This Rijk Zwaan session explores how new vegetable markets can be developed through co-creation across the value chain. Using Southeast Asia as a case, Rijk Zwaan presents three pathways: introducing new crops, developing differentiated segments, and upgrading existing categories. By aligning genetics, market intelligence and fit-for-purpose cultivation systems, growers and partners can de-risk innovation and create scalable, high-value market growth. Four expert will be on stage to demonstrate how connections are used to develop opportunities together.

Moderator: Henry Gordon Smith, Damion Schwarzkachel, Hung  Ta, Tam Nguyen, Friso Klok

Shaping New Vegetable Markets: From genetics to market value through co-creation in Emerging Markets

How and why is (Dutch) greenhouse horticulture using life cycle assessment to calculate environmental impact? How are growers affected and where do opportunities to reduce impact lie?

Moderator: Henry Gordon Smith, Alexander van Tuyll, Ot Messemaker

Environmental Impact: Opportunities Through Life Cycle Assessment

Every day, plants in a greenhouse have their own story: a sudden humidity rise causing fungal diseases, screens closing too late wasting energy, plants thriving or quietly struggling. What if this was all detected instantly and acted on? 
Gremon Systems has long set the standard in slab scale measurement, capturing real-time data about plant growth and substrate conditions with high precision accuracy. Blue Radix’ Crop Controller has played a leading role in AI-driven greenhouse management, autonomously translating complex data into immediate action.
Now, these two technologies work as one. Together, Gremon Systems and Blue Radix deliver a fully closed irrigation loop, where sensor data flows directly into intelligent, continuously learning setpoint calculations. The outcome is measurable: less water and energy consumption, improved crop quality, and a significant reduction in the daily workload for growers.

Moderator: Henry Gordon Smith, Rudolf de Vetten, János Lóczi

Precision sensing meets autonomous control, a full suite approach for AI-driven greenhouse operations

Join us at GreenTech Amsterdam for an interactive workshop, in collaboration with Agritecture, where you'll explore the essentials of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). Learn about greenhouses and vertical farming, then use Agritecture’s farm planning software to design your own CEA farm. The session concludes with a quick pitch of your business idea.
Perfect for growers and breeders looking to innovate, this workshop offers practical insights into sustainable, profitable farming solutions for the future.

Moderator: Henry Gordon Smith, Niko Simos

CEA design Workshop (Upgrade your ticket)

Greenhouse horticulture is entering a decade of profound transformation. Around the world, growers, investors, and suppliers face shared challenges: climate pressure, rising energy costs, labour scarcity, water constraints, and the demand for sustainable, local food production. In this forward‑looking session, experts from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and TNO will present an integrated vision for the future of protected cultivation, drawing on a broad set of international roadmaps, technology outlooks, and innovation strategies. From autonomous growing and digital twins to circular resource cycles, energy‑neutral greenhouse concepts, and resilient cropping systems, this session explores the global developments shaping next‑generation Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). A dynamic panel discussion with industry leaders will highlight how technological breakthroughs, system innovation, and cross‑sector collaboration can ensure greenhouses remain future‑proof, profitable, and globally competitive. Join us to understand where the sector is heading, and how you can strategically position your business for the greenhouse of 2035 and beyond.

Moderator: Henry Gordon Smith, Innovation Award Winner, Concept Award Winner, Ellen  Beerling, Moderator: Egon Janssen, Impact Award Winner

The Future of Controlled Environment Agriculture: Science‑Driven Visions for a Changing World

Dutch greenhouse horticulture’s current CO₂ supply is under increasing pressure due to the energy transition and a growing focus on CCS. This session explores the potential role of CO₂ storage, identifies available storage options, and examines where further development may be feasible.

Moderator: Henry Gordon Smith, Janneke Grit, Nicola Donato, Peter van Hooft

Future-Proof CO₂ Supply for Sustainable Greenhouse Horticulture

Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of LettUs Grow.
LettUs Grow is a specialist supplier delivering Aeroponics in a rolling bench format that boosts crop health and yield across hectare-scale glasshouse horticulture.
Our Aeroponic Rolling Benches are designed for simple integration into automation systems, enabling growers with hydroponic bench systems to easily upgrade (in full or part) to a higher performance irrigation system - always in partnership with the best manufacturers and installers in the business.
We continue to innovate via our talented R&D team - validating Aeroponics' very competitive performance across novel glasshouse crops such as Spinach.

Chief Scientific Officer & Co Founder

Managing Director

Security Specialist

Experienced cannabis industry professional with a strong background in operations, business development, and regulated cultivation environments.
Proven expertise in mother plant management, propagation scaling, GMP-oriented processes, and cross-border project coordination.
Adept at working with government bodies, universities, civil associations, and multidisciplinary teams across Europe and Latin America.

Founder / CEO

Industrial PhD candidate since 2023, specializing in greenhouse cultivation of Cannabis using supplemental LED lighting. Focused on developing new strategies to improve crop efficiency, product quality, and energy sustainability through precise resource control.

PhD student

Green architect, inspirator and strategist.

Minister for Food Security, Fisheries and Horticulture

Joseph began his career in 2012 in instrumentation and controls engineering, using sensors and PLC systems to control auxilary systems in semi-conductor manufacturing. In 2019, he returned to university to study biosystems engineering at Wageningen University and Research. Since graduation he has worked at Wageningen research modelling water flows through soil to reduce emission of water, nutrients, and PPPs into the environment; optimizing fertilization to accomodate dynamic recirculation throughout the crop cycle; and, since 2023, using biochar as a cultivation susbtrate in greenhouse trials at the WR Glastuinbouw research station in Bleiswijk. Joseph brings a fresh perspective into the horticultural industry and has an eye for both what is possible and what is practical.

Researcher - Rootzone Dynamics and Sensing

Researcher Delphy Improvement Centre

Dr. Jan-Gerd Frerichs leads technology development at OrbiFarm GmbH in Germany, where he drives innovation in fully automated controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) systems.
Prior to joining OrbiFarm®, he headed the Future Farming division at Körber Technologies GmbH where he and his teamdeveloped various concepts for the next level of growing indoors. Before joining Körber, he served as Senior Vice President for Software, Automation, and IT at Kalera (International) GmbH. There he played a pivotal role in developing automation and software solutions for large‑scale indoor farming operations. He further strengthened his industry impact as Chief Digital Officer and Head of Software & Automation at &ever GmbH, contributing significantly to pioneering innovations in indoor farming technology, from prototypes and local retail solutions up to highly automated farms in Kuwait and Singapore.
With extensive experience managing global, interdisciplinary teams across both start‑ups and established enterprises, Dr. Frerichs has consistently demonstrated strong strategic and organizational leadership.
He holds a PhD in Technical Chemistry from Leibniz University Hannover and a diploma in Electrical Engineering, underscoring his solid scientific foundation and technical expertise.
Dr. Frerichs’ career reflects a broad spectrum of experience across Total Controlled Environment Agriculture (TCEA), biotechnology, digitalization, automation, and adjacent technology domains—positioning him as a key driver in shaping the future of sustainable, technology‑enabled food production.

Marketing Manager

Ariane GRISEY, graduate engineer from Polytech’Marseille (2000) in energy engineering mechanics. She has been working in CTIFL for 22 years. She has carried out various projects such as : Interreg NW Re-Greenhouse (2024–2027), 11 partners, aiming to develop a decision-support tool for selecting renewable energy sources for greenhouses. Monitoring of a pilot site in Brittany heated by waste heat. Horizon Europe (2022–2029) ClimateFarmDemo, 80 partners, Thematic Leader for vegetable production, organization of webinars to reduce GHG emissions. Greengo PEREN (2021–2023), 8 partners: improving the environmental performance of apples. Greengo PERTOMCO (2022–2024), 9 partners: improving the environmental performance of tomatoes and cucumbers grown under cover. Contribution to the creation of the carbon tool CarboneF&L (2021), low-carbon diagnostic plan (ADEME, MASA), online deployment of the tool (2024–2026). Project manager for the multi-partner program “Energy-Producing Greenhouse” (2008–2012), aimed at building three 1,000 m² greenhouse units dedicated to energy experimentation (insulation materials and double screens, double heating pipes, thermodynamic dehumidifiers, semi-closed greenhouse, air/water heat exchangers, water/water heat pumps with aquifer storage, 100% electric greenhouse).
Her areas of technical expertise and completed studies include: Since 2006, participation in the ATEE/Agriculture working group on energy savings certificates, preparation or co-preparation of technical sheets each year. Chair of the Agriculture group since 2023 Conducting studies and surveys (update of the heated greenhouse inventory in 2021) on energy topics in greenhouses: biomass, heat pumps, solar thermal (ADEME Solarsorp study, 2022). Private consulting studies for AgriPV project development.Private studies on greenhouse energy consumption calculations Technical assessment of greenhouse investment projects Contribution to the note and calculation tool for greenhouse thermal coefficient (U-value) Agrithermic for ADEME Expert reviewer for project proposals and innovation competitions Numerous articles and presentations in France and abroad Training sessions for professionals and advisory technicians, conducted annually on greenhouse climate management and environmental impacts of the fruit and vegetable sector.

Manager of the Environment and Energy Unit

CEO & Co-founder

Director Construction

Founder

R&D manager

Arnoud Witteveen is CTO of Saturn Bioponics.
At Saturn Bioponics, Arnoud leads the science and technology development behind an integrated cultivation platform that combines precision irrigation, advanced fertigation, environmental control, automation and commercial analytics into a single managed system. Saturn's proposition is integration leadership — taking responsibility for complete cultivation outcomes rather than supplying individual components. The platform's intelligence layer, FarmIntel Analytics Hub, translates every cultivation variable into operational and financial insight in real time. That platform is now operational across the UK, Europe, Japan and Brazil.
Arnoud's scientific foundation is plant physiology and root-zone science, with a particular focus on how the early phase of crop development shapes everything that follows. Strong propagation, precise root-zone steering and faster post-transplant establishment reduce variability, compress crop timelines and make production systems more manageable at scale. That thinking underpins both Saturn's system design approach and the development of CultivaTECH, Saturn's precision control platform, which manages irrigation, nutrient dosing and climate as a single responsive matrix calibrated to individual genetic profiles. Arnoud also leads dedicated work at the specialist end of plant performance through Hydronomy, focusing on phytochemical content and advanced enhancement of crop quality characteristics that standard production protocols don't address.
His work spans commercial horticulture, research environments and specialist crop programmes across vegetables, fruit, herbs, forestry species and cannabis. He studied Plant Science and Plant Biotechnology at Wageningen University.

Researcher at Root Zone Dynamics Business Unit

Corporate Communication Manager

Shravya Chinnappa, Wageningen-trained plant geneticist and KUBO Blueprint® specialist, designed and led the strawberry research programme at KUBO's BlueLab® testcentre. A GLOBALG.A.P. trainer, she turns greenhouse climate data into proven cultivation strategies — and shares the science behind controlled strawberry cultivation in Ultra-Clima®.

Cultivation Specialist

co-founder Bionomic

Manager Delphy Digital

Software Development Leader

Dr. Nils Borchard is Head of Research and Innovation at DLG (the German Agricultural Society) and Visiting Associate Professor at Lisbon School of Economics and Management. He studied geography at Humboldt University Berlin and holds a doctorate from the University of Bonn. His career spans leading research institutions across Europe and Asia, including Forschungszentrum Jülich, the Center for International Forestry Research, and the Natural Resources Institute Finland, where he served as the scientific heads of agriculture and horticulture. At DLG, he builds up and drives R&D&I activities across the entire agri-food value chain, with a particular focus on food systems innovation and knowledge management.

Head of Research and Innovation

Independent professional at Greenport West-Holland, raised among the greenhouses of South Holland. With a background in Business Administration and ICT, I combine practical experience in energy, digitalization, and greenhouse horticulture. Currently among other topics involved the RE-GREENHOUSE project, driving innovation at the intersection of sustainability and technology.

Independent professional at Greenport West-Holland

Researcher

Not an armchair expert, but with both feet still in the trenches. As Managing Director of LetsGrow.com, Gabriël van der Kruijk is deeply involved in technological innovation that delivers real impact. He looks beyond the hype and shares down‑to‑earth, practical insights. With his enthusiasm and energy, he consistently connects effortlessly with his audience.
With more than twenty years of experience in the tech sector, Gabriël has a strong track record in developing digital and AI solutions. His in‑depth knowledge of the horticulture sector has been shaped by hands‑on experience; he was a key driver behind the digital transformations of global players such as Rijk Zwaan and Koppert. This experience enables him to truly understand how to successfully apply technology in horticulture.
The common thread throughout his career is translating technological capabilities into tangible business results, always through a customer‑focused and co‑creative approach. In his keynote sessions, Gabriël shares concrete insights and thought‑provoking real‑world examples. In workshops, he dives deep, guiding participants in translating their own challenges into effective digital solutions.

Director LetsGrow.com

Owner

Nieves is full time researcher in cultivation of horticultural crops at the Business Unit Greenhouse Horticulture of Wageningen University & Research. In this position, she has been leading numerous (applied) research projects and collaborating in many others, both national and international. Research topics cover the entire production chain, from propagation to post-harvest performance through the management of the crop in all its facets: biological soil disinfection, plant rooting, substrate selection, irrigation, fertilization, integrated pest control, the implementation of new materials and technologies and the efficient use of resources, especially energy. With her research she hopes to inspire growers and the horticultural supply industry, in The Netherlands and beyond, to implement cultural practices that contribute to increase the sustainability of the sector. Nieves studied Biology at the “Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona”, and has lived and worked in the Netherlands during nearly her whole profesional career.

Senior Researcher Cultivation

Katia has been involved in the soilless cultivation space for the past 10 years, spanning from glasshouse operations to TCEA (aka vertical farming), with a focus on both technical and business aspects. Her primary area of expertise is in strawberry cultivation, gained through a combination of roles at start-ups and research organisations. Katia holds an MSc in Agricultural Engineering and an MBA in Agribusiness, and she is currently pursuing a part-time PhD at Harper Adams University, specialising in LED lighting and TCEA strawberry cultivation.
Katia is the founder of InnoPhyte Consulting, a specialist consultancy offering “Science-as-a-Service” to AgriTech companies. InnoPhyte supports businesses with experimental design, data interpretation, grant writing, and technical strategy, translating research into real-world outcomes. Katia’s professional path includes a part-time role as TCEA Soft Fruit Specialist at Niab, one of the UK’s leading crop science organisations. Additionally, she volunteers as the Communications Director for UKUAT (UK Urban Agricultural Technologies), a membership organisation that brings together key players in modern urban agricultural technologies.

Plant Scientist

Rien Kamman is CEO and Co-Founder of Source.ag, leading the company’s global mission to empower fruit and vegetable growers with AI. Since 2020, he has driven Source.ag’s expansion and vision to make high-tech, efficient greenhouse farming accessible and scalable worldwide.

Innovation Manager

Tom de Vos is a Consulting Sales Engineer at Sprinkler Energy, a company specialized in sustainable energy solutions for the horticultural industry. Sprinkler Energy helps growers and businesses reduce their dependency on natural gas through innovative heat pump systems, thermal energy storage, and integrated energy solutions. The company focuses on lowering energy costs, reducing CO₂ emissions, and supporting the transition toward future-proof and more sustainable greenhouse operations. During GreenTech Amsterdam 2026, Tom shares his expertise on innovative energy technologies, grid congestion challenges, and the transition toward fossil-free horticulture.

Consulting Sales Engineer

Founder & Head of Content and Policy

Connecting people and organisations, address sustainability challenges, facilitate cross-disciplinary collaborations and find innovative solutions is my passion.  Connect business partners with the well-known knowledge institute Wageningen Plant Research in order to enforece collaboration and making it possible that knowledge and innovative ideas finds its way to the market and vice versa

Program Manager

Manager Smart Growing

Process & Project Manager

Jesse Verbeke plays a key role at Phormium Climate Screens, where he supports customers in selecting and using climate screens in the most optimal way. He has extensive knowledge about screen properties and is actively involved in the development of new screen types, helping to innovate and refine solutions that meet the evolving needs of the horticultural industry.

Product manager

Comparability is becoming increasingly important for environmental information - but it can only be achieved if data, methodology and processes fit together.
As project manager of the DIN EPD program, I deal with the question of how environmental information for products can be made comparable, comprehensible and internationally compatible.
In the DIN group, I support the development of the DIN EPD program as well as topics relating to environmental product declarations (EPDs), product carbon footprints (PCF) and product category rules (PCR).   My focus:  ✔ Creating comparability  ✔ Developing structured processes  ✔ Enabling credible environmental information

Project Lead DIN EPD Programme

Consultant in global controlled environment agriculture space with 8+ years of experience across vertical farming, greenhouse systems, and fresh produce supply chains. Co-founder and editor at VerticalFarmDaily, part of a global family media group with 16+ industry publications, where I built a strong network and in depth market insight. I now support companies and startups with market research, go to market strategy, and business development.

Professor of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) specializing in vertical farming, indoor agriculture, and climate-smart food systems. His work advances food security by integrating plant physiology, environmental sustainability, and agri-tech innovation. With over 15 years of experience across academia and industry, Prof Gauthier advises corporations, investors, universities, and growers on vertical farming strategies, indoor production systems, and AgTech development, translating plant science into scalable, real-world solutions. He serves on boards of Asia-Pacific agribusiness and AgTech organizations and have held leadership roles across academia, startups, and large research initiatives, collaborating with industry and public partners to design high-efficiency, resilient agricultural systems. A Professor, keynote speaker, consultant, and published researcher, Prof Gauthier holds a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology and Horticulture, with additional training in Business Management and Marketing, and have served as faculty at Princeton University, UC Davis, and Penn State. His mission is to accelerate innovation in climate-smart agriculture and global food security by connecting science, education, and industry.

Associate Professor

Adrian is the Co founder and President of Roelands Plant Farms a vegetable plant propagation greenhouse located in Lambton Shores, Ontario, Canada.

President

Researcher in high tech cultivation systems and vertical farming at the Business Unit Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs (WUR).

Director of Engineering

Anneke van de Kamp comes from the Netherlands and holds a Master’s degree in Horticulture & Phytopathology from Wageningen University. She started her professional career in 1990 as a staff member at the Central Office of the Horticultural Auctions.
Over the years, Anneke has built extensive expertise in traceability, sustainability, and food safety through roles at DLV Advisory Group, the Product Board for Arable Crops, and the Product Board for Horticulture.
Since 2012, she has been Group Manager Communication, Public Affairs at the Dutch vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan. 
In her role at Rijk Zwaan, Anneke focuses strongly on strategic communication, public affairs and foresight, with a particular emphasis on stakeholder engagement and anticipating developments that impact the future of horticulture, including sustainability, food security, and innovation.
Anneke is actively involved in international sector organizations. She is Chair of the Public Affairs & Foresight Committee (HC) of Plantum. She also participates in the CPOL of Euroseeds and the ISF Value Chain and ESR coordination Groups.
From 2020 -2025, she was member of the Top Team Horticulture & Starting Materials. Since January 1, she serves as Chair of TKI Horticulture & Starting Materials, where she contributes to strengthening innovation and public-private collaboration in the sector.
I

Chairman Board

Colinda de Beer is on a mission to connect tech with greenhouse horticulture. With a background as a horticultural researcher, software developer and R&D manager she is a tech translator and intrapreneur with over 35 years of experience. She regularly writes columns about subjects like innovation, robotics and AI. In her current role as a senior business developer for InnovationQuarter, she likes to combine a strategic and hands-on approach. This shows in her coaching and connecting students, startups, scaleups and companies from outside the horticultural and her role as initiator of RoboCrops and co-author of the digitalization vision for greenhouse horticulture.

Senior Business developer Horticulture

Business Development Manager

Medeoprichter

Director Horti Division

Born and raised near the city of Mechelen, in Belgium’s main greenhouse vegetable‑growing area. As the son of a tomato and lettuce grower he literally grew up between the plants in a greenhouse. That’s where his passion for plants and greenhouse growing originates.
 
Specialized in hydroponic growing of leafy vegetables and herbs in open field, greenhouses or closed environments, and plant propagation. Currently consulting and supporting projects all over the world in different climate zones (like Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and North America).

Managing Partner

Within Delphy I am responsible fot the managment of th soft fruit research location in: Delphy ISFC. This includes setting up trials, spreading and transferring knowledge at meetings, events, etc. Working at Delphy and the Delphy ISFC offers me the opportunities to contribute to innovating and improving strawberry and soft fruit cultivation. By doing this, we not only contribute knowledge for growers, but also to the entire food chain. With the Delphy ISFC team we contribute to sustainable cultivation of strawberries and soft fruit for the future, with regard to people, planet & profit.

Manager ISFC

Paolo de Heer is working as data science consultant at the Digital Built Environment department of TNO. His research interests are artificial intelligence and optimisation, and he is currently the lead of the ‘computational models & tooling’ technology line of the department. In the High-Tech Greenhouses team of TNO, he advises on algorithms and modelling. Further more, he is also leading the AI team of the unit Mobility & Built Environment. He has a strong operational & long-term view, connecting people and knowledge through his extensive network and knack for effective and inspiring communication.

Data Science Consultant

Ben Nikaj is a highly accomplished Senior Crop Advisor at Grodan, leading provider of root zone management solutions for professional horticulture. With an impressive career spanning over 22 years, Ben supports vegetable and medicinal crop growers worldwide in optimizing their irrigation strategies and cultivation methods. Ben’s focus is on sustainable and efficient solutions to enhance plant performance and product quality. Ben’s unparalleled expertise plays a pivotal role in advancing innovative substrates and cultivation techniques.

Senior Crop Advisor Medicinal Plants

Christopher Leavitt is a cannabis breeder and tissue culture scientist who founded Voyager Genetics, a clone-only B2B genetics business specializing in servicing commercial medical cultivations. He is based out of Portugal, but works internationally with clients in Thailand, Portugal, South Africa, and the UK. He is the former CSO/COO of Compound Genetics and co-founder at Node Labs in San Francisco, California. His approach to cannabis clone development is unique- combining the use of plant tissue culture techniques and traditional clone selection techniques within the compliant medical framework, while balancing the art and science of breeding exceptional flavors into plants that perform agronomically.

Country Director Morocco

Hassan Halawy is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Elite Agro Holding, a leading integrated agrifood platform headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with a growing footprint across the GCC, Africa, and Europe. With over two decades of experience spanning agriculture, infrastructure, and digital systems, Hassan has built a career at the intersection of large-scale farming, engineering, and food systems development. He began his career in Africa, gaining hands-on experience in complex agricultural operations, before bringing this expertise to the UAE, where he has played a pivotal role in advancing modern, climate-resilient agriculture and contributing to national food security objectives. Prior to his current role, Hassan led and delivered large-scale agricultural projects across multiple geographies, combining open-field and controlled-environment agriculture to optimize productivity, resource efficiency, and year-round production. His work integrates engineering discipline, agronomic expertise, and digital innovation to address the structural challenges of farming in arid and water-stressed environments. At Elite Agro, Hassan leads the company’s strategic transformation into a fully integrated, technology-enabled food production platform. Under his leadership, the group operates across the full agricultural value chain, from engineering, procurement, and construction of farming assets to farm management, production, and distribution; delivering resilient and commercially viable food systems. In addition, Hassan has been actively involved in government-to-government (G2G) initiatives, leading and supporting strategic agricultural projects in collaboration with governments, international organizations, and development partners. These engagements focus on advancing food security, enabling knowledge transfer, and developing sustainable agricultural ecosystems in emerging markets. Beyond operations, Hassan contributes to global dialogue on food security and climate-smart agriculture. He has participated in high-level forums including COP16 Riyadh, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, and other international platforms, where he engages on topics such as supply chain resilience, Agri-tech innovation, and sustainable food production. Hassan is recognized for his execution-driven leadership style and his ability to bridge public and private sector collaboration, positioning agriculture as a scalable and investment-ready sector. He holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the American University of Beirut.

Chief Executive Officer

Leonard continuously improves van der Hoeven's Modulair greenhouse system and helps growers get the most out of it.

Lead R&D engineer

Nicole Kuleshova Shalumov is the Operations & Marketing Manager at Cultivators, a Dutch horticultural consultancy specializing in hydroponic leafy greens, licensed cannabis cultivation, and controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Her work combines project management, international business development, consortium coordination, and industry event organization within the global horticultural sector.
Originally from Israel and now based in the Netherlands, Nicole studied Horticulture & Business Management at HAS University of Applied Sciences, specializing in greenhouse cultivation and technology. During her studies, she also completed a minor at Wageningen University & Research (WUR).
At Cultivators, Nicole works on international horticultural projects focused on cultivation strategies, operational planning, and business case development for commercial growing facilities. She also coordinates the Leafy Hydroponic Consortium and leads the organization of the Leafy Hydroponics Summit (LHS), bringing together industry partners, growers, and researchers to support knowledge exchange and innovation within the leafy greens sector.

Operations & Marketing Manager

Lise is Project Manager at Grodan for Strawberry and Lettuce, where she leads fundamental research trials to strengthen cultivation insights and support innovation. She holds a Master’s degree in Resilient Farming and Food Systems from Wageningen University, and leverages her academic and practical expertise to contribute to more sustainable and high-performing horticultural production.

I am Niels van der Geest, graduated in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Wageningen and currently working as a cultivation engineer at Delphy, the Netherlands, with the focus on Greenhouse Vegetables. As cultivation engineer, I develop data-driven cultivation management tools that support growers in making data driven decisions!

Specialist data-driven growing

Cannabis Advisor with over a decade of experience establishing and optimizing regulated operations across North America. I live in the crossroads between technical horticultural science and complex regulatory compliance.
Throughout my 12 years in commercial operations, I have guided clients through the requirements of production and commercial best practices across seven U.S. states and Portugal. I specialize in cultivation and post-harvest operations, licensing applications, GMP/GACP standardization, facility design, and the creation of compliance frameworks that reduce risk and ensure ease.

Cannabis Advisor

Dr. Hanneke M.J. Later-Nijland specialises in EU and Dutch regulatory life sciences law and has significant experience in both contentious and non-contentious work. Due to her dual background as a lawyer and a pharmacist, Hanneke is eminently qualified to handle the full range of issues relating to marketing authorisations, clinical trials (and agreements), compliance, issues with ATMPs, compounding, demarcation issues, advertising, administrative fines, reimbursement, financial arrangements, preference policy procedures and inspections - both human and veterinary medicinal products. Next to the aforementioned, she also worked on several large (medicina) cannabis cases.
Due to her background as an Inspector for Healthcare, she is often asked to interact with the various competent authorities in the Netherlands (e.g. CBG, IGJ, Ministry of Health, KNMP, NVWA), and/or the EMA, on behalf of her clients.
Furthermore, due to her scientific background, she works (with patent attorneys) on issues at the interface between genomics, regulatory and IP.
Hanneke’s mission is to advance transactions in the life sciences space by way of securing life sciences regulatory law as a building block in such transactions. Therefore, Hanneke has launched a network of corporate and regulatory lawyers focusing on life sciences transactions (www.thegenotypenetwork.com).
 
Hanneke obtained a MSc and PharmD in pharmacy (Utrecht, 2003 and 2004) as well as a Master of Law (LLM, Utrecht, 2006) and holds a PhD (Nijmegen, 2010) in pharmacy, which makes her the only pharmacist-lawyer holding a PhD in the Netherlands. She is admitted to the Bar of Amsterdam and allowed to practise throughout the Netherlands. Hanneke lectures pharmaceutical law at Leiden University and speaks regularly at (inter-)national conferences.
Hanneke founded Genome Lawyers in 2019, a boutique law firm in Amsterdam serving pharma and biotech clients across the globe, e.g. the US, Canada, Hong Kong, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Who’s Who Legal1 recommends Hanneke for Life Sciences: “Hanneke is singled out by market sources as a “very knowledgeable and pragmatic” practitioner who “really knows what she is talking about” thanks to her strong technical background in the life sciences arena.” Lastly, she is ranked in the upcoming edition of Chambers Europe 2024.

Attorney-at-law

Niko Simos is an Operations Associate at Agritecture Consulting, specializing in vertical farming, project management, and sustainable food systems development. With a background in agricultural sciences from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an ongoing MSc in Land, Water, Energy Resources, and Rural Environment Management, Niko brings a strong foundation in CEA research and practice. His research includes studying yield optimization for leafy greens under innovative vertical farming systems with artificial lighting.
At Agritecture, Niko manages daily operations across marketing, consulting, and business development, supporting strategic partnerships and delivering CEA workshops globally. His industry publications focus on advancing vertical farming practices, and he is passionate about leveraging technology and collaboration to create resilient food systems for the future.

Operations Associate

I'm a dedicated future-proofing strategist with a passion for driving sustainable growth and innovation across various industries. One of my early career achievements includes pioneering transformative projects in China's green building sector, showcasing my ability to lead large-scale sustainable initiatives. 
With a deep understanding of emerging trends, disruptive technologies, and global perspectives, I have researched and authored strategic industry studies on topics such as green cities, logistics and transport, the brewing industry, horticulture, and the digital transformation of the food industry.
I founded Springtide Strategy in 2016, a consultancy firm dedicated to future-proofing strategies and green transition across various industries. I work with cross-disciplinary experts to deliver tailored solutions.

Future Proofing Strategist

Business Developer

Kyle Freedman is the global Market Segment Manager CEA and Jiffy Gel Product Manager for Jiffy Group responsible for providing technical guidance and support to Jiffy's global CEA customers and helping to drive market expansion. Kyle holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He earned his MSc. in International Agriculture Development from the University of California at Davis with a concentration in Horticulture and Agronomy where his research focused on climate-smart, small-scale postharvest processing systems of coffee in Honduras. He obtained a PhD in Horticultural Sciences from North Carolina State University where his research focused on the development of a new hydroponic grapevine production system called Precise Indoor Vine Conditioning (PIVC) in which young grapevines are conditioned with supplemental light to produce fruit in their first season of field transplanting. With 15+ years of experience, Kyle was previously a Sr. Project Management Specialist at RTI International prior to graduate school where he was a part of their global food security and agriculture team managing over $150 million in USAID and USDA development projects in East Africa and Southeast Asia.

Market Segment Manager CEA

Dominick Dimucci is Director of Cultivation at Haven Greens, specializing in fully automated mobile gulley systems for baby leaf lettuce. With experience across Colorado, Texas, and Ontario, he holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in horticulture and is focused on driving operational excellence and crop first outcomes in controlled environment agriculture.

Director of Cultivation

General Manager Mexico

As a crop advisor, I act as a sparring partner for the grower. I assess the crop, describe its condition, and advise the grower on how to respond using climate control, irrigation, and nutrition strategies.
I have always had a strong interest in new developments. Topics such as new (green) crop protection products, Plant Empowerment, autonomous growing, and LED lighting are examples of this.
Through Delphy, I now regularly work abroad. It is both enjoyable and interesting to combine business with pleasure.

Advisor Glasshouse Vegetables: Tomato, Pepper, new crops, Water Coach

Founder & CEO

Mexx Holweg is a researcher specializing in controlled-environment agriculture and plant physiology. Currently he is achieving his PhD in Horticulture and Product Physiology at Wageningen University & Research. His doctoral work focused on the photobiology of medicinal cannabis, with particular emphasis on the effects of light intensity, spectral composition, and air temperature on plant morphology, photosynthesis, and the accumulation of pharmaceutical compounds.
Holweg’s research integrates morphological, physiological, and metabolic analyses to better understand how environmental parameters can optimize crop performance and secondary metabolite production. He has collaborated with both academic and industry partners to advance knowledge in cannabis cultivation under controlled conditions.

Head of Crop Science & Agronomy

The core is focused on an affinity with technology and desiring to find optimal and new solutions. These can translate to incorporating new designs on existing systems as well as presenting new innovations to optimize processes. Designing new projects where complex and multi-layered iterative processes form obstacles have proven to hold my interest and are considered a welcome challenge.
As a research and development engineer I’ve been focused on climate and energy and improving the supporting systems in horticulture. With the vision that a stronger market benefits all, the market for horticultural projects is far from saturated. In this, optimizing our ecological footprint, the sustainability of projects on both the resource and finance sides and ensuring fresh and healthy products leave the site, are an on-going and long-term challenge for us all.

Director/Owner

www.cresultant.nl  www,plantscout.eu

Founder Gracious AI - AI ethics researcher, designer and advisor

Alexander van Tuyll has been working on greenhouse horticulture at Wageningen University & Research for nearly five years, with a background in biosystems engineering. His research explores circularity. This is also the topic of his ongoing PhD. Fertilisers, CO₂ and renewable growing media are the focus of his current projects.

Researcher in Circular Greenhouse Horticulture

Ryan brings more than 30 years of hands-on experience in the cannabis and horitculture industry. A second-generation cultivator and two-time Cannabis Cup winner, he has consulted with commercial cultivation operations worldwide. Ryan has held board positions with organizations such as the NCIA, RII, and Grow Up, and is a familiar face on the global speaking circuit with appearances at events like MJBizCon, Grow Up Conference, Cultivate, the Canadian Greenhouse Conference, and Greentech.
Before joining Cultiwool, Ryan worked with a leading LED lighting company, offering technical cultivation support not only for cannabis but also for a range of other crops including tomatoes, leafy greens, and ornamentals. Outside the grow room, Ryan is a passionate home brewer and was recently named the 2024 Front Range Circuit Homebrewer of the Year.

North America Technical Sales Manager

Ms. Karcey is a cannabis industry executive with over twenty years of experience specializing in cultivation, facility design, permitting, and environmental optimization. With extensive hands-on expertise across indoor, greenhouse, and outdoor cultivation environments, she brings practical operational knowledge to complex cultivation and manufacturing projects.
She is the founder of Cultivo, Inc., a Northern California–based cannabis facility design and consulting firm established more than eleven years ago. Under her leadership, Cultivo has supported projects across more than 25 U.S. states and three countries, providing services including site selection, permitting, regulatory strategy, facility design, HVAC integration, and construction management for cultivation and manufacturing operations.
From 2020 to 2026, Ms. Karcey also founded and led Artemis CoPack, a 67,000-square-foot cannabis manufacturing and post-processing operation in Lake County, California, offering vertically integrated co-packing, extraction, packaging, and logistics services while managing multiple sun-grown cultivation sites.
Ms. Karcey has been featured in Forbes, National Geographic, Cannabis Science and Technology Magazine, Marijuana Venture, Marijuana Business Daily, Yahoo Finance, High Times, and other leading publications.

Founder and CEO

Rick Bakker is CEO of Hollandse Hoogtes, one of the Netherlands' leading companies operating within the regulated cannabis supply chain. With a background spanning strategic leadership, commercial operations, and legal and financial oversight, Rick has been building and scaling a professional, compliant cannabis business from the ground up, navigating the complexities of the GKK experiment firsthand.
His work bridges two worlds: the emerging regulated cannabis sector and the broader agri-tech industry, where he is also active in professional vegetableseed production through Bakker Seed Productions. This dual perspective gives him a grounded, operationally informed view on what it takes to build sustainable, quality-driven supply chains in highly regulated markets.
At GreenTech Amsterdam, Rick speaks from direct experience, on what the GKK transition has delivered in practice, where the gaps remain, and what the industry needs to mature into a fully professional sector.

Learn to grow! 
Beanstalk stimulates the growth and development of people and organizations within the horticulture sector. We create an inspiring learning environment for all who work in our beautiful sector. A place to explore and develop talents, where your company is supported to evolve towards a future-proof (self-learning) organization.

Trainer

Sector Developer

Hans Kristian Westrum is CSO and founder of SoilSteam International, a Scandinavian company developing innovative technologies for substrate reuse and soil remediation. He has worked extensively with researchers and institutions across Europe to document the efficacy of steam-based soil disinfection as a sustainable alternative to excavation and landfill. Westrum has co-authored and supported field trials and third-party studies demonstrating how thermal treatment effectively neutralizes invasive plants, pathogens, and nematodes while preserving soil fertility. He has presented the technology at international conferences and is engaged in bridging applied research with practical deployment in agriculture, landscaping, and environmental restoration. His academic and professional focus is on scalable, science-based solutions that combine environmental impact reduction with circular economy principles in soil and substrate management.

Joost Damen is an Integration & Automation expert at Dots & Arrows, a member of Spire, where he helps organizations build scalable digital foundations through API-led integration and intelligent automation. With a strong focus on connecting systems, data, and processes, Joost works with companies to modernize their integration landscapes and enable faster innovation across the enterprise.
Passionate about the practical application of emerging technologies, Joost specializes in designing integration architectures that are secure, governable, and future-ready. His work bridges the gap between enterprise integration strategy and the next generation of AI-driven operations, helping organizations prepare for the shift toward agentic enterprises.
In his sessions, Joost combines hands-on experience with a forward-looking perspective on how APIs, automation, and intelligent agents can work together to create resilient and adaptable digital ecosystems.

Integration & Automation expert

Master in Sciences - Greenhouse Production and Agribussiness
Master in Sciences - Renewable Energy
Specialiazation in Climate controls
Specialization in Plant Nutrition
Agrilcutural Engineer

General Manager/Head Grower

Marcel Zethoven is a safety and political expert with extensive experience in various roles with the Dutch National Police and was involved in the enforcement aspects of cannabis policy in the Netherlands.
Nowadays Marcel Zethoven is a senior management- and policy advisor for Dutch municipalities. He advises mayors on cannabis policy. He has extensive experience in municipalities operating under the typical Dutch tolerance structure, as well as administrative experience within the national experiment with closed coffee shop chains.

Advisor for Dutch municipalities

Tenair

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