and its derivatives. He then joined the National Research Council in Ottawa. In 1991 he started work in industry with Akzo Nobel in Germany where he worked in cellulose R&D until 1995 and then moved into management as the Director of SBU-Accurel Systems and later as a Company Officer of Akzo Nobel Membrana GmbH. In 1999 he joined Linotec Development GmbH, a specialty nonwovens & film joint-venture, as the Managing Director. Derek and his family returned to Canada when he joined Tembec in 2004. Tembec is a leading supplier of specialty cellulose for the production of cellulose ethers, cellulose acetate, microcrystalline cellulose, and nitrocellulose. Tembec manages nearly 10 million hectares of Canadian forest lands in accordance with sustainable development principles, and has obtained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification for all forests under its care.

Go Back to Top

Unilever • Vlaardingen, The Netherlands
Dr. Krassimir Velikov • Science and Expertise Team Leader
Challenges of Formulating with Micronutrients and Nutraceuticals

Krassimir VelikovKrassimir Velikov is a Science Leader and Expertise Team Leader in Unilever R&D Vlaardingen. He received his PhD in the field of soft condensed matter physics from University of Utrecht (Utrecht) and FOM institute AMOLF (Amsterdam). Joining Unilever in 2002, he focused on design, stabilization and application of colloids for control of product texture, stability, appearance, taste, digestion, bioaccessibility and on delivery of functional ingredients. His research interests further include colloid-based materials, colloidal assembly, and interaction of colloids with biological systems. He is adjunct assistant professor in the Soft Condensed Matter groups at Debye Institute, Utrecht University and a special adjunct associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the College of Engineering, North Carolina State University (USA). He is also a Program Director of Molecular Structure of Food program in NanoNextNL.

Go Back to Top
  • View the IMR International group on LinkedIn