Speakers
Jim Beretta, President, Customer Attraction
Jim Beretta is president at Customer Attraction, a marketing consulting company specializing in the automation and robotics industry. He is best known as the driving force behind marketing and branding for one of North America’s largest automation integrators, ATS Automation. With over 30 years in the automation industry, he works with automation manufacturers, distributors, robot OEMs, and the automation community worldwide. Jim is a speaker and moderator at industry conferences and is a host at The Robot Industry Podcast and Automation Matters Podcast. He lives in London with his wife and business partner.
Ian McDonald, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness
Ian McDonald has been the Applied Research Coordinator for the Field Crops Unit of OMAFRA since 2000 and Crops Innovations Specialist since 2016, before which he spent 15 years in ag industry as a researcher on new pesticides with Hoechst and Dupont.
Through research, demonstration, networking and other means Ian works to find tools and build knowledge to share with producers and agri-business that enhance farm profitability and reduce agricultures environmental footprint.
Areas of focus include AgRobotics, Precision Agriculture, Soil Compaction and Cropping Systems Integration and Logistics seeking to reduce the reliance on tillage.
Sérgio Paulo, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Sérgio is a Director in the Science and Technology Branch at Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada. He oversees research and technology programs in Southern Ontario and leads the national One Health Portfolio, which connects animal, plant, human, and environmental health. He represents AAFC on several provincial and national committees and serves as Cluster Director Lead for Canada’s Swine and Poultry Clusters. Sérgio holds engineering degrees from Wayne State University and the University of Windsor and has experience in industrial R&D, regulatory work with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and science‑based innovation within AAFC.
John Cassidy, Managing Director, SVG Ventures | THRIVE
John Cassidy is the Managing Director for Canada at SVG Ventures | THRIVE, where he leads the organization’s growth and investment strategy across the country. He has guided 20 investments in Canadian agrifood and climate‑tech companies, helping advance innovation across the sector. John brings more than 14 years of experience in technology, investment, and venture‑backed growth. Before joining SVG Ventures, he served as CEO of a European fintech company, expanding into new markets and earning SME of the Year recognition. He holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Business in Finance from the University of Limerick and a Certificate in Technology Management from Stanford University.
Lisa Ashton, Director Agriculture and Nature Policy Lead, Royal Bank
Lisa is the Director and Agriculture Policy Lead at RBC Thought Leadership, where she guides research and stakeholder engagement on agriculture, food, and nature—focusing on productivity, trade, and climate action. She previously served as Sustainability Lead at Grain Farmers of Ontario and worked as a consultant helping organizations build and apply sustainable agriculture strategies. Raised on her family’s farm in Southwestern Ontario, Lisa has long been committed to advancing Canadian agriculture. She holds post‑graduate degrees from Ireland and Germany and a PhD from the University of Guelph, where she studied the governance of sustainable agriculture.
Nevin McDougall, Chair, Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario
Nevin is a seasoned business executive, entrepreneur and private investor with more than 30 years of experience leading innovative agribusiness organizations. He has held senior roles in North American and international markets with companies such as Cyanamid Crop Protection, BASF and Sollio Cooperative Group. He has deep expertise in commercial operations, R&D and executive management. Nevin has also supported several Canadian agri‑food companies as an executive, investor and coach. He’s currently a partner at RHA Ventures Inc. He brings significant governance experience through board roles with industry associations, non‑profits, and corporate organizations, including CropLife Asia, CropLife America, Bioenterprise Corp, Agriculture Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO), K+S AG and several private companies.
Joe Dales, RHA Ventures Inc.
Joe Dales has more than 35 years of experience in the agriculture industry, beginning his career in sales, marketing, and management with companies such as Pfizer, Cyanamid Crop Protection (BASF), and NK Syngenta Seeds. He co‑founded AgCareers.com in 1997 and Farms.com in 1998, helping grow both into leading digital platforms for the sector. In 2019, he co‑founded RHA Ventures Inc., where he leads investments in agri‑food innovation and supports entrepreneurs through hands‑on mentorship. RHA has made over 35 investments, and Joe works closely with companies including Haggerty AgRobotics, Harvest Corp Technologies, Nexus Robotics, the AgRobotics Working Group, and Innovation Farms Ontario. He has helped launch more than 50 ag‑ and food‑tech innovations and brings extensive board experience with organizations such as Canterra Seeds, Vive Crop Protection, Haggerty AgRobotics, CAAIN, and the Western Fair Association. Joe holds an Honours BSc in Chemistry from Western University and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Nipun Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder, Appetronix
Nipun Sharma is the Co‑Founder and CEO of Appetronix, a company building fully autonomous robotic quick‑service restaurants that use advanced machine learning and data science to prepare fresh, made‑to‑order meals without on‑site staff. He brings more than 17 years of leadership experience in restaurant operations and food manufacturing, having managed over ten restaurant brands across multiple cuisines and operating large‑scale food production facilities. Nipun began his career in investment banking and private equity on Wall Street before moving into executive roles in the global restaurant industry, including serving as Chief Operating Officer for public restaurant chains. A McGill University graduate, he is recognized for combining technology and operational expertise to transform the future of dining.
Sean Bingley, Senior Relationship Manager, Farm Credit Canada
Sean Bingley is a Senior Relationship Manager with Farm Credit Canada’s Strategic Finance team, where he supports high‑growth agri‑food and ag‑tech companies with flexible, tailored financing solutions. He specializes in venture debt, mezzanine financing, and other non‑traditional capital structures that help innovative businesses scale. Sean brings deep experience across farm lending, agri‑food financing, and agribusiness, giving him a well‑rounded view of capital needs across the value chain. He works closely with founders, leadership teams, and institutional investors to design capital strategies that balance risk, runway, and long‑term value creation.
Lisa Klimstra, Senior Manager, Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN)
With a passion for industry development and extreme customer focus, Lisa Klimstra brings unparalleled enthusiasm to the CENGN team. As the Senior Manager, Business Development, she is responsible for leading all aspects of the Business Development function, including mandate execution, continuous development of the team and contribution to strategy based on CENGN’s value to the innovation ecosystem. Additionally, Lisa has been an enthusiastic advocate for CENGN’s Living Lab initiative, which provides the services, expertise, and infrastructure required to test, validate, and certify network technology solutions. This initiative will advance the competitiveness of Canadian industry while also supporting the development of new IP and the growth of our most innovative tech startups and scaleups.
Steve Koeckhoven, Investment Manager, Verdex Capital
Steve Koeckhoven has experience across the full agriculture value chain—as a producer, agribusiness leader, industry board member, and venture investor. He brings firsthand understanding of farming and ranching, along with corporate expertise gained through roles in corporate development, sales and marketing, and global market analysis at Nutrien. Steve is now an Investment Manager at Verdex Capital, where he evaluates ag‑tech opportunities with a focus on technology durability, capital efficiency, scalability, and producer impact. He holds a Master’s in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Alberta and an MBA from the Ivey Business School, giving him a strong foundation for assessing risk, capital allocation, and how innovation earns trust and adoption in agriculture.
Dr. Kate Withers Hess, PhD, Co-Founder, Saiwa.AI
Kate is the Precision Agriculture Lead at Sairone, powered by saiwa.ai, where she leads the commercialization of computer vision technologies for crop health monitoring and precision weed management. Her work includes early detection of Fusarium in greenhouse‑grown green peppers and mapping herbicide‑resistant weeds in agronomic crops to enable targeted herbicide prescriptions. She is also advancing decentralized data storage and processing to make computer vision and ag‑robotics development more cost‑effective and accessible for farmers. Kate holds a PhD in Plant Agriculture from the University of Guelph, an MSc from Michigan State University, and a BSc from the University of Guelph, with additional training in AI strategy and implementation.
David Muir, Associate Vice-President, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, Western University
David works to turn Western’s research into real‑world impact through industry partnerships, technology transfer and the creation of new ventures.
David’s career has come full circle in London, Ontario. He earned both his BSc and PhD in organic chemistry at Western, spent time working in Edmonton and Toronto, and then returned to London with 3M Canada. At 3M, he spent nearly 20 years in research, product development, and business management in the life sciences sector. Before rejoining Western, David was Director of Research and Development at the National Research Council of Canada in London.
Remi Schmaltz, CEO, Brilliant Harvest
Remi Schmaltz, CEO & Founder is a seasoned ag-tech entrepreneur with deep roots in the agriculture and equipment space. Before founding Brilliant Harvest, he co-founded Decisive Farming (acquired by TELUS Agriculture), where he spent over a decade scaling technology solutions that bridge the gap between complex data and farmer profitability. He built Brilliant Harvest specifically to solve the "information bottleneck" that slows down service and parts departments.
Jordan Jocius, Innovation Entrepreneur and Investor, Founder Institute
Jordan builds innovation ecosystems that turn small ideas into big ideas. As a founding family member of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, he helped scale the event into a 100+ acre agricultural trade show before its acquisition by Glacier Media Group. As Canadian Director of Founder Institute in Silicon Valley, he helped launch 100+ startups and later advised multinational companies, governments, and universities worldwide on innovation as Entrepreneur-in-Residence. He is Founder & CEO of Small Ideas, a global media and intelligence platform shaping the future of invention and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Lynn Sosnoskie, Assistant Professor - Weed Ecology & Management, Cornell University
Dr. Lynn Sosnoskie is an Assistant Professor of Weed Ecology and Management for Specialty Crops at Cornell University. Her research focuses on improving weed control using emerging technologies such as electric and laser weed control, precision herbicide application, and other data‑driven tools. She is also active in Extension, translating research into practical, field‑ready recommendations that support sustainable and cost‑effective weed management for growers.
Leanne Koroscil, Innovation Farms Manager, EMILI
Leanne has a background in grain farming and more than 10 years of experience across academia and industry, she brings a practical perspective on how new technologies are shaping agriculture. Leanne oversees two Innovation Farms covering more than 14,000 acres in Manitoba, where she explores the use of digital agriculture tools in large‑scale grain and potato production. She also serves as a provincial councillor with Agrologists Manitoba and sits on the board of the Canadian Agricultural Drone Association.
Garson Law, Director of Programs, Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN)
Garson Law has spent his entire adult life in a range of positions across the research continuum. His impressive portfolio includes diverse roles, ranging from graduate student to funding program administrator, with stops in between as academic researcher, industry funding partner, and project lead. Being active throughout the research spectrum has instilled in Garson a strong appreciation for, and deep understanding of, the needs and qualities of stakeholders along the innovation value chain, which makes him a valuable member of Team CAAIN. When not working, he enjoys exploring the great outdoors at home and abroad, as well as chasing balls, pucks, and curling stones.