Nicolas Bronzovich

Humphrey Knight

Humphrey leads CRU's phosphate and potash analysis in the Fertilizer Team. He joined the company in August 2016 as the Fertilizer Team's Cost Analyst. In 2018, he became the company's potash analyst, subsequently adding phosphate analysis to his remit in 2022. 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).  

Motti Levin

Serving as the CEO of Haifa Group since February 2018. Under Levin’s leadership, Haifa Group has set new standards for operational excellence and growth, strengthening its position as a global leader in plant nutrition. Mr. Levin was recently appointed as Chair of the Plant Nutrition Working Group at IFA. Levin has nearly three decades of experience as CEO and CFO in global companies in various industries, including logistics, international trade, chemicals, fertilizers and Agtech. Among his various roles, Levin served as the CEO of "Gadot Group", "UTI Logistics", "Maman Group" and “Arava Export Growers". In his various roles, Levin also served as the CFO of “Netafim" and held various positions in “ICL”, including Deputy CEO and CFO. Levin has a proven track record of driving growth, specializing in business transformation with a focus on operational optimization and enhancing company performance. His expertise in leading significant changes and navigating complex market dynamics has enabled companies under his leadership to achieve successful global expansions. Additionally, Levin also places a strong emphasis on developing a positive and collaborative business atmosphere which has been key to contributing to long-term stability and business success. Levin holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics and business administration, specializing in finance, from Bar Ilan University in Israel.

Leonardus Vergutz

Ronaldo Dalio

Ronaldo Dalio is a biologist with a Master’s degree in Plant Physiology from Unicamp and a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences from the Technical University of Munich. With three postdoctoral fellowships in topics related to plant-microorganism interactions and product design, he was a Genetics professor at IB-Unesp-SP and a researcher at the Citrus Center (IAC). He is the co-founder and current CEO of Ideelab Biotecnologia S.A., a company focused on developing biotechnology-based innovations to address the main challenges of the agricultural market.

Franck Hennequart

Sarah Reiter

EVP of Business Development at BioConsortia, Inc., Sarah is an experienced strategist for sustainable ag- and food tech companies that are launching new products and executing M&A plans. Her diverse commercial experience has included a successful startup exit (the sale of AgraQuest to Bayer) and growing a biofungicide product line (Serenade®) from $3M to over $100M annual sales, more than doubling sales each of 5 years. She’s an expert in integrating biologicals into conventional agriculture programs.  

Dr. Eduardo Lopes Cancellier

Eduardo Cancellier is an agronomist with a Master’s and Ph.D. in Soil Science from the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil, complemented by advanced research at the Fertilizer Technology Research Centre in Australia. A recipient of the prestigious IPNI Scholar Award in 2016, Eduardo serves as the Global Biostimulants Agronomy Specialist at ICL. He brings extensive expertise in foliar fertilizers and biostimulants and is dedicated to advancing ICL’s global biostimulants portfolio. His work encompasses product development, strategic positioning, knowledge creation, and the training of commercial teams worldwide.

Speaker to be announced, Maaden

Knut Karlsen

Knut is the Co-Founder of Atlas Agro, a sustainable nitrogen fertilizer company backed by Macquarie Asset Management, where he oversees the company’s business operations in Brazil. He is the former CEO of Umoe Bioenergy, a bioenergy company based in São Paulo, and previously served as the President of Yara Brasil. Knut has also been a member of the Governance Board of Copersucar, the world's largest sugar and ethanol company, and a partner at PwC Advisory. He holds an MBA from IMD in Switzerland and an MSc from the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology.

Vatren Jurin

Vatren Jurin, DunhamTrimmer’s Chief Technology Officer and a Partner, boasts an impressive career spanning over 30 years and focusing on identifying and scaling groundbreaking technology. Specializing in plant nutrition, adjuvant technology, biostimulants, seed treatment, and sustainable crop protectants, his contributions have been pivotal in generating nearly $1 billion in revenue growth for various organizations. Vatren’s expertise covers a wide spectrum, including product development, evaluation, mergers and acquisitions, and international regulatory compliance in the fields of agronomy, horticulture, fertigation, aquatics, and ornamentals.

Mayo Schmidt

Mr. Schmidt has led a distinguished career that includes global multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, building high performance teams, transformational leadership and initial public offerings of private companies. In 2022, Mr. Schmidt retired from Nutrien Inc., the largest potash producer globally with ~US$25 billion market capitalization, having served as Chairman of the Board and transitional President & CEO. In 2018, Mr. Schmidt was appointed by Agrium as Chairman of the Merger Committee between Agrium and Potash Corporation leading to the formation of Nutrien Inc. Mr. Schmidt is also the former President, CEO and Director of Viterra Inc., which he grew from a market capitalization of $54 million to $7.3 billion in less than ten years through a series of 24 acquisitions in 14 countries. Earlier in his career, Mr. Schmidt held a number of key management positions, largely in the agricultural sector working for companies such as General Mills and Con Agra Inc.

Cleiton De Sequeira

Cleiton is an agronomist with a PhD in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences. With 12 years of experience in technical and commercial roles, he has worked for both large corporations and startups in the fertilizer and bioinput industries. His career has taken him across borders, where he has successfully led market and business development initiatives in various countries and cropping systems. Originally from Brazil, Cleiton has spent the past 16 years living and working in the United States, Uruguay, and Argentina. Outside of work, he treasures quality time with his family, whether playing catch, kicking around a soccer ball, or exploring the outdoors. On weekends, he enjoys cycling with friends and embracing the open road.

Speaker to be announced, RUMO Logistics

Jose Polidoro

Raza Soomar

An electrical and electronics engineer and MBA by qualification, Raza Soomar is Founder and CEO of multinational, RNZ Group head quartered in UAE. The company is engaged in specialty fertilizer production in technical collaboration with Shell. Its state-of-the-art research station is developing futuristic bio-tech inputs to mitigate the emerging challenging conditions. Sustainability is close to his heart, and today has evolved as a lead next-gen Agri inputs provider through its circular production.

Alzbeta Klein

Alzbeta Klein is the CEO/Director General of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA). In her role, she is leading the global fertilizer industry towards helping to feed the world. Fertilizer industry plays a critical role in global food security and in the energy transition, and IFA leads the industry on both.In her previous roles, Ms. Klein led IFC/World Bank Group’s Climate Business, positioning IFC as a lead investor in renewable energy in emerging markets. Prior to this, she led IFC’s Agribusiness investments, Industrial investments, and managed IFC’s $50bn investment portfolio in emerging markets.Ms. Klein received Masters’ degree in Economics from the University of Ottawa, Canada, where she also studied for her doctorate; engineering degree from Prague University, Czech Republic; and executive education from Harvard Business School and INSEAD. She holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. She served on the boards of several agribusiness companies including Grupo Los Grobo in Argentina, HMH in South Africa, LAAD in Latin America, and the New York University Center for Sustainable Business Advisory Board. She currently serves on the boards of Nespresso, FinDev and IFDC.

Chrystel Monthean

Jason Newton

Mark Ringkob

Graduated in Agronomy from Iowa State University, Mark Ringkob holds an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He has over 20 years of professional experience in agriculture, having been raised on his family’s farm in southern Minnesota. Throughout his career, he has worked at Dow AgroSciences and Elanco Animal Health in various sales roles. At Mosaic, he was Senior Director for Global Product Management, responsible for developing and executing pricing and volume plans for approximately 20 million tons of annual sales of phosphate and potash products. He led the Commercial area for Global Digital Acceleration, promoting leadership alignment and mapping key actions for our global commercial teams, including North America, Brazil, India, and China. He also chaired the company’s Risk Committee.

Carolina Hernandez Tascon

Carolina has a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and a master's degree in Economics from the same institution. She has solid experience in the trading and commercial sector, having worked for companies such as Archer Daniels Midland, Noble Group and COFCO International. Among other positions, she has acted as executive director for areas such as Processing Assets, Trading and Commercial value chain. She also acted as board member for the industry association, Abiove. Currently, she is Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at VLI, a brazilian logistics and infrastructure company that provides multimodal logistic solutions for clientes in different commodity segments.

Talita Arcaro

Cláudio Dorneles Ebert

Mr. Ebert is currently Supply Chain Manager at SLC Agrícola SA, holding this strategic position for the last 15 years. SLC Agricola is a public listed company, the first in its sector of business worldwide and one of the largest Agricultural Companies in Brazil consuming in its operations more than 450.000 metric tons of fertilizers per crop year. Prior, he worked for Brazilian companies, optimizing their chemical supply chains and procurement processes. Mr. Ebert is graduated in International Business at Rio dos Sinos Valley University/BR, MBA in International Executive Management at University of Tennessee/USA, MBA Agribusiness Management at Fundação Dom Cabral/BR and MSc. in Procurement, Logistics and Supply Management at University of Salford/UK.

Gustavo Branco

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 Agrigento Brazil and being vice president of ABISOLO – most important special fertilizer association in Brazil.

Mario Suffriti

Agricultural Production Engineer graduated from the Argentine Catholic University. Respectively between 2016 and 2018 he held the position of President and Vice President of Fertilizar and since 2018 he has been appointed Ambassador for Argentina at IFA, where in turn he has become part of the international sustainability group. Before joining Profertil in 2016, he worked at Agroservicios Pampeanos S.A. (formerly Nutrien) since January 1997 as Plant Manager, being in charge of the commercial operation. Then in March 2001 he held the position of Project Manager in the functional implementation of the J.D. Edwards software. As of July 2005 he fulfilled functions as Manager of Argentina Logistics and Private Brands and, since August 2007, as Supply and Logistics Manager for Argentina and Uruguay. Since 2011 he had been the Manager of a fertilizer granulating plant and an agrochemical formulation plant (formerly Dupont) until he joined Profertil. Between 1993 and until he joined Agroservicios Pampeanos S.A. he served as Zonal Sales Manager at Cargill S.A.C.I., Animal Nutrition Division.

Márcio Henriques

Charlie Stephen

Charlie joined CRU in July 2023 as a Senior Analyst in the Fertilizer Costs & Emissions Team, before taking on the role of Nitrogen & Hydrogen Analysis Lead in November 2024. Charlie is a Chartered Chemical Engineer with a decade of experience working in manufacturing plants in the Australian fertilizer industry.

Pedro Veillard Farias

Superintendent of New Economies at  Secretary of State of Economic Development, Industry, Commerce and Services of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil D.Sc. Professional with more than 13 years of experience in the energy, mining, chemical technology and agribusiness sectors. Interest in technological management, industrial scenarios, intellectual property, public policies, industry/agribusiness interaction. In the last years, he has focused in public policy strategy for fertilizers. He was one of the technicians responsible for preparing the Brazilian National Fertilizer Plan.

Thomas Martinez

Terje Bakken

Terje Bakken has worked in the Fertilizer industry since 1988. He worked 23 years in Yara International, in locations like Hong Kong, Singapore, Brussels and Oslo. He was part of Yara’s executive management team between 2004-2011. He later joined EuroChem AG’s management board in Zug, Switzerland, heading the company’s global sales and marketing operation. He has been engaged with sustainable fertilizers since 2019 and is now heading ATOME Energy PLC’s green ammonia and fertilizer operations. ATOME is a green fertilizer company listed on the UK stock exchange. ATOME is working on several Electrolysers projects around the world, and are particularly advanced in Villeta, Paraguay, where its first phase project will produce 260.000 tons of green Calcium Ammonium Nitrates.

Fernanda Santaniel

Agricultural Engineer with an MBA in Strategic Business Management and specializations in plant nutrition, especially for soybeans and corn. She is currently the National Technical Manager of COMPO EXPERT, a leading German multinational in the specialty fertilizer sector. Under her leadership, the company's product portfolio has strengthened, with Basfoliar Black Evolution standing out, an organomineral launched in 2015 that has become a best seller. Her expertise combines technical knowledge and strategic vision, contributing to innovations and effective solutions that aim to develop a more responsible and economically viable agriculture.

João Braz

Atuando no Porto do Açu desde 2019, João Braz tem mais de 20 anos de experiência nas áreas de logística, operações e negociação de contratos de alta complexidade, liderando empresas nos mercados de óleo e gás, infraestrutura e navegação. Com a principal missão de atrair diferentes indústrias para se instalarem no Porto do Açu, ele também é responsável por desenvolver soluções de conectividade (ferrovia, rodovia, cabotagem) que aumentam a competitividade e atratividade do porto. Além disso, é responsável pelas atividades do Terminal Multicargas (TMULT) e pelo desenvolvimento de outros terminais. Com sólida experiência internacional, passou anteriormente por duas diferentes posições na Europa e liderou times na África e América Latina. Trabalhou por 16 anos no Grupo Maersk, onde chegou ao cargo de Diretor Geral para a América Latina da unidade de apoio marítimo do grupo (Maersk Supply Service) , também tendo atuado no grupo norueguês de navegação Westfal-Larsen Shipping. Formado pela PUC-Rio em Administração de Empresas, o executivo tem especialização pela Maersk International Shipping Education, MBA em Negócios pela Fundação Getúlio Vargas e Pós-Graduação em Óleo e Gás pela Coppead/UFRJ.

Dr. Chris Cornelius

Chris has been at the forefront of exploration, production, and structured financing in  resource-based companies since the early 1990s, operating in both the energy and mineral sectors.  An international explorer and innovative technologist, he has held multi-dimensional senior  management positions in field operations, exploration, engineering, and corporate finance. Notably,  he worked for Evergreen Resources Inc., AGL Energy Ltd., and was the founder of Cuadrilla Resources  Ltd. Currently the Chairman and CEO of CanCambria Energy Corp., in 2022 he founded Argentina Potash  with the singular goal of exploring for non­ metallic minerals in Argentina. Chris holds a B.Sc. &  Ph.D. in Geology. 

Martin Torres Duggan

Dr. Torres Duggan provides a comprehensive and tailor-made R+D+I consultant services to growers, fertilizer and agrominerals companies for successfully doing business across South American countries. Dr. Martin Torres Duggan is Agronomist with a M.S degree in Soil Science and held a Ph.D degree (Natural Resources) from the University of Buenos Aires.Dr. Torres Duggan is very active in the research, teaching and extension fields and is IFA´s correspondent for Southern Cone region of Latin America helping to update key fertilizer market data and trends on fertilization technology.

Christina Konecki

Mauricio Medici

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 Petrobras Argentina. In 2014 Mr. Medici joined Stamicarbon holding the role of Area Sales Manager for Latin America and since 2018 was appointed as Licensing Manager. Within this position Mr. Medici is responsible for the acquisition, management and development of Stamicarbon’s urea and nitric acid technologies in the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa regions. As of May 2021 assumed the role of New Business Development Manger to focus on the development of Stami Green Ammonia business. In addition to his regular activities, Mr. Medici has an active participation at Met-Dev supporting the Project Development activities of the group, pursing the development of Fertilizers and Green Ammonia Project projects within the Americas and Sub-Saharan regions.

Anderson Galvão

Founder and CEO at Céleres®, a Brazilian consultancy company focused on the competitive landscape analysis across the agricultural sector in Brazil and neighboring countries. With more than twenty years of activity, Céleres® has helped companies from different segments across the Ag space with marketing, competition, and investment analysis, from input production, distribution, farming and processing of agricultural products. Agronomist from Federal University of Uberlandia, postgraduate in business management and finance with Fundação Getúlio Vargas (EASP/FGV).

Bruno Fardim

Bruno Fardim holds a degree in Agronomy, a master’s in plant production, and a Ph.D. in Administration with an emphasis on Production and Development. With expertise in the fertilizer market, he has been working in the fertilizers and plant nutrition sector since 2015. He is currently a Commodity and Fertilizer Specialist on the market intelligence team at Veeries, where he is responsible for developing strategic scenarios and long-term projections for the Brazilian fertilizer market.

Daejin Lee

Daejin Lee is one of top ranked experts in the shipping and commodity industry,and his executive interviews were featured in BBC Worldnews Live and CNBC Live.He started his career at dry chartering team and spent several years in Hanjin Shipping,as a strategic planning manager and FFA trader.In the previous role, as the Director of Shipping Analytics and Research at S&P Global,a leading intelligence provider, Daejin led core research expertise on freight analyticsand gained global reputation as one of the most knowledgeable researcherswith an exceptional coverage of the shipping and commodity market.

Cleber Vieira

Cleber Vieira – 51 years-old. Director-partner of Agroconsult. Agronomist (UNESP), Postgraduate in Biotechnology (UNESP), Marketing Strategy (FGV) and Business Strategy (Fundação Dom Cabral). Marketing and Market Intelligence Manager at Bunge Fertilizantes, from 1998 to 2005. Partner at Agroconsult since 2005, being responsible for the Project Business Unit, especially for the fertilizer, logistic and agrochemicals segments.

Frederico Bernardez

President of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Association of Soil Remineralizers and Natural Fertilizer Producers - ABREFEN. Graduated in engineering at the Federal Institute of Science and Technology – IFF, specialist in project management at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas. Worked on academic projects and technology development at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (USA) and other projects in and out of the country. Over 10 years of experience in the mining sector, currently General Manager and Administrator of Harvest Minerals in Brazil, a publicly traded company in London focused on mining projects for fertilizers, which has 11 mining projects in different states, including Minas Gerais producing the natural fertilizer KP Fertil.

Jose Francisco da Cunha

José Francisco da Cunha is an agronomist who graduated from ESALQ/USP in 1976. He is SPECIALIZE at FIIB in MARKETING (1988) and FINANCIAL (1989) MANAGEMENT. SPECIALIZATION in GEOPROCESSING, SENAC-SP (2008). Accumulating a long experience in the area of fertility, plant nutrition and fertilizers since 1979, working in companies that have been highlighted in this period. In 1997 I founded TEC FERTIL AGROCONSULTORIA, a consulting and business company for the agricultural sector. The company performs fertility and fertilizer related work involving fertilizer use, market research, product development, quality and production of NPK, micronutrients, foliar and organic fertilizers. It works in cost evaluation and support for commercial purchase or sale policies, research and product evaluations, consulting for farmers, institutions and companies. I have also made a wide contribution in the scientific area and knowledge dissemination with numerous lectures, articles and books related to his area of expertise.

Joao Jaudete Freire Junior Oliveira

Joao holds an MBA in Quality Engineering from Candido Mendes University (2018) and another in lndustrial Chemistry (2010). He has professional experience in several leading fertilizer companies, focusing on developing new products and improving existing ones. In 2021, he began his tenure at Fertm1nas as the Head of Research and Development, quickly rising to the position of General Manager. His dedication to the fertilizer industry and his commitment to enhancing the thriving Brazilian agribusiness sector are unmatched.

Ramiro Garfagnoli

Agricultural Engineer graduated from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences,National University of Rosario (UNR). Specialist in Teaching Practice,University of Humanities and Arts (UNR). Student of the Master inManagement and Conservation of Natural Resources (FCAGR, UNR).Professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences, NationalUniversity of Rosario, and at the University Degree in Agricultural Production,Catholic University of Argentina (UCA).Coordinator of the Biological Nutrition Network (AAPRESID).

Luís I. Prochnow

Undergrad in Agronomy by the University of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1985. - Soil and Plant Analysis lab coordinator from 1985 to 1992. - Master by the Center of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture of the University of São Paulo (USP) in 1992, with research focusing sulfur availability in Brazilian soils. - Ph.D. by USP in 1996, with research focusing the agronomic effectiveness of phosphate fertilizers. - Professor at the Soil Science Department at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, from 1992 to 2007. - Visiting scientist at IFDC, USA, from 1999 to 2001, with research related to optimizing the use of phosphate rock in agriculture. - Brazil General Program Director of the International Plant Nutrition Institute from 2007 to 2019. - General Director of the Company Plant Nutrition Science & Technology since April of 2019. - More than 80 scientific papers published in prestigious Journals. - Editor and author of several book chapters related to Plant Nutrition and Agriculture in Brazil. - Specialist in Brazilian agriculture. - Specialist in Soil Fertility and Fertilizers. - Specialist in Phosphorus (P) Reaction in soils and P as a nutrient for commercial crops.

Bruno Fonseca

Bruno Fonseca is an agronomist, graduated from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ/USP) and an analyst at Rabobank Brazil, focusing on research development for the farm input market. Previously, he worked as a senior commodities analyst at Cargill Agricola S.A. From 2014 to 2019, he worked at Alvean as a Trading Intelligence specialist. Bruno is also a specialist in Agroenergy through the Pecege – ESALQ/USP.

Matías Ruffo

Matias Ruffo is responsible for providing agronomic support to Koch Agronomic Services’ customers in Latin America and Southern Africa, particularly for enhanced efficiency products. Prior to working with Koch he provided agronomic support for premium phosphate and potash products globally and later on worked in the seed industry. Matias holds a PhD in Crop Science from the University of Illinois.