Rebecka Milestad.

Rebecka Milestad is a researcher at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) and an adjunct professor in resilient food systems at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). Her research focuses on food preparedness and food resilience from a systemic and interdisciplinary perspective. Among other things, she participates in the Formas-funded research centres PLENTY – centre for symbiotic and circular food provisioning and PLATE – centre for resilient meals.

https://foi.se/
PLENTY. 

Victor Waldenström.

Victor Waldenström is a food entrepreneur and founder of Frankly Foods, where he draws inspiration from time-tested food craftsmanship and historical methods, adapting them to today’s food systems.

With Ingrained – a fermented sausage in which half the meat has been replaced with Swedish grain – Frankly Foods won Ät!Stockholm 2025. Victor believes that the food of the future must be genuinely delicious, feasible to produce, and economically sustainable. Otherwise, it’s unlikely to become the food of the future.

https://franklyfoods.se/

Claudia Poli.

Claudia Poli is a former chef and restaurant owner, and now works as Head of Sales at Natoora Danmark. Claudia draws on her background behind the pass to bridge the gap between independent growers and busy kitchens in a bit to build a more transparent, flavour-led food system. Having experienced firsthand how flavour is lost in conventional supply chains, she now guides culinary teams through every stage of the season, helping chefs build simpler, flavour-first menus that empower local farmers and champion biodiversity.

https://natoora.com

Mary Coote.

Mary Coote is Director of Natoora Danmark and Global Chief Strategy Officer of Natoora, a company working to fix the food system by connecting chefs directly with small-scale farmers.  Bypassing the opaque, consolidated distribution channels that dominate the industry, Natoora works with over 1,500 restaurants across 6 cities, including more than 100 in Copenhagen and Malmö. They source seasonal produce rooted in soil health and flavour rather than efficiency, and build both the supply infrastructure and the market conditions that make agroecological farming viable at scale.

Over more than a decade at Natoora, Mary has helped shape how the company communicates its mission, building awareness around seasonality and highlighting the responsibility that chefs & consumers share in fixing the food system. She is now based in Copenhagen, advocating for the next generation of farmers at a critical moment for Nordic food and farming.

https://natoora.com

Gunnar Eriksson.

Gunnar Eriksson has worked in professional kitchens since 1987, starting his career after culinary school and working at several restaurants in Stockholm before joining Stadshuset (Stockholm City Hall).

Since 2003, he has served as Head Chef of Banquets, crafting tailored menus and experiences to match guests’ expectations. He also sits on the board of Plate, a research center focused on resilient meals, and maintains a close collaboration with Torsåker gård. 

Will Moffat.

Don Maruska.

Don Maruska is an entrepreneur, Master Certified Coach, and author of “Solve Climate Change Now: Do What You Love for a Healthy Planet.” He uses a proven attraction model to help thousands of people around the world match what they love to do with what’s needed for a healthy future. He has a special interest in nature-based solutions for sustainability.

Previously, Don created and led a nationwide coaching program serving 10,000 professionals a year. He’s also the author of “How Great Decisions Get Made: 10 Steps to Reach Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues,” “Take Charge of Your Talent: Three Keys to Thriving in Your Career, Organization, and Life,” and eBook “Grow and Enjoy Your Business: Proven Tools for Success.”

Prior to his coaching career, Don was founder and CEO of three Silicon Valley companies, earning a National Innovator Award. Early in his career, he managed projects with McKinsey & Company serving public and private sector clients. The first in his family to attend college, Don earned his BA magna cum laude from Harvard and his MBA and JD from Stanford University.

Don has appeared on over thirty radio and television interview programs. Fast Company, Inc., Entrepreneur, and other leading publications quote him as an expert. Audiences around the world appreciate the engaging style of his keynote speeches and workshops.

Don and his family live on the shores of Morro Bay on the Central Coast of California.           

Don Maruska on Climate Change: Do What You Love for a Healthy Planet

Maya Hey.

Maya Hey is a postdoctoral researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, studying the ways that we live with microbes like bacteria, moulds, and yeast. She’s the author of the forthcoming book Singing with Invisible Worlds: fermenting sake on microbial timeand is a recent recipient of a Formas Early-Career grant on a project about microbial innovations and the future of food systems.

https://heymayahey.com/ 

Olli Kantanen.

Olli Kantanen has been Finland’s Ambassador to Sweden since 1 September 2025.

Olli Kantanen has been employed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland since 1994. Most recently, Kantanen served as Director General of the Euro-Atlantic Department. Previously, he worked as Director General of the Department for Europe (2022–2024) and Deputy Director General of the same department (2018–2022). From 2014 to 2018, he served as Finland’s Ambassador to Riga. Before that, Kantanen has served as Director of the Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and he has held a number of different EU-related positions both at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and at the Embassy of Finland in Tallinn (2001-2004) and in Berlin (1997-2001).

Olli Kantanen holds a master’s degree in social sciences from Åbo Akademi University. He also holds a degree in European Studies from Tilburg University in the Netherlands. His hobbies include outdoor sports, especially cross-country skiing, cycling, orienteering, and running.

Melina Shannon-DiPietro.

Melina Shannon-DiPietro is Executive Director of MAD (Danish for food). MAD is a global nonprofit on a mission to share the knowledge, tools, and inspiration essential to creating more delicious, just, and regenerative food systems. Prior to MAD, Melina was a director at Friends of the High Line, the organization that transformed an abandoned elevated rail line into one of New York City’s beloved public parks. Melina began her work in food as co-founder of the Yale Sustainable Food Program, where students, faculty, and chefs reimagined college dining halls, built a college garden, and created new academic work around food and the environment. Melina grew up in Albany, New York, USA, and now lives in the countryside outside of Copenhagen, Denmark.

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