Distinguished Speaker Series in Food Innovation

2024 saw the launch of the Institute’s new Distinguished Speaker Series which aims to bring senior food industry leadership to campus and enable the exploration of new approaches to food innovation, cutting-edge technologies, and new career paths.

The 2024 Series speakers were:

• Melissa Musiker, Interim Head of Communications, UPSIDE Foods
• Stu Strumwasser, Managing Director, Green Circle Capital Partners
• Takashi Sato, President, San-J; Founder, HakkoHub
• Vinay Indraganti, CEO & Co-Founder, BCD iLabs
• Kumiko Ninomiya, PhD, Executive Fellow, Umami Information Center

The 2025 Series speakers were:

• Nate Cook — Partner at Klausner Cook, PLLC
• Alyssa R.M. Pugh — Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
• Sarah Evanega — VP of Business Development, Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF)

We welcome suggestions of future speakers; please contact cifs-ipp [at] cornell.edu (cifs-ipp[at]cornell[dot]edu) to submit a nomination.