If your organisation is interested in sponsoring the 2025 conference please reach out to us at: conference@uebt.org

Amsterdam - Movenpick Hotel

Piet Heinkade 11, 1019 BR, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands

UEBT Conference 2025 is supported by:

What your peers said about the 2024 Sourcing with Respect Conference

Questions?

Write to us at conference@uebt.org

Confirmed Speakers

Alexander Batran

Senior Director Group Strategic Sourcing, Weleda

Alexander brings over 20 years of experience in procurement, with a strong foundation in research and an early focus on sustainability in sourcing. He holds a doctorate in procurement and spent more than a decade in procurement consulting, advising multinational companies across various industries before transitioning to the corporate sector. For nearly three years, Alexander has been with Weleda, where he serves as Group Strategic Sourcing Officer, overseeing the Group Procurement and Agriculture Management departments. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of UEBT. 

Ângela Pinhati

Chief Sustainability Officer, Natura

Ângela Pinhati took over as sustainability officer at Natura &Co América Latina in 2023, after serving as the company's production director in the region for 7 years. At Natura, she also served as Supply Chain leader for Hispanic countries, based in Argentina, in addition to leading the Supply Department for the entire company. 

With 31 years of professional experience, the executive has worked for multinationals such as Rhodia and Unilever, and currently sits as the board president of the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) board of directors, representing Natura&Co. 

She has a degree in Chemical Engineering from UFSCar, an MBA in Logistics from Fundação Vanzolini, and a master's degree in Environment from IMF Business School / Universidad Camilo José Cela, in Madrid .

Anirudh Ranga

CEO, Nesso

Anirudh Ranga is the CEO of NESSO, a leading Indian company specializing in plant-based actives for dietary supplements, food, and fine fragrances. Since 2011, he has played a pivotal role in transforming NESSO into a global supplier to the health and wellness industry. Under his leadership, the company has expanded its international footprint while embedding sustainability, ethical sourcing, and traceability at the core of its operations. 

Anirudh brings over 20 years of experience in manufacturing and business leadership. He also serves on the boards of Rangsons Aerospace and N. Ranga Rao & Sons, contributing to long-term growth across diverse industries. 

He holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. 

Caroline Moussou Dit Bourdalle

Global Sustainability Director, IFF

Bio. Coming soon.

Cherifa Rashad-Fakhry

Co-founder and vice-president, A. Fakhry & Co.

Bio. Coming soon.

David Hadley

Director of the Regulatory Impact Programme, Preferred by Nature

Bio. Coming soon.

Elisa Aragon

Co-founder & CEO, Nelixia

Elisa Aragon is the co-founder and CEO of Nelixia, a leading essential oil, extracts and spices producer in Latin America. Nelixia strives to reinvent the way of sourcing and producing natural ingredients. Convinced that sourcing has to go hand in hand with sustainability, NELIXIA puts social and environmental aspects at the heart of all its operations. The company now has three production sites and has deployed its sustainable approach in six Latin American countries.

Elisa is from Guatemala and driven by her passion for naturals she obtained an organic chemistry degree in Paris, then a Master in Perfumery at ISIPCA, finishing by a master degree in Entrepreneurship at ESCP in Paris.

Elitsa Likova

Bulgaria Representative, UEBT

With UEBT since 2024, Elitsa is the representative for Bulgaria. She has collaborated with UEBT since 2021 and has more than 20 years international experience in auditing for various ISO standards as well as for SA 8000, BSCI, SMETA/SEDEX and more. Elitsa is an active member of the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors, and is a Certified Social Compliance Auditor as well as a Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) verifier.

Hanna Kaethner

Advisor, GIZ

Hanna Kaethner is an Advisor at GIZ and has been working for the Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative (SASI) for three years. At SASI, she contributed to developing and implementing the Due Diligence Fund, a funding competition designed to support agri-food companies in the implementation of corporate human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD). 

She holds a master’s degree in Local Development from UNIPD, Italy, and a bachelor’s in international relations and economics from the University of Erfurt, Germany. She spent two years in South America, gaining experience in the civil society sector in Bolivia and Ecuador and studying abroad in Brazil. 

Léa Borsotto

CSR & Sustainable Development Project Manager, Bernardi Group

Bio. Coming soon.

Lucie Dejouhanet

Sustainability Projects and Sectors Lead, Clarins

Dr. Lucie Dejouhanet joined Laboratoires Clarins following a distinguished academic career as a geographer, recognized for her research on the organization of herbal supply chains. She now serves as Sustainable Sourcing Project Manager, where she is responsible for ensuring that Clarins’ plant-based supply chains comply with the company’s Responsible Ingredient Sourcing Charter, biodiversity regulations, and Clarins’ dual commitment to Caring for People and Caring for the Planet.

Maria Julia Oliva

Director of Policy and Sector Transformation, UEBT

Julia is responsible for Policy and Sector Transformation as of May 2023. She previously worked with UEBT from 2009 until 2021 and last served as Deputy Director and Senior Coordinator for ABS and Policy. Her last position was Head of Policy at UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) where she oversaw a team focused on accounting for the value for biodiversity in policy and providing support to incorporate biodiversity management into policy across many sectors. She is a trained lawyer with internationally recognized expertise on legal and policy issues linked to biodiversity. Julia grew up in Mendoza, Argentina and has an LLM degree from Lewis & Clark Law School in the US.

Manu Caddie

Managing Director, Hikurangi Bioactives

Manu Caddie is a biotechnology entrepreneur, researcher, and advocate for Indigenous rights and ethical bioprospecting. Based in Aotearoa New Zealand, he has co-founded ventures including Rua Bioscience and Hikurangi Bioactives, developing pharmaceuticals, functional food ingredients and natural health products derived from botanicals. Manu’s work focuses on ethical sourcing frameworks that embed Indigenous governance, benefit-sharing, and environmental protection into product development and licensing arrangements. Manu also advises on regulatory frameworks for controlled substances and biodiscovery systems. He has contributed to international biodiversity negotiations, including the recent World Intellectual Property Organization treaty addressing biopiracy and in April was appointed to the inaugural Steering Committee of the UN CBD Cali Fund. His current projects involve clinical research on natural therapeutics, AI-driven biodiscovery, and commercialisation pathways for bioactive compounds from indigenous plants and fungi. With a background in environmental advocacy, local governance, and Indigenous-led innovation, Manu will be discussing commercial models that recognise ecosystems themselves as key partners and co-owners in sustainable industry development. 

Matt Jones

Chief Impact Officer, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre’s (UNEP-WCMC)

Matt Jones is Chief Impact Officer at the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK. Matt’s role is to empower the team across UNEP-WCMC to generate maximum impact in everything they do. As Chief Impact Officer, Matt oversees quality and innovation in the technical development of projects so that UNEP-WCMC delivers on its strategy and vision. His expertise is in understanding nature-related risk, natural capital impacts and dependencies across the economy, corporate biodiversity impact assessment and management, and biodiversity metrics. Matt is one of three co-Chairs of the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment. Building on 20 years of experience, Matt’s work seeks a shift towards a socially just future where nature and people thrive. Matt joined UNEP-WCMC in 2010, and was previously Head of Business and Biodiversity and Head of Nature Economy for the organisation. He holds a Master of Philosophy and a Bachelors degree in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining UNEP-WCMC, Matt worked in Tanzania on projects to align the goals of poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation and as a consultant on environmental, social and governance issues.

Mehmet Cetin

Technical Agriculture Director, Isik Tarim

He graduated from the Plant Protection Department of the Faculty of Agriculture at Ege University in 1995 and completed his master's degree in Plant Protection (Entomology) at the same university. His first work experience began as a worker on farm for picking fruits and later continued as a labourer in a dried fruit factory in the late 1980s. He began his professional career in 1997 as a Research Assistant in the Plant Protection Department at Ege University. After 3 years he joined Isik Tarim and has been responsible for organic and other certifications as an agricultural consultant, project’s manager and technical agriculture director for more than 25 years. He has participated in numerous workshops on the establishment and development of the Turkish Organic Regulations. He is a member of the ETO Association and a founding member of the Demeter Turkiye Association and has been a delegate on the WAB of Naturland e.V. since June, 2022.

Rik Kutsch Lojenga

Executive Director, UEBT

Rik has been the Executive Director of UEBT since its creation in 2008. He is an expert on ethical sourcing of ingredients from biodiversity in support of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity.  He spent more than a decade with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), where he was involved in the creation of the BioTrade Initiative and helped to conceptualise the idea of UEBT.  He has also served as the Board Chair of ISEAL, the umbrella group for sustainability standards.  Rik grew up in the Netherlands, where he earned a master’s degree in business and environmental economics.

Rodrigo de Próspero

Director, Sustainability at Source, dsm-firmenich

Rodrigo leads the Sustainability at Source strategy at dsm-firmenich, weaving responsible sourcing into the company’s global procurement practices. His work supports the Nature and People pillars of the company’s ESG goals, with a strong focus on supplier engagement, traceability, and creating real, positive impact. With over 18 years of experience in sustainable sourcing, Rodrigo has worked across a wide range of supply chains and geographies worldwide. He’s deeply involved in driving due diligence, building collaborative relationships with stakeholders, and promoting transparency—especially in biodiversity-sensitive regions. Before stepping into his current role, Rodrigo held positions in procurement and sustainability across the public, private, and third sectors.

Sebastian Sieben

CEO, Martin Bauer

Sebastian Sieben is the CEO of Martin Bauer GmbH & Co. KG, a position he assumed after joining the company in 2002 and holding various product and sales roles before becoming part of the management team. He studied Business Administration in Germany and the UK from 1995 to 1999, and began his career with strategy consultancy Roland Berger, where he collected his first professional experiences and “management tool kit”. Since 2006, he has worked on responsible and sustainable issues from a strategic perspective within Martin Bauer.

Taylor Mackey

VP Global Strategic Sourcing, doTERRA

Taylor MacKay is the Vice President of Strategic Sourcing at doTERRA where he oversees the global sourcing portfolio of natural ingredients.  Taylor has had the privilege of living and working in many different parts of the world including the US, Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia, working with small-scale producers, social impact organizations, and agrobusiness value chains.  He is passionate about social impact strategy and building business as a force for good in the world. 

Tsvetelina Tsekova

Sustainability Specialist, Galen-N Ltd.

Tsvetelina Tsekova is a Sustainability Specialist at Galen-N Ltd. since March 2024, focusing on sustainable sourcing and compliance with ethical standards in the essential oils sector. She holds a master’s degree in Microbiology and a bachelor’s in Plant protection, providing a strong scientific foundation in agricultural practices and biodiversity conservation. Her previous professional experience includes experimental and scientific work, consultancy as an agronomist, and teaching. Tsvetelina is also a long-standing volunteer, having worked extensively with children from vulnerable and sensitive groups. This diverse background enables her to address sustainability challenges with a multidisciplinary perspective, combining scientific expertise, practical agricultural knowledge, and a strong social commitment. She is currently engaged in sustainability assessments, risk evaluation, and capacity building with local producers within the UEBT framework. 

Valentin Grabet

Sustainable Agriculture Project Manager, Pernod Ricard

Valentin is a Sustainable Agriculture Project Manager at Pernod Ricard, where he oversees and supports initiatives in regenerative agriculture and sustainable sourcing across various "terroirs." A terroir represents the combination of a raw material and its geographical location. His work encompasses a wide range of raw materials, from botanicals to large-scale crops, primarily within European regions. Valentin collaborates with Pernod Ricard’s affiliates, procurement teams, and suppliers, leveraging his agronomist background to offer his technical insights into the projects. 

Before joining Pernod Ricard, Valentin worked in the cooperative InVivo, focusing on CSR topics internally and developing a digital platform aiming to valorize environmental data in wheat and vine supply chains. Then, he accompanied customers for a few years as a Sustainable Sourcing consultant. There, he specialized in responsible sourcing and regenerative agriculture practices, applying both strategic and field-based approaches to various supply chains, across different sourcing regions worldwide. 

Virginie Bartholin

Global Category Manager Raw Materials, Pernod Ricard

Virginie joined Pernod Ricard in 2015 and now leads the Global Raw Materials procurement category. Raw materials represent 30% of Pernod Ricard’s global spend and 40% of its carbon footprint.

Her missions include sustainable sourcing (for eg. through UEBT-verified supply chains for botanicals), supplier performance and compliance management, decarbonation roadmap implementation (driving Regenerative Agriculture programs for large commodities). Procurement and Nature & Climate teams work together to best achieve the Company’s objectives.

Virginie is a Food Engineer, with extended Sustainable sourcing & Procurement experience, working in both small & large agri-food industries. Her previous experience, managing sustainable supply chains with smallholder farmers (in Africa, Asia, Latin America) has given her a deep understanding of environmental & social issues.

30 September and 01 October 2025

Amsterdam

Movenpick Hotel - Amsterdam City Center
Piet Heinkade 11, 1019 BR, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Questions?

Write to us at conference@uebt.org

Questions? Write to us at conference@uebt.org