Meet our WEO Singapore Speakers

Ben Dellaert

WEO AI Global Expert Group, Netherlands

Ben Dellaert has been a member of WEO since 1999 and served as Chairman between 2015 and 2017. Ben chairs the WEO Avian Influenza Global Expert Group, a combination of top experts and scientists from across the globe that have been brought together to propose practical solutions to avian influenza in the short, medium and long term.

Boris Okada

Akita Foods Co., Ltd., Japan

Mr Boris Okada is the Chairman Director of Akita Foods Co., Ltd – a major Japanese agribusiness company that specialises in poultry and egg production.

Akita is one of the largest players is Japan’s egg and egg-products market. The business manages millions of laying hens across multiple domestic locations, overseeing everything from parent stock to shell eggs distribution.

Boris gained experience in various senior roles at Marubeni – one of the largest trading houses in Japan.

Brad McAuliffe

Surf Coast Eggs, Australia

Brad McAuliffe is CEO of Surf Coast Eggs, where he leads the organisation with a strong focus on sustainability, operations and strategic partnerships. A passionate poultry farmer and entrepreneur, Brad began his career as a chicken catcher before progressing through various areas of the poultry industry and establishing his own layer business.

His first-hand industry experience, spanning poultry handling and farm operations, has shaped his approach to building and growing a successful egg business. Brad’s work has been recognised through industry accolades, including The Australian Young Entrepreneur Award (Food & Beverage) and the 2025 Smart50 Regional Business Award.

Cristabel Huerta

HATO Agricultural Lighting, Netherlands

Cristabel Huerta is an internationally recognised livestock lighting specialist and passionate advocate for animal welfare. With a background in International Trade and bringing over seven years of experience at HATO Agricultural Lighting, she combines business development expertise with hands-on industry knowledge to help poultry producers worldwide transform scientific insights into practical lighting strategies that improve animal wellbeing, productivity, and farm sustainability.

A sought-after speaker and trainer, Cristabel has educated audiences across the globe through technical talks, industry events, webinars, and on-farm training programmes. Driven by her motto, “Light is Life,” she continues to inspire the poultry sector to embrace innovative, welfare-focused solutions that create lasting value for animals, farmers, and the industry as a whole.

Edison Liu

Techlex Foods International, China

Edison Liu is Vice President of Techlex Foods International and has over 18 years of experience in the global agri-food industry, specialising in the layer and egg value chain. He maintains extensive connections with leading layer farming and egg processing enterprises both at home and abroad.

With global business experience across Asia, Europe, Africa and North America, Edison possesses sharp insights into global egg industry trends and regional market dynamics. He has conducted extensive field visits to international layer farms and retail channels for egg products.

Edwin Chen

Bounty Plus, Philippines

Edwin Chen is a member of the WEO Executive Board and has been President of his family’s business, Bounty Plus, for 30 years. Bounty is one of the largest poultry integrators in the Philippines, managing a complete farm-to-table process, including animal feeds and breeding to retail food products. Bounty’s story started during the 1980s when the Chen family put up one layer house in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, Philippines and introduced the first 5,000 chickens.

Emily Metz

American Egg Board, United States

Emily Metz, President and CEO of the American Egg Board, leads the U.S. egg industry’s marketing and research efforts, driving consumer engagement and industry growth. With a background in law, agriculture, and food policy, she has held leadership roles at the U.S. Dairy Export Council, the National Pork Board, and the USDA.

A passionate advocate for eggs, Emily specialises in brand strategy and crisis communication. At the upcoming conference, she will offer strategies to navigate challenges, build trust, and protect the industry’s public image during crisis.

Erica Bongers

Signify, Netherlands

Erica Bongers is an Animal Lighting Specialist at Signify and holds a Masters degree in Animal Science from Wageningen University & Research. She works with poultry producers, integrators and research partners to translate scientific knowledge on light into practical lighting solutions for broilers, layers and breeders. Her work covers lighting design, dynamic light recipes, on-farm implementation and technical support across international markets. Erica focuses on how lighting can support bird welfare, behaviour and farm performance.

Dr Gonzalo G. Mateos

Dr Gonzalo G. Mateos has worked for 30 years as a nutritionist and feed mill manager for the animal feed industry and is currently an emeritus professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

He holds a BSc in Animal Production, a PhD in Veterinary Science and a second PhD in Animal Science (Poultry). Gonzalo has published over 165 papers in SCI Journals and given more than 600 seminars, lectures, communications, and posters at International Congresses in more than 40 countries for the last 10 years. In this period, he was the mentor and major professor of over 35 PhD and 30 MS thesis. He was Editor in Chief of the Scientific Journal Animal Feed Science and Technology (2005-2013) and a member of the Editorial Board of Poultry Science and Animal Feed Science and Technology, in recent years.

James Han

Hanwei Group, China

As CEO, James Han is responsible for leading a major Chinese egg producing company with automated egg processing and packing facilities – Hanwei Group.

Founded in 1982, the company gradually expanded its chicken farms through scientific breeding and management. In August 1992, the organisation was officially established, becoming the first non-state-owned enterprise group in China formally approved by the state. The group now owns leading modern egg-laying chicken breeding and egg product production enterprises in China and is a leading enterprise in national agricultural industrialisation.

Jurijs Adamovičs

AGROVA International, Latvia

Jurijs Adamovičs is Chairman of Agrova International, one of Europe’s fastest-growing egg and egg products groups. Under his leadership, the business has expanded from a single farm in north-eastern Latvia into a pan-European food and protein company in little more than a decade. Before entering agriculture, he spent most of his career in international banking and financial services. A first-generation entrepreneur born into a family of agronomists, he returned to his roots to build a modern, technology-driven food business.

Khoo Swee Chiow

Adventurer & Author, Singapore

Khoo Swee Chiow quit his job in IT to pursue his passion in adventure. He has summited Mt. Everest three times, skied to the South and North Pole, climbed the Seven Summits, cycled from Singapore to Beijing, swam across the Malacca Strait, kayaked across the Philippines and holds 2 Guinness World Records. After many years of high-altitude pursuit, Khoo has summitted a total of 450 peaks. His next goal is 500.

Upon his return from the North Pole, he was awarded the Singapore Youth Award in Sports and Adventure for the second time. Besides his busy schedule, Swee Chiow has written five inspirational books and is a father of two.

He is Singapore’s first professional adventurer but, to him, he is merely pursuing his passion. Prepare to be inspired!

Nan-Dirk Mulder

Rabobank, Netherlands

Nan-Dirk Mulder is Senior Global Specialist in Animal Protein at Rabobank, providing strategic insights on the global livestock, meat, and egg industries. With a background in agricultural economics from Wageningen University, he has advised on key industry issues across all continents. A sought-after speaker at international conferences, Nan-Dirk offers deep analysis of market trends, trade dynamics, and sustainability.

Dr Nelson Aguilar

LOHMANN BREEDERS GmbH, Chile

Dr Nelson Aguilar is a veterinarian with over 15 years of experience in nutrition, health, production management, and animal welfare of layer hens across rearing and production.

In his role as Country Technical Manager for LOHMANN BREEDERS, he is leading nutritionist for the Americas, setting genetics-aligned nutritional guidelines for clients, delivering technical lectures, and advising clients with solutions tailored to each market.

Maxim Bozhko

MC Shanyrak, Kazakhstan

Maxim is CEO and co-owner of MC Shanyrak, a group of agribusiness companies in Kazakhstan, which include layer and stock farming, and feed mills. Kazakhstan is 100% supplied by domestically produced eggs and Maxim’s operations have recently expanded into egg processing.

He also served as President of the Kazakhstan Egg Producers Association from 2017-2022.

Dr Olivier Espeisse

WEO & IABS, France

Dr Olivier Espeisse is a veterinary leader with over 30 years in global pharmaceutical public affairs. After graduating from Maisons-Alfort Veterinary School in 1981, he began in dairy medicine before transitioning to international industry roles. Now retired, he consults on Public Affairs and serves as Chairman of the International Alliance for Biological Standardization (IABS), a non-profit whose mission is to improve access to vaccines and biological medicines. Olivier also provides HPAI expertise and advice to WEO on a consultancy basis.

Dr Parag Khanna

Leading Global Strategy Advisor, Singapore

Dr Parag Khanna is Founder & CEO of AlphaGeo, a leading AI-powered geospatial analytics platform. He is an internationally bestselling author of seven books, was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Born in India and raised in the UAE, New York and Germany, he has travelled to more than 150 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Peter van Horne

WEO, Netherlands

Peter van Horne is WEO’s Economic Analyst. He is Europe’s premier Poultry Economist and specialises in poultry research projects for government and industry with particular focus on the economics of animal welfare, environmental protection, animal health and international competition. Peter has had a long-standing involvement with WEO, developing the statistical service that WEO provides to members.

Rowan McMonnies

Australian Eggs, Australia

As Managing Director of Australian Eggs since 2016, Rowan McMonnies brings extensive legal and compliance expertise to the egg industry. With a background in commercial law and senior roles at the ACCC, he has advised key agricultural bodies and played a pivotal role in shaping Australia’s free-range egg labelling standards. Known for his strategic insight and stakeholder engagement, Rowan is dedicated to building consumer trust and industry resilience.

Suresh Chitturi

Srinivasa Farms, India

Suresh Chitturi is the Managing Director of Srinivasa Farms – a leading integrated poultry enterprise in India founded in 1965. He previously served as Chair of WEO, representing the Indian poultry industry on the world stage and shaping global conversations on egg safety, nutrition, and food trade standards.

His core conviction is that eggs – and poultry – are India’s most powerful and under-used tool for ending protein deficiency. This is a key driver for his innovative approach at Srinivasa Farms and the Indian egg sector.