Industry Session: a Structured High-signal Conversation across the Value Chain

Thanks to his background in materials physics and his PhD, Giacomo Benassi brought a rigorous scientific approach to the insect sector when he began working in this field in 2016. From his early university research to the founding of Kinsect, where he serves as CEO, he has been at the forefront of building Italy’s insect ecosystem. Currently president of ANIAI, the national association representing Italian insect farmers, Giacomo Benassi is shaping the future of the sector in Italy at both an industrial and institutional level. 

Aaron Hobbs is Executive Director of the North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA), where he leads advocacy, regulatory engagement, and strategic initiatives to advance the insect agriculture sector. His work also includes building the Frass Institute as a platform for evidence-based collaboration around insect frass, soil health, and circular agriculture. His background spans trade association leadership, federal policy, international trade, and agricultural economics. Aaron lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife and three children. 

Hu Jianbang serves as Secretary-General of both the Insect Protein Industry Association and the Pet Industry Association of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce, and Animal By-products（CFNA）. He previously served as Party Branch Secretary of Wangchang Village, Panggezhuang Town, Daxing District, Beijing, and has been honored with the Beijing May Fourth Youth Medal, the title of China’s Top Ten Outstanding Village Officials, and the National May 1st Labor Medal. He once delivered a 13-minute work report to President Xi Jinping . In 2021, he joined the Cereals and Oils Department of CFNA, and in 2024, he was transferred to Animal By- products Department，in charge of insect protein and pet industries.

Over the past three years, he has dedicated himself to advancing the development of China’s insect protein industry, promoting rapid and standardized growth within the sector. He has helped secure the inclusion of insects in the National Feed Catalog, is currently advocating for the inclusion of mealworms in the National New Food Ingredients Catalog, promoting the adoption of industry standards for black soldier flies and other species, and vigorously engaging in international exchange and cooperation.

Christian Ferretti is an animal nutritionist specialized in livestock feeding. He holds a MSc in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Milan, with a focus on livestock production systems.

He currently works as a feed formulation specialist at Ferrero Mangimi, part of the Chiola Group and one of the leading companies in the Italian feed industry. His work focuses on the research and evaluation of innovative feed additives and alternative raw materials for animal nutrition.

In collaboration with the University of Turin, he has contributed to research on the inclusion of Black Soldier Fly meal and oil in ruminant and swine diets, with particular attention to animal health and quality of animal-derived products.

Laura Payo Lewis holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Salamanca and has 15 years of experience in Regulatory Affairs, working across a wide range of food and feed projects in the EU and other major global markets. She began her career in industry with experience in cell culture quality control before moving into regulatory consulting.

Since joining Pen & Tec in 2011, Laura has built extensive expertise in the registration of innovative nutrition products, and supported numerous applicants in successfully navigating complex regulatory frameworks across multiple jurisdictions, including the EU, US, and Latin America.

Currently Group Leader in the Nutrition Regulatory Affairs Department at Argenta in Barcelona, Laura leads a team delivering global regulatory strategies and has a strong passion for helping companies bring innovative feed and food products to market efficiently. She is also actively involved in training, knowledge sharing, and international regulatory discussions.

Yulia Matiuhin, Ph.D., is CTO of the BSF Industries (formerly Entoprotech), where she leads research and technology development harnessing the Black Soldier Fly to convert organic waste into three generation of products from larvae and frass to medicated feed ingredients. A protein biochemist by training, she holds a Ph.D. from the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology — and brings over a decade of BioPharma R&D leadership to the circular economy. She co-leads Israel's national BSF Consortium, supported by the Israel Innovation Authority, and is co-author of ten scientific publications and four patent applications.

Sébastien is founder and CEO of INVERS (https://invers-groupe.fr/) French based company developing around Tenebrio molitor a whole production chain targeted to animal feed and pet food markets. The innovative model of Invers relies on farmers, cooperatives and end-users to bring back circularity and protein sovereignty in the different targeted regions. INVERS also commercializes its own brands (Invers, Tomojo, Moush) in more than 2000 shops in France. Sébastien holds a Ph. D. in agronomy and genetics from AgroParisTech. He formerly worked for the Limagrain group, the European Commission and created and developed a first innovative company, Plant Design, active in green urbanism. INVERS was created in 2018 and joined directly the IPIFF.

Dr. Fabio Brambilla is an accomplished R&D Director and scientific leader with over two decades of expertise in fish nutrition and the development of innovative aquaculture products. He currently serves as the R&D Director at VRM Srl Naturalleva in Verona, Italy, where he drives strategic research initiatives, product innovation, and the advancement of sustainable aquaculture solutions.

Dr. Brambilla's robust academic background forms the foundation of his technical leadership. He earned his Master-level graduation in Biology Sciences from the University of Milan-Bicocca (1997–2003) and subsequently completed his Ph.D. at the University of Insubria within the Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Sciences (2003–2007). Combining advanced molecular and biotechnological insights with practical industry application, Dr. Brambilla possesses a proven track record of translating complex scientific research into high-performance commercial formulations for the aquaculture sector.

Dr. Jeffery K. Tomberlin is a Professor, AgriLife Research Fellow, & Presidential Impact Fellow in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University. With regards to sustainable agriculture, his research efforts for the past 28 years have been developing methods for the production of alternate protein sources for use as livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feed from these resources.  Predominately, these efforts have been accomplished through his research with the black soldier fly. To date, he has edited 8 books, published 35 book chapters and 270+ research articles which have more than 29,000+ citations mostly related to the black soldier fly.

Mr. Bob Holtermans led the transformation of Mush Comb between 2006 and 2010 from a trader of used mushroom machinery into a developer and manufacturer of innovative mushroom cultivation equipment. Over the past 16 years, Bob has built extensive expertise in cultivation processes and mechanization, while consistently demonstrating success in entering new markets and commercializing innovative products.

This expertise led to Mush Comb’s successful entry into the insect farming market in 2017. In 2019, Bob founded Insect Engineers, further expanding his entrepreneurial and technological leadership in the sector.

Bob also brings substantial experience in project management, covering both the development and commercialization phases of innovative solutions. Combined with his strong customer focus and commitment, he plays a key role in the continued success and growth of both companies.

Dr. Idan Alyagor is Co-founder and CTO of FreezeM, an insect-protein company spun out of the Weizmann Institute in 2018. For 8 years he has led FreezeM's technology development for Black Soldier Fly (BSF) breeding, built its industry and academic collaborations, scaled up the company's German breeding facility as managing director (FreezeM GmbH together with Hermetia GMBH), and led implementation of FreezeM's products into customer operations — taking the technology from lab concept to commercial-scale deployment.

Aude Guo is a board member at IPIFF an co-founder of Innovafeed, a French biotech company pioneering insect-based ingredients for animal and plant nutrition. A former McKinsey consultant with an MBA and engineering background, she has helped scale vertical insect farming operations, advancing circular, sustainable food systems.

Adriana Casillas, born in Salamanca in 1983, is co-founder and CEO of Tebrio, the first Spanish company dedicated to the industrial farming and processing of the insect Tenebrio molitor for animal feed, plant nutrition, and industrial applications, leading the sector since 2014. With an MBA specialized in the agri-food industry, she has driven Tebrio to become a global benchmark in biotechnology and sustainability. Casillas serves as President of the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF) and is an ambassador for the European Union’s Climate Pact.

Marc Bolard is Co-founder and CEO of Nãsekomo, developing efficient and sustainable insect-based proteins and co-products for feed and pet food. With a background in agronomy, dairy cattle genetic improvement and agri-tech entrepreneurship, he brings experience across innovation, circular bioeconomy and scalable food-chain solutions.