Daniel Kruse | Hempro Int. GmbH & HempConsult GmbH | Germany
Daniel, who has been in the hemp industry since 1995, is a senior advisor to entrepreneurs, startups, investors and other industry stakeholders through HempConsult GmbH, an independent consulting firm. Hempro Int. GmbH is a vertically integrated Dusseldorf-based producer and wholesaler of hemp foods, bulk raw materials for food, textiles, accessories and cosmetics. Daniel currently serves as President of the European Industrial Hemp Association.
Mohamad Johan | HempTech Malaysia
Mohamad is President & Founder at Malaysia HempTech Industrial Research Association (MHIRA), a sustainability-focused NGO that is supported by the Malaysian Ministry for Industrial Hemp Research. The organization is active in public education, consulting, research and development as it advances the application of hemp in building materials, biomass and biofuel, plastics, paper, agriculture, food, and health & nutrition. He formed MHIRAS in 2010, and since that time has organized more than 100,000 Malaysian students through a nationwide zero waste campaign. Born and raised in Singapore, Mohamad migrated to Malaysia with his family when he was 12. He attended secondary schools in Melaka and was selected to join a two-year governmental integration school program based in Sabah. Empowering communities has been his passion since he graduated from a local college in 2006, after which he taught refugees and local students in Malaysia.
Quanuquanei ‘Q.’ Karmue | Save More Kids, Inc. | Liberia
Q. is Executive Director at Save More Kids, an NGO dedicated to providing the resources, education and action necessary to create a bright future for children who suffered as a result of the Liberian Civil War at the beginning of the century. Among other initiatives, Save More Kids has a goal to purchase up to 100,000 acres of land throughout Liberia over the next 3-5 years to sow hemp and empower local communities. Having fled war-torn Liberia as a child during the Civil War, Q. emigrated to the United States, where he eventually completed an undergraduate degree at Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), and a Masters of Fine Arts Degree at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). He is the author of “WITNESS: A Civil War Through The Eyes of A Child.”
Hugh Napier | AlmaStone | United Kingdom
Hugh brings a background in commodities trading and financial services to the emerging industrial hemp sectors, with a mission to advance hemp as a new global agricultural commodity. AlmaStone offers financing solutions at each stage of the supply chain for cannabinoids, industrial fiber, and hemp grain. Hugh’s experience includes more than seven years in agricultural commodities trading; he was a trading associate in Cargill’s World Trading Group in Geneva, and a business development executive and trader at ED&F Man Asia. His academic degrees include an MA in International Trading, Commodity Finance and Shipping from University of Geneva; an MA in Economic History from the University of Edinburgh; and an HNC in Agriculture from Scottish Agricultural College.
Sanford Stein | Lowis & Gellen LLP; Cannabis Law LLC | USA
Sanford has broad and far reaching experience in every aspect of cannabis law and policy, environmental law, renewable energy, land use law, urban economic development, government relations and procurement. He is a leading authority in the regulated cannabis industry with emphasis in government regulations, legislation and business opportunities. Highly skilled in providing business solutions to government problems, permits and regulations, Sandy has legislative experience at every level of government, and has appeared as lead counsel before the United States Supreme Court.
Wolf Jordan | Wolf Jordan & Co. | Belgium
Wolf is one of Europe’s leading experts in eco-construction and the production of high quality natural paints, plasters and renders for the building industry. He is the founder and sole owner of Wolf Jordan & Co., which operates out of Greenbizz, a Brussels-based incubator that backs growth of startups and small firms focused on sustainability. Wolf’s company produces binder formulas for hempcrete construction, and natural oils and waxes for wood and stone. An old-world craftsman with more than 36 years’ experience in natural materials, Wolf is also a lecturer, educator and innovator who has worked on building projects all over the world.
Bilabh Shrestha | Cosmic Annunaki | Nepal
Bilabh founded Cosmic Annunaki, a producer of hemp charcoal and hemp charcoal byproducts in 2014 with a goal to revolutionize industrial hemp as a cash crop in Nepal. The company’s business is in processing the hemp stem into an organic, edible substance that has a variety of positive health effects; hemp charcoal also can be valuable in soil remediation. Cosmic Annunaki’s mission is to mobilize rural populations to develop production of hemp charcoal from Nepal’s many native original cannabis breeds, preserving those breeds for posterity, and for the betterment of the earth.
Thomas Kloepfer | Pitchfork Farms | Japan (USA)
Originally from Athens, Georgia, in the United States, Thomas operates Pitchfork Farms, a small-scale organic farm in Onomichi, Japan. He is currently a Ph.D candidate at Hiroshima University studying in the department of Development Policy, and focusing on environmental economics. Thomas’ main research area concerns hemp farming in Japan and Nepal, and the potential opportunities for hemp and sustainable agriculture. When he is not researching, Thomas manages his farm, which provides providing organic food to his family and community.
Hana Gabrielova | Hempoint | Czech Republic
Hana, founder and CEO at Hempoint, is one of Europe’s pioneering and most innovative hemp entrepreneurs and activists. She is a widely recognized expert and consultant on everything from hemp farming to patient focused certification (PFC) for medical cannabis, through her affiliation with the Prague-based International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute. Hana’s company advises farmers on hemp cultivation, and is an organic hemp food producer.
Nando Knodel | Monophases SRL | Germany
Nando is co-founder and CFO at Monophases, a green-tech startup working in hemp trading and the development of related cutting-edge technology the hemp industry needs to thrive. The tools being developed by Monophases aim to give the industrial hemp sectors long-term competitive advantages by placing hemp among the vital commodities of the future bio-economy. Based in Hamburg, Germany’s leading trade & technology hub, Nando studied at the University of Hamburg and Kyoto University in Japan. He has experience in market research and global social entrepreneurship with deepened skills and understanding of scientific research, ethical business and inclusive economies.
Muhammed A Qayyum, | Fytocina SL | Spain & Pakistan
Muhammed is a natural products specialist and innovator working in herbals and nutraceuticals. He has served as an officer in a number of professional groups in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and traditional medicine sectors. Muhammed served a a consultant to the World Health Organization in 2003 and 2005, advising on Good Manufacturing Practices, policy and regulatory framework for traditional medicines.
Eline Verheul | Ceylon Hemp Effect | Sri Lanka (Holland)
Company co-founder, creative consultant and fine artist, Eline has been engaged in social empowerment programs globally since 2006. Eline went to Sri Lanka in early 2014 as a project coordinator for international internships. She saw great potential to implement her creative skills for start-ups in Sri Lanka and continued her career as a creative consult. In more recent years Eline developed a strong interest for the green-label beverage industry and is currently engaged in an initiative to introduce High Pressure Processing to the Sri Lanka. Eline has extensive experience in business development, sales and marketing, and holds a bachelor degree of fine arts and design in education from the HKU Art University in Utrecht – The Netherlands.
Patryk Czech | Afori, sp. z. o.o | Poland
Patryk is founder of Afori sp. z o.o., a hemp agricultural firm based in the Silesian city of Katowice, Poland. Afori this year put in hemp on 300 ha, of which 100 are organic-certified lands. His firm has its own land and has put together a consortium of farmers from whom it contracts additional fields where it deploys customized hemp harvesting technology. Patryk, who works works up and down the hemp value chain with farmers in Poland and Romania, is among an ambitious, creative cadre of young entrepreneurs who are fueling a small but fast-moving hemp revival in Poland. He formerly worked in cyber security.
Ashana Dar Farooq | R&D Advisor | Pakistan
Ashana is former Dean of the Hamdard Al-Majeed College of Eastern Medicine, Hamdard University, Karachi, where she continues as an adjunct professor. She holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Cambridge, U.K., and is a specialist in the pharmacology of medicinal plants with more than 40 years teaching and research experience. During her tenure at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS, University of Karachi) she supervised 10 PhD and M. Phil scholars in the field of antidepressants, anti inflammatory and anti cancer research. She also holds three patents related to the development and safe formulation of compounds from medicinal plants. Ashana is an R&D consultant to Medics Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Karachi and Fytocina S.L., Barcelona.
Robin Destiche | U.S. Hemp Brokerage LLC | USA
Robin arrived at U.S. Hemp Brokerage after taking two years off following a decade in the hospitality industry. In addition to his role at U.S. Hemp Brokerage, Robin is working on an initiative to offer hemp-derived products to the $570 billion dollar global hospitality industry. He found hemp while hiking in the Himalayas in India, and sees Asia as a major source for such products. Robin has a background in executive leadership, brand management, strategic planning, financial awareness and employee development — all of which he is applying to the hemp landscape.
Nivedita & Dhiraj Shah | SHIV | Nepal
The Shahs are founders of Shah Hemp Inno-Ventures, Nepal. The company sources hemp “wildcrop” from locals for a growing range of applications and products in health & beauty and hemp construction along with the textiles. Through “hEmpowering Bottom Up,” SHIVworks to advance economic and social development among Nepalese women. SHIV also has completed several hemp construction projects for poor villagers and for public medical facilities.
Kehrt Reyher | HempToday
Kehrt is founder of HempToday, and co-founder of The Nakło Foundation, which supports environmental protection, entrepreneurship and green industry. Kehrt is founder and past President, CEO and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of VFP Communications, a B2B media company. A former European Bureau Chief for Smart Grid Today, he previously worked in the USA at The Providence Journal, The Detroit News and USA Today.