Jim Mellon

Jim Mellon is a British entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist with a wide range of interests. Through his private investment company, Burnbrae Group, he has substantial real estate holdings in Germany and the Isle of Man, as well as holdings in private and public companies.
Jim’s investment philosophy is underpinned by careful analysis of new industries or major shifts in markets. This includes the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, as foreseen in the first book Jim co-authored entitled Wake Up!, and subsequently in the book Juvenescence which marked the beginning of a rush of capital into the nascent field of ageing research and also led to the formation of the company Juvenescence with his partners. Juvenescence is a leading biopharma company in the commercialisation of therapies to slow, stop and reverse aging.
More recently Jim authored the book Moo’s Law, focusing on investment opportunities in the field of cellular agriculture - the production of proteins and materials directly from cells. Jim co-founded Agronomics to invest in a portfolio of leading companies in cellular agriculture and is its largest investor.
Jim sits on the Board of Trustees of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR). He is also a trustee of Biogerontology Research Foundation and is an Honorary Fellow of Oriel College at the University of Oxford, where he has established the Mellon Centre for Longevity, and Jim also sits on the Advisory Board of the Milken Institute’s Centre for the Future of Aging.

Sean Hsu

Ravi Jhala

Ravi Jhala serves as the Global Head of Commercial at Perfect Day, a consumer biology company on a mission to create a kinder, greener tomorrow by developing new ways to make the foods you love today — starting in the dairy aisle. In his role, he is responsible for leading the commercial team in bringing and fostering sustainable business partnerships with companies big and small who are using our protein as a tool to reach their sustainability targets, greening the supply chain together.

Ravi is passionate about food innovation, with nearly two decades of experience managing product development, R&D, and commercialization functions. His expertise touches every element of the food industry, including product and process development projects for global leaders in retail, food service, and food ingredients. His ability to work seamlessly with supply and demand chain functions has allowed his teams to move quickly and efficiently towards significant breakthroughs.

Ravi joined Perfect Day as the Head of Food Development, before being promoted to lead the Commercial team. He joined from Schreiber Dynamix Dairies, where he served as the Head of R&D and Product Development, responsible for new product development and innovations. Prior to that, he held R&D roles at Chobani, Wells’ Enterprises and Sargento Foods, and was a key driver of the most significant discoveries and products at these food leaders.

Ravi earned his MS in Food and Biomaterials Processing from South Dakota State University and his Bachelor’s in Dairy Technology from Anand Agricultural University. He is passionate about the future of animal-free food and Perfect Day’s vision of building a more equitable, resilient, and diverse food system for all of us.

Leonardo Aquino

Leo Aquino is the Head of R&D for Unilever Foods & Refreshment in North America. He is focused on making sustainable living commonplace and transforming the Food system at scale through technology and boldly healthier innovations behind big brands. He brought to market post-consumer recycled bottles and jars for Hellmann's® and Talenti ® as well as plant-based innovations across Hellmann’s®, Ben & Jerry’s® and Breyers®.

Valentina Ranghetti

I was born in Milano, in 1990 and I have a MSc in business administration and management at Bocconi University, with experience abroad in the USA and Canada.

Starting working in Roche in 2014, I grew up professionally experiencing roles in finance, credit department, portfolio management, pricing and market access in Roche Pharma Italy.

I moved to Switzerland with my family in 2019, covering different roles in finance and strategic insights. I am currently working as a finance enterprise partner and as owner of some initiatives running in the customer engagement team (e.g. Data clean room).

In my childhood I dreamed of being a doctor, however as I am super scared about blood, surgery and whatever is going in that direction I changed my direction towards being part of industries that are driving innovation and investing in R&D. I strongly believe in the purpose of Roche, doing what patients need next, and I am trying to live it as a value in my everyday life.

I live in Basel with my family and during my spare time I love being with my partner and enjoying my little one growing up, spending time with friends and finding a good place to have dinner or enjoy a good glass of wine, discovering food and flower markets. Travel is another big passion that I hope will restart very soon and collect memories all around the world to decorate our place.

Chloe Cina

Chloe Cina, a barrister and leading international financial sanctions expert. She is the Head of Global Sanctions Advisory at Deutsche Bank. Her work includes advising on complex cross-border investigations, enforcement, high profile transactions and sanctions compliance, particularly in the context of Russia, Iran and humanitarian aid. She’s recognised by international organisations, regulators, and the private sector for her thought leadership and legal advisory work. She worked for United Nations. At the Foreign Office she was in the National Security team where she led the Iran nuclear legal team for the UK. At HSBC she was the UK Head of Sanctions.