May 4 + 6, 2022
VIRTUAL SUMMIT 

LEADING THE EDGE OF FOOD INNOVATION

AGENDA

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

SCHEDULE

Day 1: Tuesday, May 3
10 AM - 6PM EST

Welcome to Food Edge and Opening Remarks - 10:00 AM - 10:05 AM
Lauren Abda, Founder at Branchfood and Co-Founder at Branch Venture Group

Pathway to a Sustainable Food System - 10:05 AM - 11:00 AM

• Mary Shelman, Founder at Shelman Group

• Stephanie Goodwin, Senior Manager, Government & Industry Affairs, Danone

From Agriculture to the End Consumer: Fostering Collaboration for a More Resilient Food System - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

• Moderator: Evi Steyer, Co-Founder, Ponderosa Ventures

• Karen Carr, Partner at ArentFox Schiff and co-lead of AgTech Industry Group

• Phil Taylor, Global Open Innovation Lead at Bayer

• Tracy Raines, Chief Innovation Officer at AgBiome

Virtual breakout session for attendees to reflect and exchange their insights - 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

BREAK - 12:30 - 1:00 PM

Aquaculture: Producing Food in a Changing Environment - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

• Moderator: Julianne Stelmaszyk, Director of Food Strategy at Rhode Island Commerce

• Sam Garwin, Market Innovation Strategist at GreenWave

• Duong Nguyen, Associate Dir. Research & Process Innovation at Bluu Seafood

• Chip Terry, Founder & CEO at BlueTrace

Controlling the Environment for Sustained Food Production - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

• Moderator: Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder & CEO at Agritecture

• Tim Cunniff, Co-Founder & EVP Sales, Little Leaf Farms

• Marcia Hooper, Co-Founder, Branch Venture Group

• Craig Ratajczyk, CEO at Crop One Holdings (FreshBox Farms)

Virtual breakout session for attendees to reflect and exchange their insights - 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Investing in the Proteins of the Future to Feed the Growing Population - 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Stephanie von Stein, Senior Associate Director of International Engagement at the Good Food Institute

Proteins of the Future: Sustainably Feeding the Growing Population - 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

• Moderator: Megan Poinsky, Senior Food Dive Reporter at Industry Dive

• Gastón Paladini, Co-Founder & CEO at Moolec Science

• Derek Klaehn, EVP of Strategy & New Ventures, Kerry

• Eric Schulze, VP of Product and Regulation at Upside Foods

Creating the Brands of the Future - 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM

• Moderator: Tara Levine, Senior Advisor at Branchfood

• Ravi Jhala, Global head of Commercial at Perfect Day

• Lizanne Falsetto, Founder, CEO & Chairman, betterland foods™

Virtual breakout session for attendees to reflect and exchange their insights - 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Happy Hour at the Sam Adams Boston Taproom - 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Join us for a celebratory evening of networking and fun!

Day 2: Wednesday, May 4
10 AM - 6 PM EST

Alternative Protein: Where Next? - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

• Moderator: Christine Hall, Reporter at TechCrunch

• James Petrie, CEO at Nourish Ingredients

• Paul Shapiro, CEO at The Better Meat Co.

• Lance Lively, VP Strategy & Business Operations at EVERY™

Mutually Beneficial Food: for the Planet and the People - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

• Moderator: Elizabeth Crawford, Deputy Editor at FoodNavigator-USA

• Laurie Demeritt, Owner & CEO at Hartman Group

• Paul Evers, Co-Founder & CEO at Riff

• Sasikanth Chemalamudi, Co-Founder & COO at The Live Green Co

Virtual breakout session for attendees to reflect and exchange their insights - 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

BREAK - 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Food Culture, Media & Innovation - 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

• Moderator: Tara Levine, Senior Advisor at Branchfood

• Toni Tipton Martin, Editor In Chief at America's Test Kitchen, Award-Winning Cookbook Author

Creating Value Across the Food Supply Chain - 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

• Moderator: Shen Tong, Founder & Managing Partner, FoodFutureCo

• Troy Pearley, EVP, General Manager, North America at Divine Chocolate

• Jyoti Shankar, Principal Data Scientist at Indigo

• Nicole Burke, Project Manager/Technology Scout at Kalsec

Innovation and Collaboration: Key Ingredients to Food System Sustainability - 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

• Moderator: Lauren Abda, Founder at Branchfood

• Katie Stebbins, Executive Director at Tufts Friedman’s Food & Nutrition Innovation Institute

Virtual breakout session for attendees to reflect and exchange their insights - 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Sustainable Packaging Solutions for a Greener Food System - 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

• Moderator: Jennifer Bartashus, Senior Equity Research Analyst, Consumer Staples & Retail at Bloomberg Intelligence

• Kate Flynn, Co-founder and CEO at Sun & Swell

• Ryan Fox, Corrugated Packaging Market Analyst at Green Markets

• Luna Yu, Founder & CEO, Genecis

Supply Chain Technologies of the Future - 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

• Moderator: Tom Ryden, Executive Director, MassRobotics

• Elise Kern, SVP Data & Insights at Aromyx

• Ellen Jorgensen, Co-Founder & CSO at Aanika Biosciences

• Sam Hseng-Hung Hsu, Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning at Ecolab

Virtual breakout session for attendees to reflect and exchange their insights - 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Day 3: Thursday, May 5
10 AM - 4:40 PM EST

Look Inside One of the Century’s Most Promising Areas of Discovery: Precision Nutrition - 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

• Moderator: Elaine Watson, Editor at FoodNavigator-USA

• Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition

Functional Food and Personalized Nutrition for Better Health Outcomes - 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

• Moderator: Gretchen VanEsselstyn, Director of Education at the Specialty Food Association

• Trey Lockerbie, Co-Founder & CEO at Better Booch

• Lauren Abda, Co-Founder at Branch Venture Group

• Ian Miller, Chief Development Officer at Pairwise

Nutrition Communications in Times of Rapid Innovation - 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

• Moderator: Stephanie Ferrari, Co-Founder & President at Fresh Communications

• Emily Josephson, Marketing / Brand Management Noosa at Sovos Brands

• Ralph Simmons, Regulatory Attorney at Foster Garvey

Investing in Nutrition Innovation - 12:00PM - 12:30 PM

• Moderator: Larissa Zimberoff, Journalist and Author

• Luda Kopeikina, Investment Director at DSM Venturing

Virtual breakout session for attendees to reflect and exchange their insights - 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

BREAK: virtual networking - 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Sustainable Retailing for the People and the Planet - 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

• Moderator: Tina Adolfsson, Head of Communications at Simera

• Peter Twomey, Co-Founder at EcoCart

• Justin King, Chief Evangelist at Salsify

The State of Industry Report: CPG Trends and M+A - 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Nick McCoy, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstitch Capital

Virtual breakout session for attendees to reflect and exchange their insights - 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Food Waste and Circular Economy: A Holistic Overview - 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Samantha Goerger, Policy Analyst at ReFED

Sustainability: The New Consumer Currency - 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Kymberly Graham, VP, Head of Diversity Initiative, NielsenIQ

Closing remarks - 4:30 PM - 4:40 PM
Lauren Abda, Founder at Branchfood and Co-Founder at Branch Venture Group

If you have any questions about Food Edge 2022 Summit, please send us an email at info@branchfood.com.