2024 event

Nanna Vardar Berthel, MSc

Palsgaard

Application Manager & Senior Scientist

Confectionery

Nanna Vardar Berthel graduated from Aarhus University with a master in Molecular Nutrition & Food Technology in 2011. Nanna Vardar Berthel has worked for several international ingredient companies like Danisco and Arla Food Ingredients. In January 2022 she joined Palsgaard as Application Manager and Senior Scientist in its headquarters in Juelsminde, Denmark, and thereby turned her focus on emulsifiers for the chocolate industry. The key focus during her career has been bridging science and industry. Hence, transforming her in depth knowledge of functional food ingredients into something tangible for industry partners. During her years in the industry she has always kept a solid contact with the academic world and  played a role as industry supervisor for numerous master students.

The main driver in her career has been a passion for taste and texture. A passion that follows her both during her working hours as well as in her spare time; where she enjoys cooking and finding inspiration in fine dining. She has an active lifestyle and enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, running, road and mountain biking, as well as riding her two horses.

Şeyma Özonuk

Palsgaard

Application Manager, Team Lead in Palsgaard Turkiye

Confectionery & Industrial Bakery

Şeyma Özonuk is an Application Manager and Team Leader with six and half years experience in Palsgaard. She is specialized with her extensive knowledge and production experience, both technically and practically, in business development and technical support such as problem solving in lines, optimum recipe development, directing the right product to the right process. She has been opening ways for Palsgaard to establish the best dialogue with its business partner by considering the most appropriate technical solution from a commercial perspective. She also tries to create a team game by developing and supporting her team with all these experiences.

Seyma graduated from Ege University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Engineering.  She has also a Master’s Degree in Food Engineering which is based on ‘Chocolate Rheology’.

Outside the office, you can find Şeyma walking with her dog and running by the sea. She enjoys traveling very much and you can see her in any country. She tries not to miss valuable concerts, exhibitions and theaters by using the many advantages of living in Istanbul.

Willy van Arkel

Corbion

Senior Business Development Manager and Product Manager

Presenting on

“A journey of sensory discovery,”

Redefining confectionery with unique sour dimensions and superior quality.

Fanny Gauttier

Rainforest Alliance

EU Policy Specialist

Fanny Gauttier, EU policy specialist for the Rainforest Alliance, is set to join this year’s QandA session at the World Confectionery Conference.

In her role for the non-governmental Rainforest Alliance organisation which provides key industry environmental and social policy certification, she oversees the engagement with the EU institutions on key pieces of legislation, such as the EU Deforestation Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

Prior to this post, Fanny Gauttier was the Senior Manager for European Policy of Conservation International, where she led the engagement with EU decision-makers on key policies on biodiversity, climate change, deforestation and development cooperation.

She also previously served as a Policy Officer in the European Bureau of French Agriculture, where she was in charge of EU policies on environment, climate and energy, and was coordinating the engagement with the European Parliament. In addition, she also holds a Master degree in political science and European studies, and a Master of Arts in European Interdisciplinary Studies of the College of Europe.

Lyn Pitt

DT&G Ltd

Lyn Pitt, managing director of UK-based DT&G Limited, manufacturers of Finn chocolate coating and polishing equipment is the latest industry name to be added to speakers at our 2024 World Confectionery Conference.

She will be returning to this year’s event,, having previously spoken at our show two years ago in the Belgian capital.

For this edition, Lyn will be focusing on a topic of designing smart manufacturing factories of the future, which stands as a topic that is of notable importance given the industry’s drive for ever greater levels of productivity and efficiency gains, often delivered against budget challenges.

Keenly anticipating her return to the event, she said: “The loyal and highly skilled team at DT&G Ltd have been supplying and working with the sector for many years and understand the industry’s challenges and changing trends.

“They have travelled globally installing and training producers, from Japan to USA. Supplying “turnkey” solutions, DT&G Ltd have taken the best of traditional engineering and incorporated advanced developments to showing commitment customers. Successful production and sustainable collaborations long into the future are supported by DT&G Engineers and the family within the business.”

Soren Bettex

Krüger & Salecker

As co-managing director for the established German confectionery equipment business, he has overseen a period of renewed growth for the company.

It has seen notable expansion this year in the US, and the firm continues to gain traction with its innovative moulding machinery, which will be a core focus for the company’s return to the World Confectionery Conference.

Brett Beach

Made In Africa (MIA)

It was a two-year stint in the American Peace Corp serving in Madagascar that would sow the seeds of Brett Beach’s ambition to create his future business in the confectionery sector.

Having stayed on for six years in the island nation off the East Coast of Africa in several key roles including for the US embassy, when the chance to set up a business with his wife Sarah and give something back to the communities he had been among, it felt the perfect opportunity.

“I just fell in love with Madagascar” explains Brett of his initial experiences of being amid the Indian Ocean community, which was formerly a French colony.

The confectionery expert, who has helped develop new chocolate ranges under a new concept of “Fair Made” in seeking to process confectionery lines at source to ensure maximum profits are retained by manufacturing nations at source, will be returning to join this year’s QandA session.

This will place sustainability under the spotlight and focus on some of the core tests facing the industry, as it moves forward with a sense of hope in 2024.

Antonie Fountain

Voice Network

Managing Director

The managing director of the Voice Network cocoa sector organisation, Antonie Fountain, is now among the ranks of those appearing at our World Confectionery Conference this autumn.

He continues to prove a true advocate of driving reforms on tackling headline human rights issues of child labour, as well as enhancing pay and conditions for farmers, he will be joining our Q&A on sustainability for our must-attend event on 12 September in Brussels, Belgium.

Prior to becoming a major advocate for systemic change within the cocoa sector, Antonie enjoyed an early career in the Dutch rock music scene, though his passion for addressing supply chain inequalities eventually won out.

He has consistently held the industry to account on key issues of sustainability and will doubtless have plenty of constructive and incisive thoughts for our QandA this September.

HRM Oba Dokun Thompson

HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, a regional ruler from Nigeria, is an inspiring figure within the global cocoa industry, who will be playing a notable role in our QandA session for our 2024 conference as it marks the 90th anniversary of our publication.

The traditional monarch, known as the Oloni of Eti-Oni, oversees the oldest cocoa plantation in South West Nigeria, and has been working to turn around his rural community into a sustainable community, against a wider backdrop of tough conditions for many farmers.

See our upcoming preview magazine of Confectionery Production magazine for a full interview with the Oloni, who has for many years spoken passionately about the challenges facing the cocoa farming sector in his own country and on a global level.

Notably, he has been committed to providing inspiration to the next generation of cocoa farmers through establishing a new cocoa festival in his own native country, as well as recently devising a premium line of chocolate with a unique collaboration with British confectionery brand, Beech’s, that has gained national media coverage.

Adrian Ling

Plamil Foods

CEO

UK-based CEO of Plamil Foods, Adrian Ling, recently created the first World Vegan Chocolate Day to celebrate the fast-rising global market.

Its development comes as the movement continues to gain pace, with industry estimates of a growing global sector serving at least 79 million people, with a far greater number following a ‘flexitarian’ or vegetarian diet, including segment-specific confectionery.

Living in Folkestone, Kent, Adrian, whose late father founded the family business in the early 1960s, that is regarded as an original pioneering enterprise of the vegan movement, has been a passionate supporter of sustainable supply chains.

The man known as the ‘Vegan Willy Wonka,’ was inspired to create the global event, taking place on January 31, to celebrate vegan chocolate in all its forms, including his own company’s ever-expanding range of products.

This includes its So Free brand that has gained traction over the past five years, as well as placing a strong emphasis on creating innovative confectionery, including a brand new offering creating a new segment – the Coffee Bar.

With notable challenges existing throughout supply chains in the confectionery and snacks sector, Adrian is set to explore how some of these issues might be addressed, enabling a stronger and collaborative approach to ethical trading across the industry.

Alex Shandrovsky

California Cultured

Having recently joined the company’s ranks as an international business development manager, Alex Shandrovsky explained to Confectionery Production that he is greatly enthused at the prospect of joining this year’s event, which celebrates Confectionery Production’s 90th anniversary, featuring our annual awards and networking reception.

Prior to joining California Cultured, Alex ran a successful Food Tech Investment advisory , helping clients raise major investment for their respective industry ventures. In addition to leading international business development at California Cultured, he is the host of Vegconomist Investment Climate Podcast, uncovering sales playbooks of successful foodtech founders who have raised funds in the last year. His favourite chocolate is 70% Dark Chocolate with fruity notes.

Andreas Bertram

ZDS central confectionery college

Andreas Bertram, managing director of Germany’s ZDS central school of confectionery, is preparing to make a welcome return to this year’s World Confectionery Conference as a speaker at our event in Brussels, Belgium.

The senior industry figure has enjoyed an eventful spell with the nation’s key sweets and snacks education facility, and has been a passionate advocate for passing on skills within the sector, which will form an element of his presentation for our industry showcase this autumn.

As Andreas Bertram has previously explained to Confectionery Production, he recalled having spent four memorable years in his youth as a technical instructor at ZDS’s site at Sollingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, before going on to other industry roles including a senior post within the biscuit market segment for a major company.

But he eventually realised that returning to his employment roots within the teaching arena in 2005 to take on his present role was something that was too great an opportunity to pass up, and has been a key figure for the organisation ever.

As Bertram reflects, the teaching which the college conduct is something that is both a personal passion, and something that Germany on a wider level remains particularly renowned for.

Johanna Schmidgall

Gelita

Gelita concludes our line-up for the World Confectionery Conference, with the business naming  Johanna Schmidgall, global application, technology and product development specialist for the company.

She will be joined by her colleague Natalie Leuwer, category manager specialties, offering an overview of the company’s capabilities within the sweets and snacks sector, which include an innovative range of gelatin, collagen and collagen peptide solutions for industry that are focused on delivering natural, clean label market solutions.

Thomas Chatenier

Ferrero

As president of Ferrero’s Nutella brand, Thomas Chatenier is enjoying a particularly memorable moment for the brand, which this year celebrates its 60th anniversary.

He will be appearing with Francesco Tramontin as part of his keynote presentation on how the business is moving its operations forward in a responsible and innovative way.