Survival of the fittest
In the last years, the Vertical Farming industry has undergone a brutal "Great Correction." High-profile bankruptcies left many questioning if there could be a viable future or if it's just a venture-capital-fueled pipe dream. Yet, amidst the noise of failing facilities, a select group of operators didn't just survive, they stabilized, optimized, and scaled. Join us for an exclusive executive panel featuring the leaders of four companies that weathered the storm. This isn’t a talk about "disrupting" agriculture; it’s a candid breakdown of the operational discipline, unit economics, and hard-won lessons required to turn a high-tech farm into a high-yield business.
Speakers
Reinier Wolterbeek is the Chief Product Officer at ONNA Greens, Norway's largest commercial Indoor Vertical Farm. He is largely accountable for moving trial crops into commercial crops.
Before joining ONNA, Reinier was the co-founder and CTO of Sundrop Farms, developing, building and operating 6 medium & high-tech greenhouses in Australia, the Middle East, Europe and USA, growing tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, strawberries & raspberries.
Reinier has over >20 years of innovative CEA experience with MSc degree from Wageningen University & Research.
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.
Gonçalo is a Robotics Engineer who started his journey as a researcher at the Institute of Systems and Robotics at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Afterwards he became the CTO, and later CEO of CoolFarm, a cloud-based, AI software company that developed control systems for indoor farming. He is currently the CEO of Periplo Innovation and Head of Software and Robotics at PlanetFarms.
Laura van de Kreeke is a founding farmer at Growy, a vertical farming company based in Amsterdam. Driven by a strong belief that food systems must change, she is committed to making tasty, healthy, and affordable food accessible to everyone.
With over seven years of experience in controlled environment agriculture, Laura combines hands-on farming knowledge with a focus on the commercial side of the business. Her work spans sales, marketing, and communications, translating complex growing technology into clear value for chefs, retailers, and consumers.
At Growy, she is involved in connecting plant science, technology, and market demand, contributing to scalable, data-driven farming systems that improve consistency and efficiency. Alongside her work, she regularly gives talks and guest lectures on the future of food production and the role of vertical farming in building more resilient, local food systems.
A co-founder of 80 Acres Farms and the CEO of Infinite Acres, the company’s technology-focused subsidiary, Tisha has initiated and led partnerships with global technology companies including Siemens, Philips Signify, and GreenV. Her work in strategic partnerships and acquisitions has allowed 80 Acres Farms to expand its reach and established it as a pioneer in the controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) sector.
In addition to her work at 80 Acres Farms and Infinite Acres, Tisha serves as vice-chair of the Farm Tech Society, a Brussels-based nonprofit uniting global leaders in CEA. In that role, she champions innovation in the sector and supports the development of advanced farming technologies worldwide, encouraging collaboration across continents to address critical food supply challenges.