Keynote speakers

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Michael Graham

Head of Crop Science Research and Development Breeding

Bayer

Michael (Mike) Graham serves as a member of the Research and Development (R&D) Leadership Team as Head of Breeding for the Crop Science division of Bayer. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Mike oversees the plant genetics and breeding program, leading a global team to develop seed with better genetics for farmers. Mike came to Bayer Crop Science in 2018 after working at Monsanto for 25 years. Throughout his 25-year tenure at Monsanto, he held several roles in the Plant Breeding and Biotechnology organizations, starting as a corn breeder and ultimately taking on executive positions. Mike earned his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding from University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Master of Science in Plant Breeding from University of Delaware, and Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from University of Minnesota. Most recently, he was Global Breeding Lead at Monsanto from 2016 to 2018, prior to his current role as Head of R&D Breeding at Bayer Crop Science.

Sally Mackenzie

Professor of Biology and Plant Science

The Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Mackenzie is the Lloyd and Dottie Huck Chair for Functional Genomics and Director of the Plant Institute. Prior to joining Penn State in 2017, she was the Ralph and Alice Raikes Chair for Plant Science at the University of Nebraska and Founding Director for the Center for Plant Science Innovation. Sally began her career on the faculty of Purdue University in the Department of Agronomy, where her research centered on understanding how plants sense changes in their environment and adjust their growth in response. Over the years, this work has aimed to elucidate the role of plant organelles, mitochondria, and specialized plastids, as environmental sensors and, more recently, the epigenetic adjustments plants undergo to alter growth of their progeny.

Yvonne Pinto

Director of Bioeconomy ‒ AgBio

Eagle Genomics

Yvonne Pinto has over 30 years of experience in the agriculture development sector, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. She previously served as Digital Agriculture and Innovation Lead for The World Bank’s Food and Agriculture Practice. With a background in plant molecular genetics and virology, she has worked in positions with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gatsby Foundation, UN FAO and the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College, UK. As part of the Eagle Genomics team, Yvonne and the Company are focused on enabling the digitization of science to accelerate the generative economy.

William Salas

Chief Strategy Officer

Regrow

William (Bill) Salas is the current Chief Strategy Officer at Regrow. Prior to this, he served as Interim CEO and CSO at Dagan, Inc. from May 2019 to February 2021. William has also held positions at DNDC Applications, Research and Training, Applied Geosolutions, LLC, and the Complex Systems Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, where he was a research scientist from June 1991 to May 2002. Bill began his career as a member of the technical staff at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory from July 1985 to June 1991.
Bill has 30+ years of experience in environmental science and business leadership at NASA JPL, the University of New Hampshire and AGS. He is highly regarded throughout the industry for his expertise in remote sensing and biogeochemical modeling.

Baboucarr Manneh

Director General

AfricaRice Center

Dr Baboucarr Manneh is the Director General of the Africa Rice Center and Regional Director for the CGIAR in West and Central Africa. He has nearly 30 years working experience in agricultural research and development with special expertise in development and dissemination of new crop varieties as well as in seed systems. With his immense knowledge of food security priorities and National Agencies for Research and Extension Systems (NARES) in Africa, Dr Manneh will highlight during the Congress, the key priorities that need to be addressed to ensure food and nutrition security in Africa.

Keijiro Otsuka

Professor of Development Economics

Kobe University, Japan

Keijiro Otsuka is a professor of development economics at the Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University in Japan. He was a visiting scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) from 1986 to 1989, a visiting research fellow at IFPRI from 1993 to 1998, and a core member of the World Development Report: Jobs at the World Bank from 2011 to 2012. He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of IRRI from 2004 to 2007, President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists from 2009 to 2012, and President of the Japanese Association for Development Economics from 2019 to present. He is a coauthor or coeditor of 27 books and 146 articles in internationally renowned journals. He is a fellow of the International, American, African, and Asian Associations of Agricultural Economists.

Himanshu Pathak

Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education

New Delhi

Dr. Himanshu Pathak is the Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE), and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in New Delhi. He provides leadership to one of the largest agricultural research and development organizations in the world. He served as Director of ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Odisha, and Director of ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Maharashtra, India. He has over three decades of experience in the areas of agricultural research, education, and extension. His long experience in research on rice-based, systems and climate change will help the IRC 2023 in developing strategic recommendations and implementation of climate-resilient rice systems.

V. Bruce J. Tolentino, Ph.D.

Independent Member, The Monetary Board

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

Appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines as Independent Member of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in June 2018 with a focus on the promotion of broad financial inclusion and financing for rural and agricultural development.

Before joining BSP, his most recent posts include Deputy Director-General and Secretary to the Board of Trustees at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and Chief Economist and Director of Economic Reform and Development Programs, and Country Representative – Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka at The Asia Foundation. MBM Tolentino has more than 36 years of progressively senior-level experience in international development, governance, development finance, and the planning of socio-economic projects in Asia, Africa, and Central America. He also has direct experience in the management of international and large-scale governance and rural and agricultural development programs and has worked in crisis conditions including war-torn countries and cross-cultural and religious contexts.

Jose Re

Vice President for New Product Development - Business Services

RiceTec

Temina Lalani-Shariff

Regional Director, South Asia

Interim Regional Director, Southeast Asia and Pacific CGIAR

Temina Lalani-Shariff is a trusted leader who brings over 20 years of diverse management and business development experience. After having established and grown a boutique public relations firm, she joined the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) where she served as Director of Global Advocacy and Brand for five years. An avid community volunteer, she has served on the Board of the Calgary Public Library and Ten Thousand Villages. She holds joint MBA degrees from the Kellogg School of Management and Schulich School of Management, an MA in Communication Studies from the University of Calgary and a BA in International Political Science from the University of Alberta.