Speakers

Matt is Argenta’s Chief Executive Officer, bringing global leadership experience across the pharmaceutical, biotech, CDMO, and CRO sectors. Previously CEO of Abzena, he has also held senior roles at Hospira, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, and Merck, with a strong track record in operational transformation, commercial excellence, and building resilient, growth-oriented organisations. 

Dr. Klaus Hellmann, DVM, is Head of Europe CRO at Argenta, with extensive experience in animal health product development and regulatory approvals. He studied veterinary medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover and began his career at Pfizer Germany. In 1997, he founded Klifovet, leading it as CEO until its acquisition by Argenta in 2022, where he helped establish it as Europe’s leading animal health CRO. Klaus is actively involved in several veterinary and animal health organisations, including AVC, AAVP, AAVPT, and WAAVP.

Laura Payo Lewis has over 15 years of experience in regulatory affairs, specialising in food and feed regulations across the EU and global markets. As Group Leader of Regulatory Affairs at Argenta, she leads regulatory strategy and supports market access for innovative products in animal and human nutrition. She has extensive experience guiding companies through complex approval processes for food ingredients and feed additives. Laura holds a degree in Biotechnology from the University of Salamanca and has research experience from Ghent University.

 Dr. Cornelia Hüttinger is a veterinarian with over 10 years’ experience in the animal health industry. She heads the EU Regulatory Affairs Department and advises companies on regulatory strategies to obtain marketing authorisations for animal health and nutrition products. 

Raymond Ng (Msc, BA) is a Regulatory Affairs Consultant at Reach24h and has extensive knowledge on Pharmaceutical, Chemical Cosmetics, Food and agrochemical import & export regulations. His research specialises in market access policy and standards and the impact it has on international businesses. He has vast insight and practical experience in dealing with Chinese market access requirements and has accumulated a successful track record with supporting international companies with market entry in to China.

Dr. Elisavet Kyriakou is a regulatory toxicologist at Charles River Laboratories, with experience in toxicological evaluation, REACH registration, read-across, (Q)SARs, DNEL/PDE derivation, and classification and labelling. She holds a Neuroscience degree from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in behavioural neuroscience from Radboud University.

Joerg Seifert is Secretary General of FEFANA, the EU association representing specialty feed ingredients and their mixtures. He leads the association’s management, represents members’ interests towards EU institutions and stakeholders, and supports the industry across feed additives, functional ingredients, and premixes. He holds a Food Science and Technology degree from the Technical University of Berlin and an MBA from Henley Management College.

Almudena Rodríguez is a veterinarian with extensive experience in food technology, animal nutrition legislation, and public affairs. She has held senior roles at the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, the European Commission, the Spanish Embassy in Washington DC, and CONXEMAR, and currently works in the area of animal nutrition legislation at the European Commission.

Philippe Becquet is an animal nutritonist (agronomist) and has been active in the feed industry, in various positions (marketing and sales, technical support, team management and regulatory affairs in the EU and globally) since more than 40 years. He has been nominated as ICCF Secretary in 2019, where he is managing experts working groups, for the development of guidance document for the assessment of feed ingredients.

Dr. Kristi Smedley assists clients with submissions such as GRAS, animal and human food additives, feed ingredients and dietary supplements. Her specialties include study development and conduct of animal research. She is a former Chief, Petitions and Regulations Staff, Division of Compliance at FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and has a Ph.D. in Philosophy in Animal Nutrition and Forage Science: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Steven Barbosa is Secretary General at IPIFF, bringing almost 20 years’ experience working with and around EU institutions. He has a strong background in EU affairs, advocacy, and international relations, with over a decade of experience shaping EU policy across the European Parliament, Council of the EU, and European Commission.

Dr. Lisa Conboy-Schmidt is a Global Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Expert at Nestlé Purina R&D, where she leads regulatory approvals for new probiotic ingredients. She holds a BSc in Pharmacology and a PhD in Neuropharmacology from University College Dublin and brings over 15 years’ experience in the pet food sector. 

Justin McCarthy is CEO of GlasPort Bio, bringing over 20 years of senior leadership experience in the agricultural sector. He previously served as CEO and Editor of the Irish Farmers Journal Group and has a strong track record in driving innovation, shaping industry thinking, and delivering science-based solutions for farmers, the agri-food sector, and policymakers.

Owen is the CEO of Meatly, the first company in Europe to ever sell cultivated meat. He was previously a consultant and Bain and Company, and ran one of the first insect-protein facilities globally.

Eliana is an Agricultural Engineer with a PhD in Agricultural and Food Science and Technology and over 10 years of experience in the animal production industry. She combines a strong scientific background with extensive expertise in regulatory affairs, specializing in feed and feed additive registrations, EFSA-compliant studies, EU/UK authorizations, dealing with regulatory authorities and trade associations, regulatory strategic advice, scientific & technical writing, personalized trainings, customer service, and sales. 

Graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the Complutense University of Madrid, she has developed her professional career in the field of animal nutrition, both in the private sector and, since 2008, in the Central Administration. She is currently responsible for the Animal Nutrition Area in the General Subdirectorate for Livestock Production Resources, under the General Directorate for Agricultural Productions and Markets of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Luca is a food technologist with a PhD in agri-food economy and extensive experience in technical and regulatory affairs. He previously held roles at FEFANA and UECBV, specialising in feed law, EU risk assessment, and industry policy. As Technical Director at FEDIAF, he leads the association’s scientific and technical work, supporting members and contributing to evidence-based policymaking for the pet food sector.