Director of the Food and Nutrition Center, EPFL

Serge Rezzi followed a Biology and Biochemistry University program before obtaining a PhD in Organic and Analytical Chemistry from the University of Corsica in 2000. He pursued his scientific career with post-doctoral fellowship at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra (Italy). He joined the Nestlé Research Center (Lausanne) in 2005 as scientist and then as group leader of the Metabonomics and Biomarkers.
In 2012, he joined the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences where he developed a research program on molecular nutrition and clinical translation. S. Rezzi is Visiting Professor in the Division of Surgery and Cancer of the Faculty of Medicine of the Imperial College London. He is also adjunct “MER” at the Swiss Technology Institute of Lausanne. His research interests include molecular physiological processes in metabolism and nutrition, metabolic and nutritional phenotyping, nutrient metabolism and clinical translation.
He is currently heading the Molecular Nutrition group at NIHS where he develops a research program encompassing the development of a next generation nutritional status profiling based on mass spectrometry, the study of mechanism of action of specific micronutrients and the translation of molecular nutrition concepts to understand unmet nutritional needs of people under healthy and unhealthy conditions.

Yosef holds a PhD from the University of Southampton, is the visionary of Gamaya and has 10+ years of experience in the management of applied research projects in UK and Switzerland (including Leman-Baikal project), spanning the subjects of remote sensing, mobile robotics and environmental monitoring. His technological contributions have been acknowledged by multiple patents and prestigious awards.

Christine Demen Meier, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Marketing at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). She is also head of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department and has been actively involved in research and in developing EHL’s proximity with the hospitality industry, notably through the creation of two research chairs. In 2010 she was appointed holder of EHL’s first research chair, the Food & Beverage Industry Chair, which resulted from a partnership between EHL and three partners: Nestlé Professional, Danone Professional and Unilever Food Solutions. From 2015 and until 2018, the Food & Beverage Chair will be supported by Saviva (a member of Migros Group). In 2016, Dr. Demen Meier became the holder of the METRO Chair of Innovation, which was created for a two-year period. Dr. Demen Meier also teaches in the Master in Entrepreneurship at HEG Fribourg and in the executive Entrepreneurship Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) program (modules 2, 3 and 4). She is a Visiting Professor at HEC Paris (Master in Entrepreneurship), is regularly invited to give conferences in Canada (ITHQ, HEC Montréal) and collaborates with Canadian researchers. Before joining EHL, in 1999, Dr. Demen Meier managed and owned several businesses in the hospitality industry. She has extensive consulting experience in hospitality and restaurant management (companies in Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Turkey and Ukraine). She currently is president of the direction committee of the board of the Bon Rivage Hotel (Vaud, Switzerland).

Georg Castlunger, born in 1984 in South Tyrol with Austrian roots, graduated from the University of Innsbruck Law School. He participated in exchange programs in Padua and Milan, and interned at major law firms in Toronto and Milan.
After gaining work experience in commercial and legal consultancy and marketing at the Commercial Section of the Austrian Consulate General in Milan, he was in charge of the organisation and management of the Austrian presence at Expo Milano 2015.
Currently he is responsible for the Italian client relation & sales management of the international steel-based technology and capital good group voestalpine. He volunteers with the FAI Giovani Milano to promote the mission and the initiatives of the youth section of the national not-for-profit trust Fondo Ambiente Italiano, preserving Italy's artistic and natural heritage.

Vestergaard is global health company dedicated to improving the health of vulnerable people, especially in developing countries. With a low science/high impact philosophy, Vestergaard’s game-changing solutions contribute to a healthier, more sustainable planet by fighting malaria, HIV/AIDS, diarrheal diseases and neglected tropical diseases. The company’s new initiatives are focused on enhancing food security. Vestergaard operates according to a humanitarian entrepreneurship business model, whereby doing good is good business. Following this model, the company devotes its entire innovative platform to producing breakthrough products and solutions for disadvantaged people.

Vestergaard is global health company dedicated to improving the health of vulnerable people, especially in developing countries. With a low science/high impact philosophy, Vestergaard’s game-changing solutions contribute to a healthier, more sustainable planet by fighting malaria, HIV/AIDS, diarrheal diseases and neglected tropical diseases. The company’s new initiatives are focused on enhancing food security. Vestergaard operates according to a humanitarian entrepreneurship business model, whereby doing good is good business. Following this model, the company devotes its entire innovative platform to producing breakthrough products and solutions for disadvantaged people.

As the co-founder and first director of the association foodwaste.ch we catalysed the discourse on food waste and were directly involved in the agenda setting process for the topic in Switzerland. Some key deliverables:

• Review and publication the first high level study on food waste in Switzerland together with WWF Switzerland.
• Plan & implement a media strategy to gain maximum attention from media on the topic.
• Work with Swiss government offices in the implementation of stakeholder processes (namely with trade associations, processors and food banks)
• Establish partnerships with European actors and projects on food waste reduction (EU FUSION, WRAP UK, network “essenswert”)
• Coach of the Food Surplus Entrepreneur Network (FSE)

Initiator and manager of “United Against Waste” (2013 – 2015)
Working with industry leaders in the out-of-home sector (hospitality) we initiated and successfully built up a business association to reduce food waste in the out-of-home value chain.

• Mobilise leading industry representatives and initiate a sustainable association structure for long-term work on food waste reduction in the industry.
• Design and implement stakeholder specific projects with tangible impact in the industry.
• Develop consultancy services toward food businesses that incentivise food waste reduction in businesses
• Continuously increase the membership base for the association.
• Continous project publication in specific industry publication to multiply project impact.

Leanpath Inc. Business Development Partner
• Business Development in European Markets

TwentyGreen® founder, Dr. Sutherland, has worked as a research immunologist at leading institutes in Australia (JCSMR, ANU), Japan (RIKEN) and Switzerland (EPFL). Dr. Sutherland, now based at EPFL supported by Innogrant, has been highly engaged in developing and securing the intellectual property for the novel animal feed probiotic together with other TwentyGreen® members. Dr. Sutherland is strongly committed to translating the high potential research developed at EPFL to the global market.

Christian Bärtsch (26) is an avid food entrepreneur and co-founder of Essento,
a Swiss start-up developing, producing and marketing delicacies made from
edible insects. He has amongst other contributed to launch the aquaponics
start-up UrbanFarmers. Christian is passionate improving lives through
sustainable innovations in the food sector. He has a background in Economics
from the University of St. Gallen, Lausanne and Universidad de los Andes,
Bogotá. Christian is based in Winterthur, Switzerland.