Culture Excellence seminar

Bertrand Emond, Campden BRI

Bertrand has a wealth of knowledge, experience and connectivity from working here at Campden BRI since 1988. Bertrand has a Master's in Food Science & Technology (Dijon, France) and a Master's of Business Administration (Bath, UK).

Bertrand is passionate about supporting the industry in the areas of skills, knowledge, training, learning and development, competency and achieving culture excellence through behaviour change. He won the 2020 BRCGS CEO Europe Award recognising his commitment and contribution to food safety and the 2014 Heinz Award for Excellence for Leadership in Collaborative CPD for the Industry (in particular for his role in supporting competency and CPD, promoting the food industry as a career of choice, and providing collaboration between all stakeholders).

Dr Joanne Taylor, TSI

BSc Psychology, PgCert Education and Research, PgCert HACCP, PhD Risk Management and Behaviour Change

Joanne is a qualified psychologist, educator and researcher, with a PhD in risk management and behaviour change. Over the past 20 years she has taken a multi-disciplinary, innovative approach to a diverse range of academic, government and industry programs across multiple countries.

1. Academia: Joanne has led University MSc modules in Organisational Culture, International Business, Research Methods (Survey Design), Food Safety and HACCP, in the UK and UAE. She has authored a large number of peer-reviewed journal articles, including highly commended articles on organisational culture.

2. Government: Joanne has consulted to governments of the UK, Thailand, Brunei, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Qatar, as well as working on projects for the World Health Organisation / Food Agriculture Organisation (WHO/FAO). She has led large scale government programs to bring about improvements in safety and quality on a national scale.

3. Industry: Joanne has worked with a diverse range of companies as a trainer, auditor, researcher and culture assessor. She has led the development of innovative industry systems and tools to support organisations with their culture that are used in over 85 countries around the world.

Corinne Begueria, Group Quality & Food Safety Director, Bel Group

Corinne Begueria serves as the Quality & Food Safety Director at Bel Group, where she leads the development and implementation of global strategies to ensure safe products for “all and everywhere.”

Her mission spans the creation, dissemination, and enforcement of robust quality and food safety standards across all of Bel’s industrial operations, factories, and product lines. Under her guidance, these practices are harmonized to meet the Group’s ambitious safety and quality goals worldwide.

With over 30 years of dedicated experience at Bel, Corinne brings a wealth of multidisciplinary expertise. Her career journey includes pivotal roles in research, innovation & development, industrial operations, and corporate quality management. This diverse background empowers her with a deep understanding of the entire product lifecycle—from concept to consumer. She is part of the EHEDG Working Group 'Air Handling'.

Ian Booth, Global Vice President - Food Safety and Quality, Martin Brower

Ian is Global Vice President for Food Safety and Quality at Martin Brower, providing global leadership for food safety and quality processes. Overseeing compliance to MB and Customer standards in all markets, development of strategic food safety and quality business plans and ensuring compliance with all legal requirements. Martin Brower architects the future of supply through smart, sustainable solutions that fuel our customers’ growth ambitions and positively impact the communities in which we live and work.

Valerie Dhont, Quality & Food Safety Director, The Coca-Cola Company

Valerie Dhont is a seasoned people manager with 25 years of experience at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and The Coca-Cola Company. Currently serving as Quality & Food Safety Director, she leads the design, development, and governance of long-term strategies, ensuring compliance and continuous improvement. Valerie began her career at Breweries Alken-Maes (Danone), where she led the site quality control department and implemented ISO9001 & HACCP certification across multiple production sites. She holds a master’s degree in Bio Engineering, specializing in Food Technology, Chemistry, and Microbiology.

Prof Bizhan Pourkomailian, Director - Global Food Safety Restaurant & Distribution McDonald's

Bizhan holds an Hons. Degree in Biochemistry, PhD in Microbial Physiology from Aberdeen University, MBA from Warwick University and is a visiting professor at Cranfield University.

His professional career began in 1994 with Unilever conducting research in S. aureus, Bacilli and managing the botulinum laboratory. In 1997 he moved to Leatherhead Food International as Principal Scientist, engaged in developing, training, and auditing food safety systems across the supply chain. January 2000, he joined McDonald’s Europe as Food Safety Manager overseeing food safety systems across the European Supply Chain from land to hand. His responsibilities grew to cover packaging safety, crisis management and Social Accountability. In 2015 he was promoted to Global Director for Restaurant and Distribution. In his career, Bizhan has been responsible for establishing, maintaining, and driving for continuous improvement of food safety systems, culture, and requirements within it. He is on various advisory boards and committees with professional bodies and academia, including EFSA emerging risk, BRCGS, FSSC and ISO.

Raul Jesus Mesa Gonzalez, Senior Manager - Microbiology and Standardization, Coca Cola Europe Pacific Partners

Raul Jesus Mesa Gonzalez was born in Barcelona in 1980. In 2007 he obtained a PhD in Clinical Microbiology from the Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.

In 2008 he started his career in the Coca Cola bottling plant of Barcelona as a quality operator. Since then he has developed different roles in the quality and food safety system. He is currently part of the central QESH team of Coca Cola Europe Pacific Partners and is the senior manager for Microbiology and Standardization.

Neil Marshall, Managing Director, Guv Consulting International LLC

Neil retired as the Global Director Quality & Food Safety, in Nov 2020 from The Coca-Cola Company after 21 years. Neil held a variety of supply chain roles in the UK & Europe before relocating to Atlanta, USA in 2009. Neil built the Corporate Quality & Food Safety team and led the introduction of GFSI compliance across >1,000 plants and 5,000 suppliers, with critical experience in Crisis Management, M&A, Risk Assessment, Supplier Management, Technical Governance and Public Private Partnerships.

During his career, Neil worked in over 80 countries on every continent, acting as the global technical lead for Olympics and World Cups.

Neil was Vice Chair of GFSI and President of SSAFE, engaging externally in many conferences, and industry forums with governments and regulators.

Steven Oliver, Transformational Leader

Steven Oliver is a transformational leader with a broad range of experience across Food Safety, Quality and Operations, gathered over 25 years. Steven is value-driven with a reputation of enabling businesses to delight consumers with trusted brands including Müller, Cadbury Desserts and now PepsiCo’s iconic portfolio…. think Pepsi, 7Up, Lays, Doritos and Quaker to name just a few!

Since joining PepsiCo in 2012, Steven has held a range of roles, leading teams across Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

During this time, he has enabled the Food Safety & Quality integration of business acquisitions in Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. Steven is passionate about developing talent and nurturing Food Safety & Quality leaders of the future and has led a range of initiatives to strengthening quality and food safety culture in different food businesses.

Valeria Santivetti, Regulated Risks and Culture of Q&FS Manager, Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A.

Valeria Santivetti is Regulated Risks and Culture of Q&FS Manager at Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A., a multinational food company and a key player in the pasta, sauces, and baked goods sectors. Founded in 1877, Barilla is now present in over 100 countries worldwide.

Valeria initially joined Barilla in the Analytical & Food Science Team, focusing on emerging risks and mycotoxin quantification. She later moved to the Q&FS Governance Team, where her responsibilities include identifying and mitigating food safety and food fraud risks, developing and managing HACCP and Food Defence guidelines, and promoting a culture of quality through continuous improvement initiatives across the organization.

Valeria successfully led the implementation of the Culture Excellence Survey in 28 Barilla plants and in corporate functions, further strengthening the company’s culture of quality and food safety. This project led to her current role, where Valeria combines scientific expertise with a deep passion for food safety and quality management.

She holds a degree in Food Science and Technology and a Master's in Food Safety and Risk Management from the University of Parma. For her thesis project, she joined Queen’s University of Belfast at the Institute of Global Food Security, where she focused on food fraud, further deepening her expertise in the field.

In addition to her university education, Valeria has obtained several certifications. Some of these include the VACCP & TACCP certification, PCQI, and the Level 4 Award in HACCP.