Eduardo Cotillas Provencio
Secretary-General of the Technological Platform “Food for Life Spain”
Eduardo is an Agronomist Engineer in Food Industries and has a Bachelor in Food Science and Technology from the Polytechnic University
of Madrid and a PhD in the field of “Food Science, Technology and Engineering”.
He has a professional career linked to R + D + i within the agro-sea-food sector for more than 20 years, both at a private and public level. In particular, his experience at the CDTI stands out for almost 15 years, where he held positions of different responsibilities.
Director of R & D & i of the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries (FIAB) and Secretary General of the Technology Platform “Food for Life-Spain”.
María Garrido Anllo
Food Projects Consultant at World Bank Group
María is a consultant at the World Bank specialized in Project Monitoring and Evaluation. During her career at this international organization, much of her work has focused on developing country profiles for Nutritionally Smart Agriculture.
Currently, her work is focused on training implementation teams in project monitoring and supervision techniques in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa.
After obtaining an MBA in International Trade, in 2017 she joined the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Puerto Rico as a Market Analyst.
José María Ordovás Muñoz
Professor of Nutrition and Director of the Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory at Tufts University
Professor of Nutrition and Senior Scientist at the USDA-Human Nutrition Research Centre on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is also the Director of the Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory.
In addition, he is Professor of Genetics and Pharmacology at the Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences and Senior Scientist at IMDEA Food in Madrid. He did postdoctoral work at MIT, Harvard, and Tufts University.
Dr. Ordovas was educated in Spain at the University of Zaragoza where he completed his undergraduate work in Chemistry and received his doctorate in Biochemistry.
Brian O’Connor
Chair at ECHAlliance
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Brian developed his career as a consultant, manager and investor. He has worked in the UK, US and Hong Kong and has significant experience as a company director in a variety of industries.
He is currently providing strategic advice to Governments, International organisations and companies on the challenges facing healthcare in general and specifically on the Connected Health opportunity.
He created the European Connected Health Alliance, a not for profit organisation which connects Governments, Industry, Research Institutes, Health Services, Patient Groups etc. through a Global Network of Ecosystems.
Arunangsu Chatterjee
Head of Digital Education and Co-director of the Centre of Health Technology at the University of Plymouth
Associate Professor of Education and Digital Health in the College of Health and co-director of the Centre for Health Technology at the University of Plymouth.
He is the coordinator of SWITCH, an interdisciplinary and cross-sector consortium that includes partners from the NHS, industry, health and social care organizations and patient groups, established to enable greater connection and collaboration throughout the South West of England.
His research focuses on digital technologies that facilitate the development of capacities to share and consume practices of technology use in complex organizations
Noelia Dosil
Innovation Project Manager at CLUSAGA
Responsible for the management and dynamization of CLUSAGA’s Innovation and R&D Commission, identification and application to innovation funding opportunities and implementation of innovation projects (AHFES project).
For the previous eight years she worked in a private consultancy company focused on innovation- related services, being responsible for the activities and the team of the office in Santiago de Compostela.
She has experience in regional, national and international projects linked to R&D, innovation, competitiveness and internationalisation, both for public and private clients.
Alison Haselgrove
Senior Associate at BIC Innovation Ltd. and Director at Creative Spark Consulting
Alison has spent 35 years working in the food industry, firstly as a Buying Controller for a major UK supermarket chain and latterly as the New Product Development Director for a large red meat processor in the UK and Ireland.
She strongly believes in a consumer led approach to innovation, basing inspiration on delighting customers with new products that deliver inspiring and nutritious food choices.
She is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. In her latest role as food & drink consultant, she is keen to support businesses to grow and to provide training and mentoring to help develop young people embarking on careers in this dynamic industry.
André Arzúa Tizón
Chef and Manager at Espazo Abella
Technician in Hospitality and Tourism from the Lamas de Abade Institute, current CIFP Compostela, and specialist in restaurant and cafeteria management.
He was trained in places of reference in Santiago de Compostela, such as the Hotel San Francisco, the kitchen of the Hostal dos Reis Católicos and as manager of the “O 16” restaurant.
He is the owner and manager of the restaurant A Fábrica de Vilanova (Allariz), and of its catering line. He was the host of the cooking program “A cociña de Andre” and in 2017 he inaugurated Espazo Abella, a gastronomic training and promotion centre for professionals in the sector that includes a set for recording programs.
Beatriz Ferreira Varela
Director of the Infant School A Caracola
More than 25 years dedicated to education as a teacher, team trainer and sports coach and extracurricular activities. Since 2009 director of the Municipal Infant School A Caracola (A Coruña).
In 2015 she signed a commitment to the consumption of organic agri-food products from the Mariñas-Betanzos Biosphere Reserve (A Coruña) in her school cafeteria.
In 2018, she promoted training and meetings between management teams, teachers, cooks and local producers of organic vegetables to promote the consumption of seasonal, local and organic products in school and college dining rooms.
Estefanía Dans Rodríguez
Dietitian-Nutritionist at NutriDans
Estefanía Dans has a degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the Complutense University of Madrid.
After finishing the degree, she continued training to be able to offer the best service to her patients. She took the ICNS Nutritional and Health Coach and Vegetarian Clinical Nutrition courses in order to understand the motivations of patients and help them achieve their goals.
She is also a University Expert in Food in Sports at the UNED and since 2014 she has been working as a dietitian-nutritionist in two main areas: clinical nutrition and in-company nutrition.
Tamara Botana Caridad
Director at Lémbrate, Memory Unit
After studying Business Administration and Management, she became interested in the field of the silver economy and the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.
She studied in Madrid and Barcelona, and in 2014 she inaugurated the first Memory Unit in A Coruña, the second in Galicia.
She focuses on prevention and awareness about keeping our brain active without the need for any pathology.
Carmen López Vázquez
Mindfulness teacher and instructor at Activiza
Carmen Lopez has been a Mindfulness teacher and instructor since 2013, when she founded Galatea, in the heart of the Salamanca district in Madrid.
Currently, she collaborates with Activiza in the training of professionals in the socio-health sector for the development of the necessary competencies for the application of the PersonCentered Care (PCA) model: stress management, emotion management, improvement of interpersonal relationships and caring for the caregiver.
Carmen Durán Parrondo
General Director of Public Health
FIR specialist in hospital pharmacy and doctor of pharmacy. She began as a resident of the Hospital Pharmacy at the General University Hospital of Valencia.
She has been a Primary Care Pharmacist at the Fontiñas Health Center, Pharmacy Coordinator of the then Primary Care Management of Santiago and Coordinator of Out-of-Hospital Pharmacy.
She was also Executive Manager of the Galician Health Area of A Mariña and General Deputy Director of Assistance Evaluation and Guarantees and General Director of Health Assistance. She is part of different working groups and investigation commissions.
Xosé Ramón Vázquez
R + D + i Coordinator at ANFACO-CECOPESCA
Graduated in Chemical Sciences from the University of Vigo, since 2007 he works at ANFACO-CECOPESCA in the field of management, promotion and transfer of R & D & i results in the food field, being currently R & D & I Coordinator.
He has participated in more than 20 national and international projects.
Celina Costas
Head of the Research Results Transfer Office at ANFACO-CECOPESCA
Doctor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Santiago de Compostela and Master of Science (MS) from the University of Oklahoma, Celina developed her research career at the Barts Institute of Cancer (London), at the Center for Molecular Biology “Severo Ochoa ”(CBMSO) in Madrid, and in the Department of Chemistry-Physics of the University of Vigo.
For almost 4 years she has been working at the ANFACO-CECOPESCA Technological Center, where she is currently responsible for the Office for the Transfer of Research Results (OTRI), as well as for the Division of Advanced Services and New Methods.
Ana Belén Crujeiras Martínez
Director of the Epigenomics in Endocrinology and Nutrition research group at IDIS
Director of the Epigenomics in Endocrinology and Nutrition research group at the Santiago de Compostela Health Research Institute (IDIS) at the University Clinical Hospital of Santiago(CHUS).
She is member of the Centre for Biomedical Research Network on the physiopathology of obesity and nutrition (CIBERobn).
Her research focuses on the role of epigenetic regulation in the pathophysiology of obesity and its association with other diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, as well as on the search for useful epigenetic markers in personalized obesity medicine.
Lorenzo Pastrana
Chair of the Research Office at INL
Professor of Food Science at the University of Vigo where he was Director of the Research Transfer and Innovation Centre (CITI) and Head of the Office of Knowledge Transfer (2009-2010). He founded the Galician Agrifood Technological Platform (2006).
He is part of the scientific council of the Portugal Foods Innovation Cluster. In 2015 he joined INL as Head of the Department of Life Sciences. Author of more than 180 scientific contributions and 4 patents.
He participated in more than 30 national and European research projects and contracts and he is promoter of 2 food start-ups
Fermín Milagro Yoldi
Researcher at the Nutrition Research Centre of the University of Navarra
Doctor of Science from the University of Navarra since 1998 and researcher since 2003, he is part of the CIBERobn (Carlos III Health Institute).
He is director of the Research Line in Nutriomics and Biomarkers of the Nutrition Research Center of the University of Navarra.
He works on the identification, through omic technologies, of new biomarkers related to metabolic diseases and in the search for bioactive compounds with application in obesity and its comorbidities.
His research is particularly directed at the application of biomarkers in the development of precision nutrition.
Andy Bleaden
Director Ecosystems and Memberships at ECHAlliance
Andy Bleaden works for ECHAlliance as the Director for Ecosystems and Membership after joining ECHAlliance in 2017 to lead on funding.
He has had long career in both funding, health and social care going back over 30 years starting in the mental health field working with mentally disordered offenders, homeless young people and then later in the field of dementia.
Andy leads on ECHAlliance ecosystems and membership at a period of unparalleled growth in the Ecosystem Network with new ecosystems opening all over Europe and globally as well.
Ari Paloviita
Senior Researcher in the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy at the University of Jyväskylä
Ari Paloviita works as a senior researcher in the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. He has a doctoral degree in Business Administration from the University of Jyväskylä and holds a title of teacher in Environmental Management at the University of Eastern Finland.
He has 14 years research experience in food system studies from environmental, social and economic perspectives.
He is currently involved in two food-related research projects funded by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland: ScenoProt y JUST FOOD.
David Proenza
Foodchain CEO
For more than 33 years, David Proenza has been an innovator in the food business, management of agricultural production companies, agroexport and food marketing in the American and European continent.
He developed the food export platform, Global Trading Hub through electronic commerce in 2000 and the Vertical Farm in Controlled Environment in 2012.
In 2018 he began to develop the Foodchain Platform, based on Blockchain technology and the 4th Industrial Revolution for the transformation of the productive sector and food marketing.
Sonia Pazos Álvarez
Intergovernmental relations officer at INL
Sonia joined INL in June 2017 and is currently responsible for relations with Spanish entities in the Intergovernmental Relations Unit.
She has a deep knowledge in strategic management of Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer, as she combines substantial experience in management positions at public and private entities.
She was in charge of the design and implementation of strategies, of innovation and technology transfer, instruments, multi-actor projects and partnerships, mainly focused on industry-driven research, design-driven/userdriven , innovation and technology deployment.
José Ángel Viñuela Rodríguez
Head of the Food Safety Service in the General Directorate of Public Health
Graduate in veterinary. Since 1991 at the service of the Galician Administration and from 1986 to that date, in the free exercise of the profession.
He is currently Head of the Food Safety Service in the General Directorate of Public Health for 11 years and previously held the position of Head of the Public Health Inspection and Laboratories Service for another 11 years of the aforementioned general direction.
Responsible for the planning, coordination and evaluation of official control activities in the food industry and continuous training teacher of the
Veterinary Public Health Inspectors in Galicia and at the University of Vigo.
Mónica Pereira Loureda
Sales Manager at Pescados Loureda
Monica, partner at Pescados Loureda along with Pedro Montreal, followed in the footsteps of her mother Pilar, founder of Pescados Loureda in 1975, and opened a new fish shop opposite the old one.
The port that her mother stepped on so many times now houses the facilities of what is Pescados Loureda: a trusted family business that never loses its memory.
Today, Pescados Loureda, in addition to selling the best fish and shellfish from the fish market to companies and communities, recovers a little more its essence. They bring us the fruit of so many years of work back home with new technologies and the Loureda en Casa service.
Alberto Lázaro Araújo
Head of Business Development at Coquus
Industrial Engineer and MBA, he has worked in the industrial and telecommunications sector in the areas of Systems, Organization and Business Development.
For 15 years he has been developing technology projects and providing consulting services in marketing and innovation in sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, retail or food.
He teaches at the IESIDE business school in the areas of marketing and innovation and currently directs the Business Development of Coquus, a computer solution for managing the feeding of patients in hospitals and improving nutrition through technology
Miguel Ángel Martínez Olmos
Head of the Endocrinology Section-Nutrition Area in the Sanitary Area of Santiago-Barbanza
Graduated in Medicine from the University of Granada in 1991 and Doctor of Medicine from the University of Coruña in 2006.
He has been a Specialist in Endocrinology and Nutrition at the La Paz University Hospital (Madrid) between 1993 and 1997.
He currently works as Head of the Endocrinology Section-Nutrition Area in the Sanitary Area of Santiago de Compostela and Barbanza).
He is an Associate Professor of Health Sciences at the USC School of Medicine and a researcher at the Santiago de Compostela Health Research Institute.
Eva María Menor Fernández
Intensive medicine specialist and coordinator of the Zero Malnutrition programme
Specialist in Intensive Medicine since 2012, she works in the Intensive Medicine Service of the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital. Since 2014 she has deepened her interest in nutritional therapy, mainly in critical patients, joining societies and work groups and developing courses and studies in this field.
In 2017, a project began with SERGAS, led by her centre and coordinated by her, for quality control and optimization of nutritional therapy in critically ill patients called “Zero Malnutrition”. Its implementation in the centre is now a reality and this has allowed it to publicize the project in the rest of Spain.
Rosana Ashbaugh Enguídanos
Nurse at the Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Unit at Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital
Nurse of the Clinical Nutrition and Dietetic Unit and the Functional Unit of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia at the Prince of Asturias University Hospital with more than 20 years of experience.
Representative of the Spanish Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (SENPE) on the Board of Directors of the Spanish Federation of Nutrition, Food and Diet Societies (FESNAD).
Author of several book chapters related to clinical nutrition and oropharyngeal dysphagia care. Participant as a teacher in numerous courses and seminars on nutrition.
Javier Vidal Iglesias
Head of the Food Service in the Sanitary Area of Santiago-Barbanza
Graduated in Labor Law and Labor Relations from the University of Santiago de Compostela, in which he also completed a Master’s Degree in Food Safety.
He currently works as Head of the Food Service in the Sanitary Area of Santiago-Barbanza, where he has developed innovative projects such as online à la carte menus that have made CHUS national pioneers with this service.
Member of the Agri-Food Committee of the Spanish Association of Quality and member of the Spanish Association of Hospitality Hospitality Teacher of ACIS and Quality Auditor.
Jaume Mangues Sanz
COO Health & Seniors at Arcasa
Professional with 30 years of experience in the management, organization and design of hospital catering services.
He began his career in the hospital sector working as head of hospitality at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital (ICS-Barcelona) to jump to the private sector, which allows him a great understanding of the models both in selfmanagement and in outsourcing or mixed.
Expert in the development and implementation of Cold Line production and service technologies.
Fernando Guldrís Iglesias
General Director at IGAPE
Fernando has a degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Santiago de Compostela, an MBA from the EAE Business School and from the Camilo José Cela University and a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance from the University of Seville.
His career was linked to finance, after holding various positions at CaixaGalicia, Universidad Carlos III, Grupo Santander, BNP Paribas and Inditex. He joined XesGalicia, the Xunta’s venture capital management company, in 2016 as financial director after his time at the then Consellería of Economy and Industry, becoming the general manager of this company in October 2017.
Mónica Cascallar Latorre
Director of Innovation at Congalsa
Director of the R&D Department in Congalsa, where she was previously responsible for the Planning and Production Department.
The values that define the products they develop are: healthy, sustainable, convenient and pleasant.
Industrial Technical Engineer in the speciality of Industrial Electronics, Industrial Engineer in the speciality of Industrial Organization and Master in Direction and Management of Logistics and the Supply Chain from the University of Vigo.
Esteban Sinde Stompel
Co-founder of Hifas da Terra
Co-founder and General Deputy Director of Mycological Production and R + D + i of Hifas da Terra and President of the Galicia Forestry Technology Platform (Devesa).
Doctor in Biology from the University of Santiago and Environmental Engineer from the University of Göttingen.
Specialist in mycotherapy and applied mycology, with numerous research works, publications and presentations in this field.
José Manuel López Vilariño
Head of R&D at Hijos de Rivera
Doctor in Chemistry who worked at the University of Coruña for more than 20 years, being director of the Centre for Technological Research for 11 of them.
Founder and CEO of the start-up Glecex since 2013, currently, although he does not drink beer, he is responsible for R&D at Hijos de Rivera.
In his own words, “I have been able to publish more articles than I thought, I have been fortunate to be able to direct the theses of 5 exceptional female doctors and collaborate on a large number of projects with researchers from universities, technology centres and companies from all over the world, which has made my work exciting during all these years. “
José Manuel Chao Ardao
Managing Partner at Plexus Tech
Managing Partner and Head of the Health and Social Care area of Plexus since 2008.
More than 25 years of experience in the sector, innovating in the design of solutions for the digital transformation of organizations, leading teams, establishing the strategy and alliances for the development of business in the area.
Master in Business Administration and Computer Science Engineer.
Speaker at conferences, forums and conferences on ICT in health.
Gerardo Rodríguez Martínez
Project Manager at Plexus Tech
Working in the IT sector for about 20 years occupying different positions of responsibility in different companies. Currently, at Plexus Tech, he is developing the functions of Project Manager.
In both this and previous companies he has managed different R & D & i projects. He also participates in the management of projects in the public and private health sector as well as in other sectors such as banking or energy.
Previously, already in previous companies, he has participated in different types of projects in continuous adaptation to the technologies in force at all times.
Javier de la Fuente Aguado
Head of Internal Medicine Service at Povisa Hospital
Graduate (1985) and Doctor of Medicine (1995) from the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Specialist of Internal Medicine, Puerta de Hierro Clinic in Madrid (1986-1990), Specialist in the Internal Medicine Area at the Xeral-Cíes Hospital
in Vigo (1991-2006) and Head of Internal Medicine, at Povisa Hospital (2006-present).
Venia docendi and associate professor of Health Sciences at the USC School of Medicine (2000-2006) coordinator of research bienniums in Health Sciences at UVigo (2002-2010) and coordinator of Final Degree Projects at the University School of Povisa since 2012.
Gabriela González Márquez
Director of Communication, CSR and Institutional Relations at Vegalsa-Eroski
Gabriela González has been in the world of food distribution for 10 years, training in different departments in Vegalsa-Eroski until reaching her current position, director of CSR.
In 2014, she decided to train in business responsibility at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, acquiring the necessary knowledge to start up her own CSR department in VegalsaEroski until today, which leads a team of 7 people who assume the tasks of Studies of. Market, Communication, Institutional Relations and CSR. It is within the CSR area where the company’s sustainability strategy is located and where they are currently developing the project related to the enhancement of the Atlantic diet.
Pablo Álvarez Freire
Deputy General Manager at Zendal
Professional with more than 20 years of experience, executive MBA and graduated in computer engineering but entrepreneur at heart.
He started at Deloitte as a SAP consultant, which he expanded to the ICT direction of Infinita Renovables in 2009, when he started several projects of his own, joining at the end of 2018 as an assistant to the CEO of Zendal.
He carries out tasks of strategy, business development, director of the strategic project of digitization of the entire group, search, investment and support for start-ups, head of innovation and director of the Mentor Foundation chaired by Andrés Fernandez. He chairs DiH DATAlife on behalf of Zendal.
Lucía Castro Díaz
DiH DATAlife Manager
Lucía has studied at 4 European universities (Santiago, Manchester, Montpellier and Oxford), obtaining a degree in Chemistry and a doctorate in Materials Science.
For years she has been a strategic consultant specializing in agriculture and renewable chemistry, working with leading global companies in their sectors.
She returns to Galicia with Mestrelab Research, where she works until July 2020, when she becomes the manager of DATAlife, the Galician digital innovation hub for the primary, biotechnology and health sectors.