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- Vertical Farming World Congress 2021
Vertical Farming World Congress 2021
Bringing together vertical farming operators, investors, suppliers and customers, the 2nd annual Vertical Farming World Congress is designed to help develop and advance the sector’s future. The 2021 Congress is the most substantial dedicated event of the year, featuring two days of conference sessions, networking with key industry figures, virtual vertical farm tours, workshops and presentation of the 2021 Vertical Farming World Awards. For new entrants as well as industry leaders.
Sponsors
About the event
Following the success of the inaugural 2020 event, attended by 180 delegates from 40 countries, Zenith Global is delighted to return with an expanded 2nd Vertical Farming World Congress.
Bringing together vertical farming operators, investors, suppliers and customers, the event will again assemble key industry leaders from around the globe to debate and advance the industry's future.
There will be two days of conference sessions, where industry leaders, innovators, suppliers, advisers and investors will share their insights through a series of presentations, interviews and interactive panel discussions, as well as virtual vertical farm tours.
Extensive networking opportunities, from dedicated networking breaks and group workshops to welcome receptions, will enable all delegates to connect with other industry peers.
Congress sessions and speakers include:
- Industry leadership panel with InFarm, Plenty and YesHealth
- Market opportunity and strategy with AeroFarms, HortAmericas, Rabobank, and Vertical Future
- Crop and technology innovation with Better Origin, BoomGrow, Gardin, Grow Group IFS, Swegreen and Vertical Field
- US Innovation from 80 Acres Farms, Brick Street Farms and Bowery Farming
- Science briefing from NASA on vegetable production at the International Space Station
- Industry policy forum with industry associations from Africa, Japan, UK and US alongside Association for Vertical Farming and FarmTech Society
- Regional pioneers AgroUrbana from Chile, UrbanKisaan from India and 808 Factory from Japan
- Customer and investor panels with ECF Farm Systems, Equilibrium Capital, IKEA, KPMG, Metro and S2G Ventures
- Sponsor presentations from Cubic Farm Systems Corp, IGS Limited and Vertical Future.
Other highlights include:
- Agritecture workshops on planning an urban farming business (optional add-on)
- Virtual vertical farm visits
- Opportunity to present within Vertical Ventures session
- Presentation of 2021 Vertical Farming World Awards
- Welcome and networking receptions.
Speakers include
Monday 20 September
Optional Congress add-on:
Agritecture workshop in 6 modules on thinking strategically and avoiding mistakes when it comes to planning an urban farming business.
- Introduction to Commercial Urban Farming
- Choosing Your Equipment, Crops & Marketing
- Considerations for Greenhouse Technology, presented by New Growing System
- Considerations for Vertical Farming Technology, presented by LettusGrow
- Design Workshop and presentations
Selected video recordings offering company introductions showing farms and their technology.
A series of 5 minute delegate presentations introducing ideas for transforming and expanding the world of vertical farming.
Join other delegates from your region to network in moderated social discussion. Bring your own produce, ideas or questions to provide topical introduction.
Group sizes of 15-25 are envisaged, with separate regional gatherings for Americas, West Europe, Middle East/Africa.
Asia reception will be on 21 September at 08.00 UK time.
Tuesday 21 September
Join other delegates from your region to network in moderated social discussion. Bring your own produce, ideas or questions to provide topical introduction.
Group sizes of 15-25 are envisaged.
Separate regional gatherings for Americas, West Europe, Middle East/Africa will be on 20 September at 17.00.
Jamie Burrows, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vertical Future, United Kingdom
Cindy van Rijswick, Expert – Fresh Produce for Rabobank Research Food & Agribusiness, Netherlands
Chris Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of HortAmericas, United States
David Rosenberg, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of AeroFarms, United States
Questions and discussion
Networking refreshment break with time to visit exhibitors and sponsors
Dave Dinesen, Chief Executive Officer of CubicFarm Systems Corp
Daniel Kats, Vice President of Corporate Sales for Infarm, Germany
Jesper Hansen, Chief Commercial Officer of YesHealth Group, Taiwan
Nate Storey, Co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Plenty Unlimited, United States
Questions and discussion
Gioia Massa, Life Sciences Project Scientist - Space Crop Production for NASA, United States
Questions and discussion
Networking refreshment break with time to visit exhibitors and sponsors
Cristian Sjögren, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of AgroUrbana, Chile
Dr Sairam Reddy Palicherla, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of UrbanKisaan Farms, India
Katashi Kai, General Manager of 808 Factory, Japan
Questions and discussion
Refreshment break
with
David Rosenberg, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of AeroFarms, United States
Nick Houshower, Principal - Controlled Environment Foods for Equilibrium Capital, United States
Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of S2G Ventures
Networking refreshment break with time to visit exhibitors and sponsors
with
Sara Segergren, Sustainable Innovation Leader at IKEA, Sweden
Clément Tischer, Head of Innovation & Partnerships for Metro, Germany
Nicolas Leschke, CEO and Founder of ECF Farm Systems, Germany
- Crops
- Technology
- Sustainability
- Commercial
- Innovation
Moderated social gatherings in groups of up to 25 delegates on first come, first served basis.
Wednesday 22 September
John Breedveld, Chief Executive Officer of Grow Group IFS
Andreas Dahlin, Chief Executive Officer of Swegreen, Sweden
Dr Jay Desan, Co-founder of BoomGrow, Malaysia
Questions and discussion
Networking refreshment break with time to visit exhibitors and sponsors
Guy Elitzur, Chief Executive Officer of Vertical Field, Israel
Sumanta Talukdar, Chief Executive Officer of Gardin, United Kingdom
Fotis Fotiadis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Better Origin
Questions and discussion joined by Fabrizio Ticchiarelli, Lead Plant Biologist at Gardin, United Kingdom
Networking refreshment break with time to visit exhibitors and sponsors
David Farquhar, Chief Executive Officer of IGS Limited, United Kingdom
Shannon O’Malley, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brick Street Farms and Thrive Containers, United States
Katie Seawell, Chief Commercial Officer, and Susan MacIsaac, Vice President and Head of AgScience for Bowery Farming, United States
Victor Verlage, Sr. Vice President Operations, Agronomy and Research & Development at 80 Acres Farms
Questions and discussion
Networking refreshment break with time to visit exhibitors and sponsors
with
Josephine Favre, President of African Association for Vertical Farming
Thomas Zoellner, Secretary General of Farm Tech Society
Eri Hayashi, Vice President and Director – International Relations and Consulting for Japan Plant Factory Association
Mark Horler, Chairman of UK Urban AgriTech
Networking refreshment break with time to visit exhibitors and sponsors
Christine Zimmermann-Loessl, Chairwoman of Association for Vertical Farming
Dr Joel Cuello, Professor of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering at University of Arizona and Vice Chairman of Association for Vertical Farming
Close
Speakers
Victor Verlage
Sr. Vice President Operations, Agronomy and Research & Development at 80 Acres Farms
Victor joined 80 Acres Farms in 2020 and serves as Sr. Vice President R&D, Operations and Agronomy to help develop the next generation indoor farming operations and build a Democratized supply chain of local, nutritious produce at affordable prices.
From 2000 to 2010, Victor worked with Nature Sweet Tomatoes, as Vice President of Business Development, launching branded flavorful snacking tomatoes. Victor started his professional career on a family farm in Tampico, Mexico and for fourteen years operated as an export grower shipping produce to the US market.
Victor holds a BS in Agronomy and an MS in Horticulture from Texas A & M University.
Katashi Kai
General Manager of 808 Factory, Japan
Katashi is the general manager of 808FACTORY, a large-scale plant factory launched in 2014 with 20,000 heads of lettuce daily.
Before joining the company in 2012, Katashi worked at a Japanese food manufacturing company engaging in research, production, and organic vegetables and herbs for fourteen years – seven years in Japan, seven years in New Zealand.
Katashi holds a BS and a Master's degree in Agricultural Sciences from Nagoya University in Japan. Katashi is also a board member of Leaf lab Inc., a venture seed company specializing in plant factories.
David Rosenberg
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AeroFarms, United States
David Rosenberg co-founded and leads AeroFarms, an award-winning and mission-driven company revolutionizing agriculture through its advanced vertical farms and innovative technology platform.
David dedicates his time to several local and international organizations. As a member of the World Economic Forum, David co-founded and co-chaired the Young Global Leaders Circular Economy Taskforce and is a member of the World Economic Forum Global IoT Council. David was also a member of the U.S. delegation to the B20 Sustainable Food System Taskforce, which advises the G20. In addition, David serves as a Managing Trustee of New Jersey’s Liberty Science Center, a prominent U.S. interactive science museum, and is on the Board of Directors of Aspire, a leader in insect proteins, and Clara Foods, a leader in non-animal based egg proteins. David is a mentor at Endeavor, as well, where he helps impact entrepreneurs. David is the founder of Hycrete, a nano-technology company that he led between 2002-2009. David was previously an Adjunct Professor at the New York University Stern School of Business where he taught Entrepreneurial Finance. In 2017, David was privileged to co-chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Agriculture Transition Committee. In 2020 David accepted an honor on behalf of AeroFarms for its leading work with the New Jersey Reentry Corporation in providing second chance opportunities to people previously incarcerated. David has been honored by the Liberty Science Center as a 2019 Genius Innovator, recognized as Ernst & Young’s (NJ) Entrepreneur of the Year (Food and Beverage) and was named one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs at Goldman Sachs’ 2019 Annual Builders and Innovators Summit. In 2008, the World Economic Forum recognized David as Technology Pioneer for his nanotechnology company and in 2010 as a Young Global Leader.
David received his BA from UNC Chapel Hill and holds an MBA from Columbia University. He competed for the U.S. in fencing where he was a finalist at a world cup and represented the NYAC, winning three U.S. National Team Fencing Championships and two individual silver medals.
Henry Gordon-Smith
Founder and CEO of Agritecture
Henry Gordon-Smith is a sustainability strategist focused on urban agriculture, water issues, and emerging technologies.
Cristian Sjögren
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of AgroUrbana, Chile
Cristián is an entrepreneur contributing to the transformation of agriculture and responding to the great challenges of the sector and a new generation of consumers. In 2018 he founded AgroUrbana, the first vertical farming company in Latin America.
Vice President of Chile California Council y Mentor of Chile Global Ventures from Fundación Chile.
Previously, he spent 10 years developing the solar industry in Latam as Head of Project Development and Chile Country Manager for First Solar and as Co-Founder and CEO of Solar Chile.
Industrial Engineer Degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and MBA from Haas Business School, UC Berkeley.
Ramin Ebrahimnejad
Vice Chair of Association for Vertical Farming
Ramin is an Agricultural Engineer specializing in Agroecology, circular economy, environmental impact assessment and urban food systems.
Josephine Favre
President of African Association for Vertical Farming
Josephine Favre attended the International School of Geneva, Switzerland from primary to high school education, graduating with an International Baccalaureate certification.
In addition, Josephine has more than 20-years’ experience in executive education enabling her to develope instructional programs and curricula for learning institutions. She is still a very dedicated Language and Communication instructor that continues:
To foster positional learning environments for students with diverse learning difficulties; to maximize individual student performance; and to develop student interest in all learning environment.
Since a very young age, Josephine has been involved in humanitarian projects, leading her to visit various communities in Africa where she actively engages herself in various programs on food security while running various outreach programs.
The Vertical Farming movement has become a passion for Josephine; she sees it as a necessity to teach future generations about the next step to Agriculture by using state-of-the-art technologies brought forward. By doing this, she is actively involved in agriculture policies, performance, structure, growth while economically empowering the Youth of Africa.
Fotis Fotiadis
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Better Origin
Fotis Fotiadis completed a MPhil in Sustainable Engineering at Cambridge University and went on to co-found the foodtech start-up Better Origin.
Dr Jay Desan
Co-founder of BoomGrow, Malaysia
Dr Jay Desan co-founded BoomGrow because she believes that clean greens should be accessible to all.
BoomGrow is leading the narrative on hyper-local farming in South East Asia. With a farm on demand service backed by automation and AI, it has integrated plant science in a controlled environment to introduce fresh produce, minimise food miles and eliminate wastage.
Jay previously spent over 15 years in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) advisory, carbon assessments and sustainability disclosure. She has a PhD in standards of sustainability from Queen Mary, University of London. She sits on the curriculum panel of multiple public universities, advising on AgTech.
Katie Seawell
Chief Commercial Officer of Bowery Farming, United States
Katie Seawell is Chief Commercial Officer at Bowery Farming, the Modern Farming Company on a mission to reimagine farming from the ground up.
Previously, Katie spent 14 years at Starbucks, where she held a variety of senior leadership roles within brand, marketing and product. She has driven successful brand campaigns, developed complex go-to-market strategies and integrated marketing campaigns, and led product innovation. In these roles she was a member of Starbucks’ U.S. Leadership Team. Most recently, Katie served as Senior Vice President of Siren Retail Operations where she helped lead the company’s efforts to re-imagine the coffee retail experience with the launch of Starbucks Reserve Roasteries, including market launches in Shanghai, Milan, New York City and Tokyo.
Susan MacIsaac
Vice President and Head of AgScience for Bowery Farming, United States
Susan MacIsaac is the VP & Head of AgScience at Bowery Farming, the largest U.S. vertical farming company on a mission to reimagine farming from the ground up.
Before working at Bowery, MacIsaac worked at Monsanto Company for 17 years, leading scientists and engineers in the development and deployment of imaging and sensing technologies for crop phenotyping. More recently, MacIsaac worked as the Discovery Science Lead at the Climate Corporation where she led the Discovery Sciences team and developed a program of research to advance digital product concepts related to seeding rate, seed selection and management of corn and soybean. She also led the expansion of premium science digital products into South America and Europe.
MacIsaac received a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Biology, both from the University of Saskatchewan, and has a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from the University of Guelph.
Shannon O’Malley
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brick Street Farms and Thrive Containers, United States
Shannon is a successful leader and entrepreneur with 12+ years founding and steering ag-tech forward companies.
Henry Ernst
Certification Expert for Control Union, United Kingdom
Henry obtained a MSci in marine biology from the University of Southampton. He has a broad background in marine research including inshore fisheries, functional marine ecology and aquaculture research.
Dave Dinesen
Chief Executive Officer of CubicFarm Systems Corp.
Dave Dinesen is CEO of leading local chain ag-tech company CubicFarm Systems Corp.
The HydroGreen Grow System won the Nexus Innovative Technologies award in 2021, selected by dairy farmers, and university research has confirmed HydroGreen lowers GHG emissions. CubicFarms has been recognized in Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards with an honourable mention in the Best World Changing Ideas – North America category.
A seasoned CEO, Dave founded venture capital and consulting firm WideOcean Strategies, a boutique venture capital and consulting firm in 2015 after Goldman Sachs acquired his first startup BackCheck, founded in 1997. Dave took BackCheck from a startup to the largest background screening company in Canada and a leader in the UK, serving 15,000 corporate customers and screening millions of people globally. Dave also serves on several for profit and non-profit boards.
Nicolas Leschke
CEO and Founder of ECF Farm Systems, Germany
Nick Houshower
Principal - Controlled Environment Foods for Equilibrium Capital, United States
Nick Houshower is a Principal of Equilibrium’s Controlled Environment Foods team and is responsible for business development, pipeline origination, fund raising and investor relations for the firm’s Controlled Environment Foods Funds.
Prior to Equilibrium, Nick focused his efforts on controlled environment agriculture, renewable energy, and surviving two years as an amateur rugby player. Prior to that, Nick’s career was in Asia, where he established the Thomson Reuters Government business unit in China and worked extensively on Chinese and Mongolian municipal finances and land reform policy. This work included managing the development and rollout of a digital land titling system for Mongolia (under the aegis of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation).
Earlier in his career, Nick managed the China program for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (an independent urban development think tank), where he advised the Chinese government on property taxation, sustainable cities, and rural land reform. Nick also served as interpreter for a Sino-British documentary on Beijing’s Forbidden City.
Nick has a M.A. in International Affairs and a bachelor’s degree from American University. He joined Equilibrium after completing his MBA at Northwestern University. He also speaks and reads fluent Mandarin Chinese.
When not building Equilibrium’s presence in the greenhouse sector, Nick enjoys building things with his hands and continuing the family legacy of carpentry.
Thomas Zoellner
Secretary General of Farm Tech Society
Tom Zoellner is a proven expert for innovative agri-tech initiatives in metropolitan spaces and has 25 years’ experience in agricultural consulting as well as in business development and sustainability in the food supply chain.
He is the co-founder and the secretary-general of the FarmTech Society based in Brussels after many years being part of the expert networks and policy development working groups in the US and the EU.
Sumanta Talukdar
Chief Executive Officer of Gardin, United Kingdom
Sumanta has a background in Computer Science & Physics. After completing his PhD he worked in the tech industry at companies such as Sharp Laboratories, FujiFilm and BAE Systems.
Gardin was formed in January 2020. In November of the same year, Gardin went on to successfully conclude its initial venture capital fundraising round.
Fabrizio Ticchiarelli
Lead Plant Biologist at Gardin, United Kingdom
Fabrizio is Gardin’s Lead Biologist. Responsible for plant science, grants, running trials with our commercial and academic partners, and helping our team keep a focus on growers and what matters to them.
Fabrizio’s background is in AgTech and Plant Science and he holds joint BSc. And MSc. degrees in Plant Biotechnology from the University of Pisa and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa.
He has a PhD in Plant Science from the University of Cambridge, where he used imaging techniques and genetic tools to study the relationship between environmental conditions, phytohormones and plant growth.
Before his PhD Fabrizio worked at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, Germany. There he was involved in a variety of projects, ranging from designing innovative FRET biosensors, to investigating the links between diurnal cycles and primary metabolism in plants.
John Breedveld
Chief Executive Officer of Grow Group IFS
Chris Higgins
President and General Manager of Hort Americas
Chris is the President and General Manager of Hort Americas, LLC (HortAmericas.com) a wholesale supply company servicing all aspects of the commercial horticultural industries.
He is also owner of UrbanAgNews.com (online education content provider) and was a founding partner of the Foundation for the Development of Controlled Environment Agriculture and the International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture in Panama. With over 20 years of industry experience, Chris is dedicated to the commercial horticulture industry and is inspired by the current opportunities for continued innovation in the field of controlled environment agriculture.
Chris is a leader in providing technical assistance to businesses, including commercial greenhouse operations, state-of-the-art hydroponic vegetable facilities, vertical farms, and tissue culture laboratories. In his role at Hort Americas he works with seed companies, manufacturers of horticultural supplies and equipment, growers and universities regarding the development of projects, new products and ultimately the creation of brands. Chris’ role includes everything from sales and marketing to technical support and general management/owner responsibilities.
David Farquhar
Chief Executive Officer of IGS Limited
David serves as the CEO at IGS, a Scottish-based agritech business.
Sara Segergren
Sustainable Innovation Leader at IKEA, Sweden
Sara is an Innovation leader for sustainable innovation at Ingka Group and has more than 13 years of experience in leading sustainability innovation projects.
Daniel Kats
Executive Vice President of Corporate Sales for Infarm
Daniel is EVP of Corporate Sales for Infarm, a pioneering on-demand farming service, providing urban communities with fresh, nutritious products by distributing smart vertical farms across the city, directly where people live and eat.
His client portfolio includes: Kroger in the USA; Sobeys, Safeway and Thrifty Foods in Canada; Marks and Spencer, Whole Foods, Selfridges, and Budgens in the UK; Edeka AG, Aldi Süd, Kaufland, Metro AG, Bünting Ag (Combi and Famila), Selgros, Globus, REWE Group, Dohle (HIT), and Markant in Germany; arrefour, Auchan, Intermarche, Casino Group, Monoprix, System U in France; as well as Migros (Switzerland), Coop and IRMA (Denmark), Albert Heijn (Netherlands), and Kinokuniya and Summit in Japan.
Online clients also include Farmdrop (UK), Amazon Fresh (DE), Flink (DE), Gorillas (DE, UK, NL), Farmy (CH), and Mon Marche (FR).
Eri Hayashi
Vice President and Director – International Relations and Consulting for Japan Plant Factory Association
Eri Hayashi is Vice President/Director of International Relations and Consulting, Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA), a non-profit organisation devoted to academic and business advancements in the Plant Factory / Vertical Farm/CEA industry.
Clément Tischer,
Head of Innovation & Partnerships for Metro, Germany
Clément has more than 7 years experience in the startup ecosystem from startup perspective as a co-founder and corporate perspective as co-initiator of NX-Food.
NX-Food stands for Next Generation Food. Our recipe: Expertise, Network and Implementation. NX-Food advises METRO and its partners on the implementation of innovation processes, sustainable food concepts, technology and product innovations as well as corporate venturing activities. Their wide array of strategic cooperations and a network of founders, culinary & scientific experts, customers, investors and corporates make NX-Food the hub for the future of food – as well for established food companies as for startups. More info at nx-food.com
Gioia Massa
Life Sciences Project Scientist - Space Crop Production for NASA, United States
Gioia Massa is a NASA scientist at Kennedy Space Center working on space crop production for the International Space Station and future exploration endeavors.
Nate Storey
Co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Plenty Unlimited, United States
Nate leads science and innovation for Plenty’s cutting-edge vertical farm technologies.
Nate received his Ph.D. in Agronomy from the University of Wyoming with an emphasis in vertical plane hydroponic production. He also received his Bachelor’s and Masters of Science degrees in Agriculture Science from the University of Wyoming.
Cindy van Rijswick
Expert – Fresh Produce for Rabobank Research Food & Agribusiness, Netherlands
Cindy is a senior research analyst within the 80-strong global Rabobank Research Food & Agribusiness team.
Sanjeev Krishnan
Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of S2G Ventures
Sanjeev has nearly 20 years of experience in sourcing, executing, managing and exiting venture and private equity investments, with a focus in agriculture and food companies.
Andreas Dahlin
Chief Executive Officer of Swegreen, Sweden
Andreas Dahlin is co-founder and CEO of Scandinavia’s no.1 Vertical Farming and AgTech venture, Swegreen, leading the company’s disruptive approach to food industry with its Farming as a Service (FaaS) concept.
Swegreen has created an In-Store Vertical Farming platform which is taking hydroponic growing system to a hyper-locally applicable model into supermarkets and restaurants. With circular and super-efficient cultivation units – fully automated and AI-driven – Swegreen’s FaaS-concept also includes an innovative subscription-based business model.
Mark Horler
Chairman of UK Urban AgriTech
Mark has been involved in the Vertical Farming industry for around 8 years. He is the Founder & Chairman of UK Urban AgriTech (UKUAT) collective, bringing together the leading companies, universities & individuals in the UK urban agritech industry.
In his work he has dealt extensively with industry standardisation, sustainability certification, vertical farming education and vertical farming policy. His expertise is in building networks and associations that maximise value for their members, and for the industry as a whole.
Mark’s primary interest is in taking a systemic overview of how vertical farming can be integrated with other systems, to deliver on its promises of regenerative food production and resilient societies.
Dr Sairam Reddy Palicherla
Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of UrbanKisaan Farms, India
Dr. Sairam is a passionate researcher and entrepreneur, aimed towards developing environmentally safe and sustainable agricultural technologies.
He is the Co-Founder of Urbankisaan, a vertical farmning company, and currently he is leading the R&D and production oprations. Urbankisaan is specialized in growing Indian vegetables in Hydroponics and focussed primarily on decentralized micro-vertical farms attached to retail outlets. Urbankisaan is listed in the top 10 most influential projects in India for the year 2020 by Project Management Institute. Recently Urbankisaan was also awarded “Start-up of the Year 2021” by Economic Times."
Guy Elitzur
Chief Executive Officer of Vertical Field, Israel
Guy Elitzur holds significant management experience in the ag-tech and bio-tech fields. He previously headed up STK Bio-ag Technologies (STK), a leading global crop protection company as its CEO and served as a member of the board.
Jamie Burrows
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vertical Future
Jamie Burrows is Founder and CEO of Vertical Future, which he set up in 2016 following 10 years working in Health, Life Sciences, and Economic Regeneration.
Jesper Hansen
Chief Commercial Officer of YesHealth Group, Taiwan
YesHealth Group, based in Taiwan, is a mission-driven company with the goal to transform agriculture and create sustainable practices that do not harm the environment.
Agritecture workshop
On Monday 20 September, Agritecture will host a four-hour workshop on planning your commercial urban farming business.
Hosted by Agritecture Founder and CEO, Henry Gordon-Smith and Lead Agronomist, David Ceaser, the workshop will focus on providing participants with a clear understanding of how to think strategically and avoid mistakes when it comes to planning an urban farming business.
Participants will receive access to Agritecture Designer, Agritecture's proprietary urban farm planning software. This workshop will utilise Agritecture Designer and participants will work in teams to complete a design workshop to explore how urban agriculture might fit in with their current projects or long-term goals.
The Agritecture workshop is an optional Congress add-on, available to online attendees for just £110.
Workshop sessions:
11.00 - 11.10 |
Intro |
General introductions |
11.10 - 11.50 |
Lesson 1 |
Introduction to Commercial Urban Farming
|
11.50 - 12.30 |
Lesson 2 |
Choosing Your Equipment, Crops & Marketing
|
12.30- 12.45 |
Lesson 3 |
Considerations for Greenhouse Technology, presented by New Growing System
|
12.45 -13.00 |
Lesson 4 |
Considerations for Vertical Farming Technology, presented by LettusGrow
|
13.00 - 13.30 |
Break/ Networking |
Lunch - Break into breakout groups |
13.30 - 14.30 |
Design Workshop |
Teams work independently |
14.30 - 14.35 |
Break |
|
14.35 - 14.50 |
Final Presentations |
Team presentations |
14.50 - 15.00 |
Closing Thoughts |
For further information, contact events@zenithglobal.com
Networking
Expand your network
Zenith Global’s conferences have become renowned for providing extensive networking opportunities. At our 2021 virtual events, we aim to create even more ways for you to expand your network, with access to all delegates through the instant chat and 1-1 video meeting functions:
- Give attendees an instant introduction to who you are through your customisable profile. Build your profile with additional links, such as your LinkedIn profile, Twitter and Skype accounts.
- View all event attendees and use search filters to find those who are most relevant to your needs. See who is online on the event platform in real-time.
- Invite and schedule meetings with delegates and speakers, especially in the dedicated networking breaks. Start an instant video call with online attendees. Invite additional delegates to join the call to facilitate a wider conversation.
- Instantly connect with other attendees through the instant messaging function.
- Access the platform ahead of the conference to begin building your profile and start networking, with ongoing access in the months following the event.
Zenith Global's 2021 virtual events will be hosted through industry-leading online event platform, Engagez.
For a guided tour of Zenith Global's 2021 virtual event platform, please view our preview video here.
Virtual event preview
For a guided tour of Zenith Global's 2021 virtual event platform, please view our preview video:
If you have any questions, please reach us at events@zenithglobal.com.
Testimonials
“A great event with an excellent organization team behind and a good choice of topics. Outstanding moderator in the Q+A sessions.” Christine Zimmermann-Loessl, Association for Vertical Farming
"Great conference for high levels of information, as well as, detailed information on CEA.” Melanie Corey-Ferrini, 3.14DC
“An excellent event, not to be missed” Harriet Duncalfe, Berrygardens Ltd
"Surprisingly cost effective relative to the value of what can be gained from the conference. Surprised to be able to be jet lagged without leaving home!” David Brault Enphase Project Management
“I've attended the Congress as an external operator (not currently involved in VF) and found it extremely informative. Excellent platform to establish connections and networking too.” Martino Picotti, Proriented
“The platform used for this recent event was exceptionally intuitive and straightforward. The host from Zenith asked clear and concise questions and it was enlightening to see vertical farmers of all business sizes and technologies bring experience, expertise and skills to the screen.” Innovation Agri Tech.
“The congress allowed us to visit vertical farms from different part of the word easily.” Gilda Carrasco, University of Talca, Chile
“Excellent work from the team and very helpful. Well done” Grahame Dunling, Uns Farms
“You managed to demonstrate that a virtual event has absolute value and is a great platform to meet people!”
“The congress was well organized -everything went smoothly. Topics were diverse and engaging, and they managed to conduct virtual tours of the farms which I found fascinating. I'd definitely love to attend the 2021 VF World Congress!” Semillar Translations
Awards
The industry's only Vertical Farming World Awards are designed to celebrate excellence and innovation across every category of the packaged water industry.
The awards are a great way for you to attract validation for present and potential future investors, enhance your brand and ensure your product, concept or campaign is recognised on an international scale.
Entries are open until 13 August, and the winners will be announced at Zenith Global's 2021 Vertical Farming World Congress
The categories
Crops
- Best Crop Innovation
- Best Crop Enhancement
- Best Yield Improvement
Technology
- Best Lighting Development
- Best AI/Automation Development
- Best Climate Control Innovation
- Best Farm Design Innovation
Sustainability
- Best Energy Efficiency
- Best Sustainability Initiative
- Best Water Saving Initiative
- Best Community Initiative
Financial
- Best Profitability Improvement
- Best Return on Investment
Commercial
- Best Brand Marketing
- Best Retail Innovation
- Best at Home Innovation
- Best New Business
Products can be entered into multiple categories.
For more information, visit the awards page on our website or contact awards@zenithglobal.com.
| Pay by 31 Dec Super saver | Pay by 26 Jul Early booking rate | Pay by 20 Sep Standard booking rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Congress | Standard virtual | £375.00 | £425.00 | £475.00 |
| Concession virtual* | £175.00 | £195.00 | £225.00 | |
| Student virtual | £100.00 | |||
| Group booking rate (four attendees)** | £1,395.00 | |||
| Group booking rate (unlimited attendees)** | £1,995.00 |
Substitutions will be accepted up to 16 September. Cancellations will be subject to £80 + VAT administration charge and cannot be made after 26 July. Bookings are subject to Zenith Global Event Terms and Conditions, available here.
*A concession rate is offered to start-ups and early-stage entrepreneurs. To be eligible, companies must have annual sales below £1 million. For more information and to book at this rate, please contact events@zenithglobal.com
**To access our group booking rates (for four or more delegates from the same organisation), please contact events@zenithglobal.com.
e events@zenithglobal.com t +44 (0)1225 327900
Sponsorship
Our 2021 Vertical Farming World Congress offers a unique and effective opportunity to showcase your brand and services to a highly relevant audience.
Download the full list of sponsorship opportunities here.
Packages include the following capabilities:
- Deliver a presentation of up to 15 minutes within the main event programme.
- Host a roundtable or workshop.
- Virtual tour of your factory or plant.
- Regular mentions in Zenith Global's event marketing emails and social media posts.
- View all event attendees and use search filters to find those individuals who are most relevant to your needs.
- Give attendees an instant introduction to who you are and your networking goals through your customisable profile. Build your profile with additional links, such as your company website and LinkedIn.
- Invite and schedule meaningful 1-1 video meetings with delegates and speakers throughout the day. Invite additional delegates to join the call to facilitate a wider conversation.
- Customise your dedicated sponsor page with downloadable multimedia content and messaging.
- Instant feedback and interaction using real-time interactive features such as polling and Q&A. Attendees can share documents, chat with other attendees and share their views and opinions.
- Take advantage of your virtual booth where you can instantly connect with interested attendees, simulating a real-life event.
- Use measurable event analytics that captures real-time valuable data and insights, promoting lead generation and showing positive ROI.
- Revisit the portal in the weeks following the event to re-watch recorded sessions and access important information and contact details that may have been missed initially.
- Headline or category sponsorship of our Global Water Drinks Awards scheme.
- Stay relevant and connected to your existing clients and reach new audiences.
- Raise your brand awareness and learn from your industry peers.
- Use your time more effectively, as you no longer need to worry about logistics, travel, accommodation etc.
- Reduce your impact on the environment as you lower your carbon footprint by going digital.
Click HERE to download the full list of sponsorship opportunities.
Tailored bespoke packages are also offered to better suit your needs and budget.
For more information, please contact Francesca Hall, Associate Director - Events
e fhall@zenithglobal.comhall@zenithglobal.com t +44 (0)1225 327900
