Simon Wainwright is the Director of Insight at The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD). During the IEC Monte Carlo Conference Simon will share his perceptions and visions of ‘The changing face of retail’, providing a global outlook and review of retail trends that will shape the future. Simon joined IGD’s retail team in 2017 to lead the research and coverage on UK multiples, focusing on the strategies being used to meet current and future consumer needs. He delivers a mixture of research outputs for IGD’s Retail Analysis service; building reports, delivering customised work and presenting at briefings and events to help retailers and suppliers adapt and grow. His 20+ years’ experience in Insight and Research has spanned both Retail and Manufacturing, having worked at Tesco and more recently Burtons Biscuits. Simon has also spent a significant amount of his career agency side, delivering insight programs for many retailers and manufacturers. Simon holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Surrey as well as Diploma in Market Research (Distinction) from the University of Westminster.

Robert A. Easter is President Emeritus of the University of Illinois after serving as the university’s 19th president from 2012-2015. He was interim chancellor from 2009-2011, serving as chief executive officer of the 42,000-student campus, and also served as interim provost and interim vice chancellor for research. From 2002-2009 he was dean of the nationally ranked College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Before that he served as head of the Department of Animal Sciences, where he has been a faculty member since 1976. Easter has co-authored a book on livestock production and has written more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters, and numerous papers for conferences and industry publications. He also has spoken to audiences in the U.S. and 30 foreign countries. In 2006, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) and was appointed as chair of BIFAD in 2007. He also is a member of the American Society of Animal Science and the British Society of Animal Science and serves on the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation and the Governor’s Committee on China. Reared on a grain and livestock farm in southwest Texas, Easter earned a doctorate in animal science at the University of Illinois in 1976 and joined the Animal Science Department as an assistant professor – he presently holds the rank of Professor Emeritus.

Trevor Williams is the former Chief Economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, a position he held for well over 10 years. During this time he established a highly-regarded, award-winning, team of economists analysing global and domestic data to support clients ranging from financial institutions, large corporates to SMEs with bespoke insight. He is a visiting Professor at the University of Derby, rotating Chairman of the Institute of Economic Affairs Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (SMPC) and author of Trading Economics: A Guide to Economic Statistics for Practitioners (with Victoria Turton). Trevor also lectures at CASS business school and Cardiff University. He is on the editorial board of Economia and the Journal of Corporate Treasury Management. He previously lectured in Economics and Business Statistics, before working in the UK Government Economic Service (GES). He sits on various charities, including as Patron of Reach Society, Chairman of Ballet Black, and Through the Looking Glass. Trevor now runs a consultancy which specialises in economic analysis encompassing ‘big data’ – the large information set being created from the 4th industrial revolution sweeping the world – to better understand a fast changing global economy, and its political context: i.e. its political economy.

Food sustainability business leader, Carlos Saviani is a professional who sees the bigger picture, understands the issues and trends affecting the nexus of business, people and the planet, and has great management and marketing skills, including the ability to create capacity, catalyze conversations and behavior change, and collaborate across the organization, industry, NGOs and other stakeholders. With 30 years of global work experience and fluent in 3 languages, he is an enthusiastic goal-oriented, achiever, intellectually curious, strategic and arranger individual. He has a history of leading successful teams in building and implementing creative and effective sustainable business strategies with ag producers to fortune 500 companies; from NGOs to sustainability roundtables. He proudly volunteers as a trustee of the International Egg Foundation and as board member of the Charlottesville Waldorf School and served for over 4 years the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. His professional goal is to integrate sustainability into the core purpose of a business, sector or brand in food production, executing it as a business strategy, not as a philanthropic one, developing and implementing meaningful initiatives that generate win-win results to people, profit and the planet.

Ross Dean is Vice President of Marketing at Versova Holdings in the USA. This family-owned company is one of the largest egg producers in the United States and combines more than six decades of knowledge and commitment to egg production. Ross is a graduate of the IEC Young Egg Leaders Programme, and now serves on the IEC Executive Board.

Following his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Michael David practiced in central Pennsylvania for two years. In 1985 he joined USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) and has been with the agency ever since. Michael has a Bachelor of Science from Hamilton College, a Master’s in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Maryland, a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota. Michael’s first assignment with APHIS, Veterinary Services was as a Veterinary Medical Officer on the Delmarva Peninsula inspecting livestock markets, reviewing and certifying export health certificates for US origin animal commodities, and conducting surveillance and epidemiological investigations for endemic and foreign animal diseases. He then spent one year with the Salmonella Enteritidis Task Force where he assembled a biosecurity manual for use by field personnel on poultry farms, and engaged State animal and public health officials to keep awareness on animal salmonella prevention. In 1991 he moved to the Import/Export Staff at headquarters where his portfolio included all Latin American countries. In 2000 he became Director of the International Animal Health Standards Unit within the Import/Export Staff, where he manages and leads all activities associated with the development of international health standards for animals. He was instrumental in preparing the documentation that gave the United States its free status recognition for the 6 diseases which the World Organization for Animal Health grants official status. In this current position he coordinates with internal and external stakeholders and seeks expert input to develop unified technical responses to Code Chapters proposed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE); reports to the OIE all disease events of significant impact, and represents the agency and the United States at various national and international fora.

Steve is head of the Poultry Team at Premier Nutrition, and is one of management team that runs the business. He has over 25 years’ experience as a commercial poultry nutritionist. Steve is a past Chairman of the Nuffield Poultry Study Group. He did his Nuffield study in 2001 travelling to Australia, Japan and North America to study the impact of functional foods on the poultry sector. Prior to specialising in nutrition, he also spent 6 years in advisory work with the Ministry of Agriculture after graduating from Nottingham University with an honours degree in Animal Science

On the Monday afternoon of the IEC Monte Carlo Conference, Jackie will be presenting ‘Value-based culture - the key to corporate sustainability’ exploring the role of Values and Purpose in organisational success. Jackie Handy is a professional speaker and international training facilitator. She equips leadership teams with the tools to create measurable results through best practice techniques and through cultivating inclusive business cultures that embrace diversity. Jackie believes that an engaged workforce thrives, and that talented skilled people are at the heart of all thriving businesses. Jackie is sure to deliver an inspiring presentation to help you in identifying your company values to create and maintain a culture of top performance within your business.

Gwenaëlle Dauphin is a veterinarian graduate from France with a Master in Microbiology and Ecology and a PhD in animal virology. Gwenaëlle worked over 10 years in the Animal Health Service of the Food and Agriculture Organization, both as the OFFLU focal point for FAO and as coordinator of the Laboratory Unit in charge of FAO global projects on veterinary laboratory strengthening and diagnosis in developing countries. Previous to this she worked for 10 years as a researcher in two national reference laboratories She moved to Ceva in 2017 as a coordinator of scientific activities in Science and Innovation, which conducts research on animal vaccine prototypes and registered vaccines. Gwenaëlle is based in France and remains very much involved in avian influenza activities.