Schedule – Global Business Forum Get ready to explore the future of food, bioenergy, and sustainability. IFAMA 2025 brings together global leaders, bold innovators, and next-gen thinkers for two dynamic days of panels and keynotes that challenge ideas, spark solutions, and inspire action in agribusiness worldwide.
|
WEDNESDAY, 25–JUNE |
07:30 – 08:15 | Welcome Coffee and Accreditation |
08:15 – 09:00 | Official Kick-Off |
Aidan Connolly – President, AgriTech Capital; President, IFAMA (IRELAND) Marcos Fava Neves – Conference Co-Chair; Professor, Harven Agribusiness School (BRAZIL) Chaim Zaher – Founder and CEO, Grupo SEB (Brazil) Daiana Bisognin Lopes – Conference Co-Chair; CEO, FB Group (Brazil) Caio Carvalho – Director, Canaplan; President, ABAG (BRAZIL) Jacyr Costa – President; Superior Council of Agribusiness, Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (BRAZIL) Monika Bergamaschi – Vice-President, ABAG (BRAZIL) Manoel Mário de Souza Barros – President, ALAGRO; Advisor, COSAG/FIESP; Secretary General, Special Committee on Agribusiness of the Federal Council of the OAB; Agribusiness Director, CIN (BRAZIL) Pedro Lupion – Federal Deputy, FPA (BRAZIL) |
09:00 – 09:30 | Keynote 1: The Future of Farming Marcos Fava Neves, Moderator – Conference Co-Chair; Professor, Harven Agribusiness School (BRAZIL) Aurélio Pavinato – CEO, SLC Agricola (BRAZIL) |
09:30 – 10:15 | Panel 1: From Farm to Food: Insights into Consumer Movements towards 2050 |
Sylvain Charlebois, Moderator – Senior Director, Professor, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University (CANADA) Carlos Pellicer – CEO, UPL (BRAZIL) |
10:15 – 10:45 | Keynote 2: TBA Manuel Otero – Director General, IICA |
10:45 – 11:15 | Break |
11:15 – 12:30 | Panel 2: Sustainability Creating Value for Companies |
Nicola Shadbolt, Moderator – Chair at Plant & Food Research, Crown Research Institute (NEW ZEALAND) Juliana de Lavor Lopes – Director of ESG, Communication, and Compliance; AMAGGI (BRAZIL) Norberto Giangrande – Executive Chairman, Minerva Foods (BRAZIL) Guilherme Galvão – Marketing Director, Ourofino (Brazil) |
11:15 – 12:30 | Special Session – How Women Are Leading the Transformation of Agribusiness — And How We Can Accelerate That Step-Change |
Join the IFAMA Young Board with special guest Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). |
12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch Case Competition: Undergraduate and Graduate Finals |
14:00 – 15:45 | Panel 3: The Challenge of Training New Leaders in Agribusiness |
Anathi Makamane – IFAMA Young Board; Lecturer, University of the Free State (SOUTH AFRICA) Jorge Bittner, Moderator – IFAMA Young Board; Agribusiness Development Specialist, Gota.ag (CHILE) Michelle Marais – IFAMA Young Board; and Business Unit Manager at Urban Farmer Pty Ltd (SOUTH AFRICA) Carlos Guilherme Nosé – CEO & Partner, Fesa Group (BRAZIL) Paulo Rigolin – Vice President of Latin America, Alltech (BRAZIL) Luciano Thomé e Castro – Board Member & Coordinator of Business Administration Course, Harven Agribusiness School (BRAZIL) |
15:45 – 16:15 | Coffee Break |
16:15 – 17:45 | Panel 4: Sustainable Innovations: Achieving More with Less |
Tony Salas, Moderator – Founder and CEO, Shared-X; Founder and President, ACM Consulting (PERU) Allan Gray – Executive Director, Digital Innovation in Agri-Food Systems Lab; Purdue Applied Research Institute (USA) Walter Schalka – Member of the Board, Suzano and Vibra Energia (BRAZIL) Pedro Terencio – Executive Director; Agro Pastoril Paschoal Campanelli S.A. (BRAZIL) Robert Erhard – Corporate Sustainable Agriculture Development, Nestlé (SWITZERLAND) |
17:45 – 18:15 | Keynote 3: The Future of Agriculture with the Use of Artificial Intelligence |
Aidan Connolly, Moderator – President, AgriTech Capital; President, IFAMA (IRELAND) Johann Coelho – CEO & Founder, Bem Agro; Forbes Under 30 (BRAZIL) |
18:30 | Closing |
THURSDAY, 26–JUNE |
07:30 – 08:15 | Welcome Coffee |
08:15 – 08:45 | Keynote 4: Creating Resilient and Sustainable Food Markets for the Future |
Beth Bechdol – Deputy Director General, UN-FAO (ITALY) |
08:45 – 10:00 | Panel 5: Creating Competitive Advantage through Cooperatives and Associations – The Role of Collective Actions |
Decio Zylberstajn, Moderator – Professor, University of São Paulo (BRAZIL) Juliano Tarabal – Executive Director, Federation of Cerrado Coffee Growers (BRAZIL) Brian Briggeman – Professor and Director, Arthur Capper Cooperative Center, Kansas State University (USA) José Antonio Rossato – Member of the Administrative Board, Coplana - Cooperativa Agroindustrial (BRAZIL) |
10:15 – 10:45 | Break |
10:45 – 12:15 | Panel 6: The Future of Bioenergy |
Bruno Serapião, Moderator – CEO, Atvos (BRAZIL) Arnaldo Jardim – Federal Deputy, Chair of the Special Commission on Energy Transition and Green Hydrogen Production (BRAZIL) Alessandro Gardemann – CEO, Geo bio gas&carbon; Co-Founder, Abiogas (BRAZIL) Andréa Veríssimo – Director of International Affairs & Communications, UNEM: Brazilian Corn Ethanol Association (BRAZIL) Silvia Massruha – President, Embrapa (BRAZIL) |
12:15 – 12:30 | Mariangela Hungria – Silvia Massruhá, President of Embrapa, recognized for her award of World Food Prize. |
12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch / Case Competition Case Competition: Young Professionals Finals |
13:00-15:15 | Panel 7: Biotechnology: Pioneering Innovation and Sustainability |
Esteban R. Brenes, Moderator – Professor of Strategy and Agribusiness, INCAE Business School; President, BAC & Associates S.A. (COSTA RICA) Nelson Wulff – Scientific Researcher, Fundecitrus (BRAZIL) Kieran Gartlan – Managing Partner, The Yield Lab Latam (BRAZIL) Marcelo Eskenazi – New Business Innovation Advisor, São Martinho (BRAZIL) |
15:15 – 15:45 | Coffee Break |
15:45-17:00 | Panel 8: From Farm to Table: Responding to consumer demands to produce nutritious food sustainably. |
Thia Hennessy, Moderator – Professor of Agri-Food Economics, University College Cork (IRELAND) Edson Barros – LATAM Marketing VP, Kerry (BRAZIL) Alejandra Rullán – Nutrition Director for Latin America, Kerry (BRAZIL) |
17:00 – 17:30 | Closure Keynote: Agribusiness Message to COP and The Role of Sustainability |
Aidan Connolly – President, AgriTech Capital; President, IFAMA (IRELAND) Marcos Fava Neves – Conference Co-Chair; Professor, Harven Agribusiness School (BRAZIL) André Aranha Correa do Lago – COP30 President (BRAZIL) [Virtual participation] Roberto Rodrigues – Special Ambassador, FAO (BRAZIL) Guilherme Piai Filizzola – São Paulo State Agriculture Secretary |
17:30 – 17:45 | Event Closing |
18:45 – 23:00 | Presidential Banquet |