🌎 Introducing the new cohort of 38 New FoodHack Ambassadors

From its humble beginnings in Switzerland back in 2017, the first FoodHack Meetup was a way to bring together local entrepreneurs, investors and operators transforming the future of food. 

Fast forward to today, and we’re still hosting Meetups in Lausanne. 

As well as across 56 cities around the world.

Hosted by local Ambassadors, these Meetups bring together the best of the industry, to unlock new talent, opportunities and partnerships across FoodTech.

Now these teams are expanding with 38 more Ambassadors

Across 6 new Chapters: Barcelona, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dar Es Salaam, Lima, São Paulo

Supporting 13 existing Chapters: Amsterdam, Basel, Berlin, Dubai, Lausanne, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, Valais, Wageningen

“We scoured the globe for the next cohort of community builders to join our mission. This cohort is bursting with industry heavyweights, VC and CVC investors and up-and-coming talent. I’m excited to join forces with them and support their journey to build a FoodTech community in their local city,” shares Coline Jeannet, Community Manager at HackGroup.

The Hack Community:

WHO: 130+ Ambassadors
WHERE: 56 Chapters worldwide
WHAT: Free local Meetups for founders, funders and operators in impact

• Connect with your Chapter’s local Ambassador - Look here

• Keep up to speed on all the latest FoodTech news - Sign up

• Meet global Hack Community IRL at the HackSummit - Join us

12 Ambassadors Open 6 New Chapters

🇪🇸 Barcelona: Oliver Fuss

Strategy Consultant at Bright Green Partners, Oliver advises C-level executives and startup founders on their alternative protein strategies.

“I am excited to implement what I already do on a personal level for a broader audience and with a clear purpose in mind: to build the FoodHack community and ecosystem across Barcelona.”

🇺🇸 Chicago: Daniel Griffis, Abbey Schmitt, Tom Overbeck, Hannah Lucas and Clemence Doblin

Investment Director of ADM Ventures, the CVC arm of ADM, Daniel is an investor focused on partnering with disruptive technologists at the intersection of nutrition, agriculture, and de-fossilization.

Kellogg MBA Candidate, Abbey brings experience of driving large-scale investment impact across individuals, financial institutions, and portfolio companies.

Former Technology Commercialisation Manager at Jeneil Biotech, Tom brings his technical expertise and business acumen to Ingredion in a Senior Manager Biotransformation role beginning June.

Consultant at Bain & Company, Hannah works at a global consultancy that helps the world’s most ambitious change makers define the future. Prior to Bain, Hannah spent 6 years at an agri-food tech startup in international growth & strategy.

Senior Manager at Factor_, Clemence works in the Product Strategy team, following her MBA from Kellogg-Northwestern where she interned at New Culture, Wittington Ventures, 1871 accelerator, and The Good Food Institute.

“Chicago has all the ingredients (strategics, investors, startups, talent) for a vibrant FoodTech community but today lacks a central forum for regular local networking and collaboration. As an active FoodTech investor, I want to convene these disparate groups as spontaneous connection leads to a more dynamic innovation ecosystem for investment,” - Daniel

🇩🇰 Copenhagen: Ioannis Laoudis and Cecilia Trägårdh

Ioannis is an MSc graduate of Integrated Food Studies at the University of Copenhagen and Cecilia is an advocate for a sustainable food system.

“Working with the FoodTech community of Copenhagen will give me better insight into the system. I am excited about the potential of this place as we combine academic knowledge and financial independence,” - Ioannis

“Copenhagen is a fantastic place for discussing and networking in FoodTech. Getting the food system on a sound course will help us solve major challenges in the world,” - Cecilia

🇹🇿 Dar Es Salaam: Seth Charles Mkisi

Founder and Managing Director at Shamba Box, Seth is passionate about helping farmers, agripreneurs, and other stakeholders succeed in Tanzania.

“By leveraging technology and innovation, we can create positive and lasting impacts on the local food systems in Tanzania, benefitting both the community and the broader agricultural landscape.”

🇵🇪 Lima: Michael Moldauer

Swiss-Peruvian Michael is Co-Founder of Mercado 28, Peru's premier Food Hall company and Director at Peru Food Lab, the country’s first food business incubator and accelerator.

“I'm driven and committed to nurturing a vibrant community in Peru where food innovation meets technology by creating a space where impactful ideas can flourish and thrive, benefiting both consumers and businesses alike.”

🇧🇷 São Paulo: Leonardo Vieira and Augusto Terra 

Founder and CEO at Future Cow, Leonardo’s technology produces real milk, without cows using precision fermentation.

CRO at RG Think Food, Augusto is a specialist in driving growth and innovation in the food and beverage industry. He has founded and led 2 startups that developed innovative solutions for connecting with consumers in the food service industry and food waste in the collective meals industry.

“São Paulo has a thriving startup ecosystem, and this environment fosters the growth of FoodTech startups,” - Leonardo

16 Ambassadors Join 10 Active Chapters

🇳🇱 Amsterdam: Valentina Suligoj. Joining Lara Nuchowicz and Maude Jordan

Sales Manager at Tony's Chocolonely, Valentina is in charge of the development of the B2B segment in all their direct markets and she is passionate about shaping the future of the food system through a collaborative cross-industry approach.

"With my background in consulting and FMCG corporate companies, I believe I can further bridge the corporate world with this community of changemakers in the Netherlands."

🇨🇭 Basel: Maximilian Näf and Anthony Cam. Joining Fenn Michael Scott and Jessica Manurung

Global R&D Category Director, Digestive Health at Bayer, Anthony creates consumer health products that optimise human health and well-being.

Co-Founder at NINO, Maximilian is a Food Scientist with a passion for beverage technology. After spending time in the craft beer industry he founded NINO to create the next-generation of non-alcoholic beverages.

“I have attended nearly every Basel FoodHack event in nearly 3 years and believe that my energy, drive, passion, and enthusiasm can help foster this community,” - Anthony

“My journey has taught me the importance of community and the power of collective effort in achieving transformative outcomes,” - Maximilian

🇩🇪 Berlin: Paul Steinhardt and Arianna Spaggiari. Joining Sarah Decoine and Jordi Morales-Dalmau 

Neggst’s Operations Manager, Arianna and Business Development Manager, Paul are developing a plant-based egg alternative with the aim of creating a new category in the market.

“Facilitating the creation of a FoodTech community in Berlin means I can contribute in my own small way to solve problems someone else is facing or connect them with someone who could help them,” - Arianna

“We share a collective mission to convince society of the importance of reimagining our food system,” - Paul

🇦🇪 Dubai: Alexander Kappes and Kaoutar Makrache. Joining Sascha Dutta and Diane Fermin Roeder

Founder and CEO of Greener Crop, Alexander is committed to enabling the deployment of hydroponic farms across the U.S. and Middle East.

CEO of WIN Sustainably, Kaoutar is on a mission to tackle the global issue of food loss.

“As part of the FoodTech ecosystem I can connect with potential team members, advisors, partners, exchange ideas and learn from peers,” - Kaoutar

“By empowering FoodTech entrepreneurs and innovators, I aspire to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient global food system,” - Alexander

🇲🇽 Mexico City: Madeleine de Ville, Rachel Resek, Roxana Antohi and Mauricio Kremer

Head of Business Strategy at microTERRA, Madeleine is part of the team creating clean functional ingredients, while cleaning water.

Principal at Cargill Ventures, Rachel and the CVC team make minority equity investments in agrifoodtech, climate tech, biotech, and manufacturing tech startups. 

Founder and COO at ELISA, Roxana launched Mexico's first locally-inspired, all-natural child nutrition company.

CEO and CO-Founder at Kigüi, Mauricio brings a decade of experience in the consumer goods sector. 

“I'm committed to organising tailored events that facilitate networking, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration among FoodTech professionals,” - Roxana

“Together we have all the powers and networking opportunities to generate a real FoodTech community in Mexico, generating ties between the entire ecosystem,” - Mauricio

🇨🇭 Lausanne: Jessica Browning. Joining Camille Aouinaït

Senior Sustainability Strategist at Quantis, Jessica is an advocate for fighting climate change and food waste.

“FoodTech needs as much awareness and support and I am geared up  to ensure our food system is as sustainable as possible within planetary boundaries. I am looking forward to hosting Meetups to foster community networking and collaboration in the food ecosystem, especially locally in Lausanne where FoodHack was founded.”

🇬🇧 London: Eamonn Carey and Ahmed Sulimann. Joining Anna Heslop

As an Engineer at Multus, Ahmed is solving scaling media production, developing in house testing systems and executing  a variety of lab activities.

A founder and investor, Eamonn has worked with and backed companies across the US, Europe and Asia. He’s a General Partner with Tera Ventures, and previously spun up The Fund in Europe, as well as running Techstars accelerator programs in London and New York. 

🇺🇸 New York: Zachary Azrael, Jasmin Kern, Josh Love, Tess Cavalieri, Nathan Paumier , Emma Forman, Ryan Brish

Senior Associate at The Pew Charitable Trusts, Zachary works to improve public policy through data.

Jasmin is a Senior Associate at Lever VC, a food and ag tech-focused fund specializing in sustainable protein production. She is also the Founder of Nucleate Cultivate, providing opportunities for students to lower the barrier to entering the alternative protein industry. 

Associate, Delivery and Logistics at Plantega, Josh supports the growth of plant-based bodega classics across the city.

Head of Product Innovation at HelloFresh, Tess is a Food Product Designer working in R&D Innovation.

Senior Associate at DoorDash, Emma optimises operations at the online food ordering and food delivery company.

Founder & Author at ‘BRB w/ Nathan P’, Nathan writes a free 5-min weekly newsletter to inspire climate action.

Sr Product Development Manager at Tomorrow Farms, Ryan is behind the team bringing milk alternatives made with milk protein from fermentation.

“New York City has a well-established reputation for being the first-movers and first-adopters of many trends. This characteristic makes it an ideal breeding ground for innovation to thrive,” - Jasmin

“What truly excites me about supporting and developing the NYC FoodTech community is the profound impact innovation has on an individual's personal relationship with food,” - Emma

🇫🇷 Paris: Capucine Grandsir. Joining Idris Revert, Lucas Jacquet, Mikael Pereira

Sustainable AgrifoodTech analyst at Bpifrance, Capucine is a biological engineer specialised in agrifoodtech, combining her expertise in biology with a keen interest in innovative solutions for a greener food system.

🇸🇬 Singapore: Mei Chi Poh. Joining Andrew Chee, Geraldine Goh, Jolene Lum, Zhiqi Wang 

With a background in Food Science and Technology, Mei Chi’s interest lies in how technology can be better leveraged on to feed the population with nutritious, safe and enjoyable foods.

“I am keen to help build the reputation of Singapore as an innovation hub for sustainability efforts, and a way to do so is helping to bridge and create engagements between people in this industry and beyond. Absolutely looking forward to doing more and witnessing the progress to a sustainable food production system.”

🇯🇵 Tokyo: Hideki Katagiri and Ritsuha Tanaka. Joining Chika Yamamoto

Agri-Food lawyer, Hideki supports cutting-edge agri-foodtech businesses with regulatory and commercial expertise on a global scale.

Business Development at Hitachi, Ritsuha works in open innovation to scale sustainable technologies.

“Nurturing the local FoodTech community in Japan, while honoring our culinary heritage, is vital for progress. Through Meetups, I aim to create a space where innovation and tradition intersect, fostering sustainable practices,” - Ritsuha

“By organising a FoodHack Meetup in Tokyo, I can proactively reach out to relevant industry players and work together to make a bigger impact on the society of the local community,”  - Hideki

🇨🇭Valais: Yannick Rodari and Robin Da Costa. Joining Jean Besson and Alexandre Luyet

Yannick and Robin are both studying Food Technology and Biotechnology at Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie de Sion.

“I am deeply interested in the future of our food. What will be the next advances in terms of food products and production methods, reconciling food quality, nutritional value, and respect for the environment ? As an ambassador, I am committed to placing these questions at the heart of our next FoodHack Meetups,” - Robin

🇳🇱 Wageningen: Alita Tithphit. Joining Jean Boudillon and Anna Pogrányi

A Food Technology Student at Wageningen University, Alita has connections across current and future food technologists.

“As Wageningen is the food valley itself, I believe that this status can be maintained and further strengthened with a strong community,” - Alita