Agenda

Ammonia & Nitrates Markets Editor,  CRU
Jennifer Willis-Jones joined CRU’s Fertilizer Week team in 2013. She became Fertilizer Week Senior Markets Editor
in 2014 and Head of Fertilizer Week Nitrogen coverage in January 2018. She is fluent in Spanish and conversational
Portuguese and travels the world talking at and chairing fertilizer conferences.

Lead TS&D Specialist Industrial Solutions,  The Dow Chemical Company
Diana Vasquez has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering and a MSc in Chemical Engineering-Product and Process Design from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. 
Diana Vasquez started at Dow in 2013 as Technical Service for Crop Defense and adjuvants formulations for Colombia, Mexico and Central America. In 2018 she was relocated to the Dow Innovation Center at Lake Jackson, Texas to be the Technical Service Specialist for Pesticides formulations. 
 

Commercial Technical Manager,  Mezfer
Martha Morales Galán, agronomist graduated from the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, in Mexico City. Master in Agroecology by the College of Postgraduates in Agricultural Sciences in Texcoco, State of Mexico. 20 years of experience in the MEZFER company as commercial technical manager. Specialist in the promotion of fertilizers with micronutrients and foliar nutrition, as well as plant protection products.

Process Sales Engineer,  FEECO International

Shane Le Capitaine has more than 23 years of experience as a Process Sales Engineer at FEECO International, where he specializes in custom rotary drums and fertilizer granulation systems. 

Mr Le Capitaine is detail-oriented, and enjoys the challenge of developing a project from initial concept, through to lab testing, equipment selection, and all the way to production. Shane has shown exceptional skills at guiding customers through the often complex process of turning an idea into a realized process, coordinating with stakeholders, overseeing feasibility testing and process design, working with internal resources and sub-vendors to deliver a project on time, and even traveling to project sites to assist in install and start-up.

Shane Le Capitaine received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When Shane is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family.

 

Director International Sales – Central & South America,  AGI Fertilizers
Pedro Imeroni has been with AGI – Yargus for three years.  As a native of Argentina, he has been working the Latin markets for Yargus covering Central and South America selling fertilizer blending and material handling systems.  Prior to working with Yargus Mr Imeroni worked in several positions with GSI, including Global Project Manager and was responsible for starting up GSI’s European business in Hungary as well as a GSI’s Asian facility in China.  Pedro brings a vast perspective on global business to AGI – Yargus. 

Global Strategy Development and Product Management, Agriculture and Turf,  Milliken
Adam Newberry is from Spartanburg, SC and received his B.S. of Chemical Engineering from Clemson University in 2006. He started at Milliken as a Technical Service and Development Engineer in 2002 in their Plastic Additives business. He spent almost 6 years in Gent, Belgium starting in 2008 and transition from a technical to a commercial role. In 2013, he returned to Spartanburg, SC and joined the Performance Colorants and Ingredients (PC&I) business. Adam is currently responsible for Global Strategy Development and Product Management for Milliken’s Agriculture business.

CEO,  NAQ Global Companies
Avdhesh Mathur is an applauded leader with the gift of true business vision, he enthralls the industry experts with novel ideas that are leaps forward for the industry. Mr Mathur not only creates the projects but also makes them run successfully for decades.

Avdhesh Mathur had started his enterprise NAQ GLOBAL in Brazil which has brought new dimensions in the fertilizer industry by introducing Green Technology Products. An extraordinary feat in a chemical industry that relied heavily on petroleum based sources. This organization manufactures specialty chemicals and additives, provides engineering services, & works in more than 30 countries world-wide today for the fertilizer industry.

Avdhesh Mathur continues guiding the research scientists and leads technical teams working on innovative
technologies for Fertilizer Quality Improvement. He has presented numerous technical papers for engineers &
chemists in International Fertilizer Conferences all over the world.

 J&H Equipment
Felipe Carvalho is an Electrical Engineer graduated at the University of Sao Paulo, with an extension at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy. He has studied Mechanical Vibration in the Post Graduate Program of the University of Uberlandia and detains a MS in Chemical Engineering (University of Uberaba, Brazil).


Mr Carvalho has been J&H’s representative since 2009 and has participated in many NPK granulation and blending units’ projects from sizing to start up in South and Central Americas, Asia and Africa. His activities include assisting customers with maintenance planning, troubleshooting, equipment commissioning, layout propositions or retrofitting and helping in the design of screening and crushing systems. He also leads a team of engineers focused on the development of bulk solids handling equipment and automation systems.  


Mr Carvalho understands screening and crushing of granulated NPK as the heart of a granulation process and aims to analyze key factors of equipment maintenance, operation and performance influencing the overall efficiency of a production line. 

Head of Fertilizer and Phosphate Analysis,  CRU

Chief Operating Officer. Grupo Tepeyac,  President, Anacofer
Gabriel Duarte Picos Bachelor in Industrial Engineering. Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Mexico
Master in Business Administration. Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico. Specialist in market research. Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico. Former Chief Operating Officer. Apodaca Mueblerias. Furniture Retail Company in Mexico. 11 years. Former CEO of Synergy, a Strategy and Operation Consultant Services Company. Sectors: Construction, Software, Education, Retail services. 9 years. Current Position: Chief Operating Officer. Grupo Tepeyac (Companies: Tepeyac, Seferno, Proferno, Fypa, Fertiliza, Fertibal, Nutrición de Plantas, GF Trading, among others). 12 years. President of Anacofer, Asociación Nacional de Comercializadores de Fertilizantes en Mexico

Program Director, Brazil,  IPNI
Luis Prochnow graduated in Agronomy from the University of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1985. He earned his Master from the Center of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture of the University of São Paulo (USP) in 1992, with research focusing sulfur availability in Brazilian soils. and a Ph.D in 1996 from the same institution, with research focusing on the agronomic effectiveness of phosphate fertilizers.
Between 1985 and 1992 Mr Prochnow was a soil and plant lab coordinator. He was visiting scientist at IFDC, USA, from 1999 to 2001, with research related to optimizing the use of phosphate rock in agriculture. He is currently Brazil General Program Director of the International Plant Nutrition Institute since 2007. 
Mr Prochnow has had over 80 scientific papers published and is editor and author of several book chapters related to Plant Nutrition and Agriculture in Brazil

Senior Consultant,  CRU
Seán Mulholland is a Senior Consultant working on CRU Consulting’s fertiliser desk. He is responsible for managing CRU’s bespoke, client-focused strategy and valuation projects covering the nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur markets. Mr Mulholland works closely with fertilizer majors, juniors and buyers seeking to refine their market strategy, and also with the financial community evaluating investments in new fertiliser projects.

Director, Market and Strategic Analysis,,  The Mosaic Company
Andy Jung joined The Mosaic Company in June 2013 to provide analysis supporting the short-term operating and raw materials sourcing decisions of the company, as well as identifying and evaluating long term growth opportunities. His role includes providing analysis of strategic initiatives, as well as being a member of Mosaic’s Commercial Leadership Team. Prior to joining Mosaic, Mr Jung served as a consultant at CRU for 10 years, where he held various positions, including management of the group's phosphate research program and leading a wide range of strategic consulting assignments across the agriculture, crop nutrient and raw materials sectors.

Sr. Vice President Plant Nutrition,  Compass Minerals
Brad Griffith, is the Senior Vice President of Compass Minerals’ (NYSE: CMP) Plant Nutrition division. The company mines, manufactures and formulates the highest-quality ingredients to ensure plant health, performance and sustainable farming practices. In his role, Mr Griffith leads sales and global operations delivering on the division’s growth and profitability objectives. Prior to joining Compass Minerals, he spent more than a decade at Monsanto as Vice President of Global Strategic Accounts overseeing strategic relationships and their biologicals alliance. Mr Griffith holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and earned his MBA from Washington University, John M. Olin School of Business.

Senior Vice President,  Canpotex International

Matt Albrecht was appointed Senior Vice President, Marketing, North Asia and Brazil for Canpotex in 2012. In 2017, Matt also took over responsibility for the rest of Canpotex's Asian markets and for the Oceania market region. He joined Canpotex as Vice President, Marketing for North Asia and Oceania in 2004, with nearly 20 years of previous marketing experience in the fertilizer industry, including 16 years at IMC Fertilizer (now The Mosaic Company).

Mr Albrecht is a member of the Canpotex Executive Leadership Team and currently serves as a Director on the boards of directors of Canpotex International Pte. Limited, Canpotex International (Canada) Limited, and Canpotex (Japan) Limited. Previously, he served as a Director on the boards of directors of IMC Asia Singapore, IMC India, IMC Hong Kong and Coromandel Fertilizer Company in India.

Mr Albrecht received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from the Business School of Michigan State University and a MBA from Loyola University Maryland.

Market Analyst, Agriculture Service,  IFA

Armelle Gruère is a Market Analyst in IFA’s Agriculture Service, Ms Gruère is in charge of fertilizer demand statistics. Before joining IFA in 2015, she managed global cotton supply and use statistics at the International Cotton Advisory Committee for eight years and was a project manager at the French Livestock Institute for two years. She holds a M.Sc. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Davis, and a M.Sc. in Agronomic and Life Sciences Engineering from AgroParisTech.

Senior Analyst,  CRU
Anthony Garcia is a Senior Analyst contributing to CRU’s Fertilizer Analysis and Fertilizer Week products across the various nutrients.

Prior to joining CRU in April 2018, Anthony spent two years at S&P Global Platts. He is an experienced pricing analyst, previously covering agricultural and petrochemical products in North and South America.

Anthony holds a degree from Penn State University in Energy Business and Finance.

Head of Fertilizer and Phosphate Analysis,  CRU
Chris Lawson is the head of the CRU phosphates team and is responsible for industry analysis and consulting on phosphate fertilizers, phosphate rock, industrial and food grade phosphates, animal feed phosphates and phosphate industry costs. Prior to this, Chris was the fertilizer demand analyst for the CRU fertilizer team, where he monitored agricultural and fertilizer markets, including crop production and prices, agricultural policy and weather. This work helped to improve forecasting of short, medium and long term fertilizer demand. Chris has a background in agriculture and agronomy and holds a Bachelor's degree in Science, Agricultural Science, and a graduate diploma in Agricultural Business from the University of Adelaide.

Head of Nitrogen,  CRU
Laura joined CRU in April 2018 as the Head of Nitrogen Analysis, overseeing the company’s portfolio of market outlooks, cost studies and multiclient reports to the nitrogen industry.
Prior to joining CRU, Laura led the nitrogen research team at Integer Research, and has almost ten years’ experience in the fertilizer industry. Laura has presented at numerous international conferences on fertilizer market trends, the industrial nitrogen market, and long-term fertilizer demand. Laura has a BSc in Physical Geography from King’s College London.

Potash Analyst,  CRU
Humphrey Knight is a Consultant in the CRU Fertilizers team analysing costs across the industry. He contributes to the Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash Cost Reports. Prior to joining CRU, Humphrey worked as a geologist at a major lead-zinc mine in the Republic of Ireland and at a gold exploration project in Mexico. He holds an MSci in Geology from Imperial College London and an MSc in Mining Geology from Camborne School of Mines (University of Exeter).

Head of Sulphur & Sulphuric Acid Analysis,  CRU
Peter Harrisson heads up CRU's Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid team. He has worked on CRU's Sulphur/Sulphuric Acid analysis since joining the company in early 2011. He also works across other nutrient areas including both market and cost analysis. Prior to joining CRU he completed a PhD in Industrial Chemistry at Durham University.

Senior Vice President,  Nutrien
Chris Reynolds joined PotashCorp in September 2003 as Manager, International Sales and has held roles of increasing responsibility covering Domestic & International Fertiliser and Industrial Product Sales. Prior to joining PotashCorp, Mr Reynolds worked for seven years in Sydney for Agrow Australia marketing products in the Australian fertiliser market on behalf of various International agricultural suppliers. He received his Bachelor of Agricultural Economics in 1995 from the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales and his Masters in Business Management in 2002 from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney.

Mr Reynolds is married, has two children and has been with PotashCorp / Nutrien based in Chicago since September, 2003.

Senior Analyst,  CRU
Anthony Garcia is a Senior Analyst contributing to CRU’s Fertilizer Analysis and Fertilizer Week products across the various nutrients.

Prior to joining CRU in April 2018, Anthony spent two years at S&P Global Platts. He is an experienced pricing analyst, previously covering agricultural and petrochemical products in North and South America.

Anthony holds a degree from Penn State University in Energy Business and Finance.

Licensing Manager/Area Sales Manager,  Stamicarbon
Mr. Medici has a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering at the Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, Cordoba, Argentina. 
After graduation Mr. Medici started working as Operations Engineer in Industrial facilities, achieving Operations Managing positions in Petrochemical/Fertilizer Plants, leading Production and Inspection departments. In 2014 Mr. Medici joined Stamicarbon holding the role of Area Sales Manager for Latin America and since 2018 as Licensing Manager. 
Within this position Mr. Medici is responsible for the acquisition, management and development of Stamicarbon’s urea technology as well as Services and Solution in LATAM and Sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to his regular activities, Mr. Medici has an active participation in the Project Development & Ventures of the group, pursing the development of Fertilizer Project opportunities in LATAM and Sub-Saharan regions, activities involves among others, markets analysis, feed stock availability research, partner’s identification, and the development of regional governmental relationships.  

Senior Consultant, Tecnoagro and,  Coordinator of Scientific Commissions at Soil Science Association of Argentina

Dr. Torres Duggan provides senior consultant services to fertilizer and agri-mining companies by offering an integrated assistance on technical and market issues necessary to successfully doing business in Argentina and other South American countries.  Martin Torres Duggan is Agronomist with a M.S degree (Soil Science) and a Ph.D degree (Natural Resources) from the University of Buenos Aires. Dr. Torres Duggan is very active in the research and extension fields as wells as a well-known consultant in Argentina and South American countries.

Founder,  Optionline
Luiz Grossman is a Agricultural engineer, he studied at University of Sao Paulo, 1986. Mr Grossman is the author of two books and holder of several patents. He is the founder and CEO of Optionline, a database publisher in life sciences, data mining and artificial intelligence, based in Brazil and the USA. Luiz Grossman is currently researching near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in agricultural applications, having produced more than 10,000 statistical models for low cost prediction of nutrient content in real time of plants, solis and fertilizers.

Head of Sulphur & Sulphuric Acid Analysis,  CRU

Director of Agronomy,  Koch Agronomic Services
Dr. Greg Schwab grew up on an integrated livestock and row-crop farm in southwestern Ohio. Mr Schwab is the Director of Agronomy at Koch Agronomic Services, LLC (KAS), a subsidiary of Koch Fertilizer, LLC. KAS is focused on bringing enhanced efficiency and value-added fertilizer technologies to the marketplace. He is a member of the research and development team and is responsible for leading KAS’s world-wide agronomic efforts including research on new and existing enhanced efficiency fertilizer products. Prior to his position with KAS, he was an Extension Specialist at the University of Kentucky for almost 10 years.

Global R&I Director -Fertilizers, Novecare Agricultural Specialties,  Solvay

Dr Krish Shanmugar holds a Ph.D. (1996, Polymer Chemistry) from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India and has post-doctoral research experience from University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (1997-1998) and Washington University, St. Louis, USA (1998-2001). Dr Shanmugar has been with Solvay for nearly 18 years and is currently the global R&I Director for the fertilizer segment within the Agro group. He is based in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Prior to his current role he was the Global Market Lab R&I Director for Agro group for over 7 years. Dr Shanmugar has held various other R&D roles before within Solvay, US, and also in India. His fields of expertise include Polymer chemistry, Organic chemistry, Agro Formulations and Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers. He has over 20 peer reviewed publications and holds more than 10 patents.

Latin American Sales and Technical Manager,  Sackett-Waconia
Rafael Delgado formally joined Sackett-Waconia in 2016, but has been a part of the team for several years. He has been involved with the Fertilizer Industry since 1995, and has developed solid experience in bulk blending, handling, and bagging of both granular and water soluble fertilizers. Mr Dalgado graduated from Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra of Santiago, Dominican Republic, with a degree of Mining and Geology Engineer.

Today, Mr Dalgado is both our Manager of, and Technical Support for, the Latin American Market covering the Caribbean and all of Latin America except Brazil.

Principal Scientist-Soil Systems Modeler,  International Fertilizer Development Center
Dr. Upendra Singh is Principal Scientist and Acting Director of Research at International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC). He has BSc degree in Chemistry from University of the South Pacific, Fiji and MS and PhD in Soil Science from University of Hawaii. Upendra has been with IFDC for the past 30 years and has extensive experience in soil-plant-nutrient dynamics research, and development/application of crop simulation models and decision support systems in agricultural research, extension, and decision-making. Upendra uses laboratory, greenhouse, and field research and modeling approach to evaluate the comparative agronomic, economic, and environmental advantages and tradeoffs to alternative fertilizer management strategies. He has conducted research projects with public and private sector partners in 21 countries and conducted training programs in over 30 countries. He has more than 150 journal and book chapter publications.

Executive Manager,  FERTILIZAR
María Fernanda González Sanjuan, Agronomist, Specialist in Soil Fertility and Fertiliser Use from the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Agronomy, Argentina. She began her professional life as the Biosolids Agricultural Valorisation Project Manager for the company, Aguas Argentinas (1996 - 2003). She then took on the role of Marketing and Communications Manager for Asociación de Semilleros Argentinos (the Argentinian Seed Association, 2004-2008), and is currently the Managing Director of Fertilizar Asociación Civil (Fertilizar Civil Association, 2008 - present). She is also a published author and co-author, of various publications in her field.

General Director,  Haifa South America

Gustavo Branco has 25 years of solid experience in the development, deployment and management in Commercial Areas, Marketing, International Administration, development of new products and processes, acquiring business strategic vision, strong strategic planning, and business management, focusing since 2008 on plant nutrition. He is graduated in aeronautic engineering and holds MBA in marketing, currently working as General Director in Haifa South America, and being vice president of ABISOLO – most important special fertilizer association in Brazil.

Senior Consultant, Tecnoagro and,  Coordinator of Scientific Commissions at Soil Science Association of Argentina

Head of Nitrogen,  CRU

Brazil Fertilizers Market Editor,  Argus
Mony Belon holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she started her journey in the fertilizer market. 
After being involved with market research in agricultural markets, Belon has focused her career in activities of consulting and market intelligence in Brazilian fertilizer market. She keeps regular contact with multiple players of the fertilizer chain in Brazil, watching and reporting main price trends, such as global and domestic supply, agricultural demand, overall logistics and road freight, besides inland trading flows and production capacities. She is responsible for weekly price assessments and information published on Argus Fertilizer Brazil report, which has completed 3 years of launch and is used as reference from main Brazilian fertilizer suppliers, blenders and consumers.

Head- Development and, Agronomy,  Indorama Fertilizers
Dr. Balbir Singh, PhD Agronomy from Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, his academic research was on Integrated Nutrient Management of Rice (University Topper in Masters and Doctorate).
Started career with Bayer Crop Science (Seeds n Agrochemicals), worked with Coromandel International Ltd (Fertilizer), Mahyco Monsanto (Cereals n Seeds), Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (Speciality Fertilizers) and Export Trading Group for Agro-commodity (Coffee, Maize, Fertilizers, Sesame, Soybean, Beans, Tea, Sisal) Operation, Procurement, Export, Import and new agribusiness ventures.
Worked on Agri Business Development in Emerging Economies: India, Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania, Indonesia and Nigeria. Working with Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Ltd, as Head Business Development and Agronomy, World’s Largest Single Line granular Urea Fertilizer Plant at Port Harcourt, Nigeria, 1.5 MMTPA Capacity, supplying to ECOWAS and Latin American Countries. IEFCL is highly contributing for Agronomy, Extension, Branding, Promotion and Liason with national and International development partners.
Agribusiness Leader of the Year-2014, by African Agribusiness Investment Summit, Kampala, Uganda. Panellist and Key Speaker at International Conf on Agril (CVL), Lagos, International Fertilizer Value Chain (IFDC/AFAP) at Accra, Agrik Expo n Conference (NABG)-2016 & 17, Abuja, Africa Fertilizer & Agribusiness Conf -2016, 17, 18, Dar, Accra, Addis, Dakar, Maputo etc, ECOWAS food security Conf Abuja-2016, IPNC Copenhagen, Denmark, FMO Nairobi, Kenya and CRU/Argus Conferences on Fertilizers across Africa and Latin America (Ghana, Mozambique, IVC, Senegal, Ethiopia, SA and Brazil etc.)

Potash Analyst,  CRU

Business Development,  Clarksons
Denny Sabah spent a decade working  as an analyst for mining research companies and metal trading companies. 

He has held seats on the Statistics Committees of two international industry bodies.

Denny joined Clarksons four years ago as a dry bulk analyst, shifting his focus towards the freight markets, while keep one foot firmly in commodities. He now is in a business development role, reaching out to commodity industries in which Clarksons has less of an established presence, and building relationships with new mining companies that have yet to begin shipping. 

Denny has degrees in economics from the University of Birmingham and the Sorbonne in Paris, and a Masters degree in International Politics from the University of London. 

Polysulphate Agronomic Lead Consultant - Latin America,  ICL Fertilizers
Mr Salamanca-Jimenez is a Agronomist Engineer with more than 16 years of experience in field agronomic research, holding a Master of Science (MS) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Soil fertility and Plant Nutrition from University of California, Davis. Mr Salamanca-Jimenez main areas of expertise include Soil Fertility, Crop Fertilization, Experimental Design, Crops Balanced Nutrition, as well as Technical Evaluation, Validation and Adoption of new Fertilizers. Nowadays he works as a Consultant for ICL in charge of evaluating and validating Polysulphate in Coffee, Palm, Banana, Rice, Potato and other crops in Latin America looking forward to develop recommendations tailored to the region.

Senior Agronomist Global R&D Premium Products,  Eurochem
Dipl. Agr. Ing. in Phytopathology and Agriculture (1997) at Justus-Liebig University, Giessen Germany; PhD in Tropical Agriculture and Agroecology (2004) at University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart Germany Worked as Professor in Brazil (2004-2007, CEULS-ULBRA and UFRA in Santarem/PA) and Honduras (2008-2011, EAP Zamorano University), participation and lead of several research projects with different Universities in renewable resources. Started 2011 with K+S Nitrogen, as Global Technical Fertilizer Consultant; which changed in 2012 to Eurochem Agro GmbH, as International Expert Advisor and since 2015 as Senior Specialist Global R&D. Expertise in Tropical Agriculture, efficient fertilizer use (inhibitors) and biostimulants.

Senior Consultant, Tecnoagro and,  Coordinator of Scientific Commissions at Soil Science Association of Argentina

Dr. Torres Duggan provides senior consultant services to fertilizer and agri-mining companies by offering an integrated assistance on technical and market issues necessary to successfully doing business in Argentina and other South American countries.  Martin Torres Duggan is Agronomist with a M.S degree (Soil Science) and a Ph.D degree (Natural Resources) from the University of Buenos Aires. Dr. Torres Duggan is very active in the research and extension fields as wells as a well-known consultant in Argentina and South American countries.