Into the Forest Conference | 22 October | Live stream

Founder of plant neurobiology and passionate science communicator, The New Yorker included him in its list of people “destined to change the world".

A scientist and public intellectual, Stefano Mancuso is among the world’s leading authorities engaged in researching and communicating new discoveries about plants: as intelligent and sensitive creatures capable of choosing, learning, and remembering. A professor at the University of Florence and a full professor at the Georgofili Academy, he directs the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology, with offices in Florence, Kitakyushu, Bonn and Paris.

Mancuso was the first Italian scientist to be invited in 2010 as a speaker at a TED Global held in Oxford. His talk was viewed more than 1.4 million times on the TED website alone. In 2014 he founded PNAT, a start-up at the University of Florence to create plant-inspired technology. In 2016 he won the Austrian Ministry of Science and Technology’s “Wissenschaftbuck des Jahres” award for the best science paper of the year.

As a writer, he made his debut in 2013 by publishing the award-winning best-seller Verde brillante [Brilliant Green] with Giunti. In 2018, his book Plant Revolution won the 2018 Galileo Prize, the most prestigious prize for scientific non-fiction.

This was followed with Laterza by L‘incredibile viaggio delle piante [The Incredible Journeys of Plants] (2018), La Nazione delle Piante [A Nation of Plants] (2019) winner of the Capalbio Prize and the Earth Prize, and La pianta del mondo [A Plant of the World] (2021) winner of the Pozzale Luigi Russo Prize.In 2022 he published with Einaudi La tribù degli alberi [The Tribe of Trees], his first book of fiction. His books are translated into 27 languages.

In 2022, he was awarded the Fiorino d’Oro, the highest award of the City of Florence, and was appointed scientific director of the newly formed Foundation for the Future of Cities.

Michał Jerzy Zasada was born on 16 December 1969 in Wrocław. In 1993, he graduated from the Faculty of Forestry at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences with a master's degree in forestry engineering. Immediately after graduation, he began working at the Department of Forest Productivity. He obtained his doctorate in forestry in 1998, his postdoctoral degree in forestry in the field of forest management in 2008, and the title of professor of forestry in 2014.

While working at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, he was, among others, Vice-Dean for Education (2005–2008), Dean of the Faculty of Forestry (2008–2012), Vice-Dean for Science (2012–2016), associate professor at the Independent Laboratory of Dendrometry and Forest Productivity Science (since 2010) and its head, and chairman of the Senate Committee for Teaching and Education (2008–2012). In 2009–2011, he was a member of the Scientific Advisory Team to the Director General of State Forests, and in 2011–2015, a member and vice-chairman of the Forest Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2012–2016, he was a member of the Scientific Council of the Forest Research Institute in Sękocin Stary. In 2013–2018, he served as financial auditor of the European Forest Institute (EFI). He was a member of the programme councils of the journals Folia Forestalia Polonica, Open Forest Science Journal and Studia i Materiały Centrum Edukacji Przyrodniczo-Leśnej w Rogowie (2008–2012).. In 2001-2004, he completed a postdoctoral internship at the D.B. Warnell School of Forest and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia in the USA, focusing mainly on modelling the effects of changes in the economy and the environment and their impact on forest resources. From 2004 to 2012, he held the position of adjunct assistant professor at the University of Georgia. He is currently a professor at the Department of Dendrometry and Forest Productivity.

Professor M. Zasada's research interests focus mainly on dendrometry, forest productivity science and forest management, in particular tree and stand growth modelling, modern forest measurement methods and the application of decision support systems in forest management planning. He is the author of over 120 scientific publications, including over 50 in journals with Impact Factor.

As a manager or principal investigator, he has participated in scientific research projects financed by national funds (the Scientific Research Committee, the National Science Centre, the National Centre for Research and Development, the General Directorate of State Forests) and foreign funds (the 7th Framework Programme and Horizon 2020). As an expert, he participated in the evaluation of research projects funded by FP7 and COST. He was an expert in educational projects funded by the Tempus programme and Norwegian funds, as well as an expert in the accreditation committee evaluating three universities in Kyrgyzstan. He has lectured at the S. Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University in Astana and at the Georgian Agricultural University in Tbilisi, and has conducted training courses on forest management for Georgian foresters.

He has reviewed articles in numerous national and international journals, including Forest Science, Journal of Forestry, Forest Ecology and Management, Annals of Forest Science, Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Silva Fennica, Sylwan, Biometrical Letters, Folia Forestalia Polonica, Annals of Geomatics, Remote Sensing of Environment, and Mathematical Biosciences.

He has supervised four completed doctoral theses on the impact of habitat conditions on the radial growth of Norway spruce in north-eastern Poland and the Baltic countries, the dendroecology of Schrenk's spruce in Kyrgyzstan, and the history, status and prospects of the introduction of Douglas fir in Poland and giant arborvitae in Germany. He has reviewed four habilitation theses and six doctoral dissertations. He served as an opponent in a doctoral dissertation at the University of Eastern Finland. He is currently the academic supervisor of three doctoral students.

Professor M. Zasada is Vice-President of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland. He is a member of the board of CASEE – the ICA Regional Network for Central and South Eastern Europe, the programme council of the Austrian Journal of Forest Science and the Council for Agriculture and Rural Areas at the President of the Republic of Poland. He is a member of the Committee on Forest Sciences and Wood Technology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Forestry Association.

He has received numerous awards from the Rector of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences for his scientific and organisational activities. In 2015, he received the Silver Medal for Long Service, and in 2018, the Silver Cross of Merit.

Foreign languages: English, Russian.

Hobbies: amateur radio, travelling, computers. Married, three children.

Proficiency in English

The Rector worked for 11 years in the American academic environment at the University of Georgia, USA (2001-2012), where he taught, conducted research and collaborated in administration.

Direct evidence of his fluency in this language can be found in the public video ‘Happy Easter from Prof. Michał Zasada, Vice Rector for International Cooperation’ from 10 April 2020, where he delivers a fluent Easter message to international students. (link)

The practical use of this language includes written communications on the SGGW website, such as ‘A word from the Rector to the academic community’ (link). His role as a reviewer for international English-language journals and as a financial auditor for the European Forest Institute (2013-2018) required him to actively formulate opinions and analyse documents in English.

Membership in the boards of ICA and CASEE means regular decision-making in English, which is the working language of these organisations. Managing international European projects, such as FORMIT and TECH4EFFECT, required coordinating teams from different countries exclusively in English. More than half of his scientific publications have appeared in English-language journals, confirming his ability to write scientific texts with precision using specialist terminology in the field of forestry.

Selected publications:

• ‘Succession of ectomycorrhizal fungi in naturally regenerated stands of silver birch Betula pendula Roth in post-industrial areas’ (Sylwan, 2023)
• ‘Modelling and mapping the occurrence of forest fires in the Lower Silesian Province of Poland based on machine learning methods’ (Forests, 2023)
• ‘The impact of anthropogenic factors, vegetation and terrain on the occurrence of forest fires in Poland’ (iForests – Biogeosciences and Forestry, 2022)
• ‘Estimation of biomass and carbon stocks in Georgia's forests by forest type and species group based on FIA data on diameter, basal area, site index, and total height’ (Forests, 2021)
• ‘Seemingly unrelated biomass models with mixed effects for black locust in western Poland’ (Forests, 2021)

Full list of the English publications involving Michał Jerzy Zasada is listed in the bibliography database: Polska Bibliografia Naukowa

As an ethnobotanist, Mark Plotkin carried out the majority of his research with the Trio Indians of southern Suriname, a small rainforest country in northeastern South America, but has also worked with shamans from Mexico to Brazil.

Mark Plotkin has a long history of work with other organizations to promote conservation and awareness of our natural world, having served as Research Associate in Ethnobotanical Conservation at the Botanical Museum of Harvard University; Director of Plant Conservation at the World Wildlife Fund; Vice President of Conservation International; and Research Associate at the Department of Botany of the Smithsonian Institution. Mark Plotkin is now President of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), a nonprofit organization he co-founded with his fellow conservationist and wife Liliana Madrigal in 1996.

Fernanda Xavier holds a degree in Geography from the Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil) and a PhD in Geosciences and Environment from São Paulo State University (UNESP). She currently coordinates the projects of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) in Mato Grosso, located in Brazil’s Center-West region. Her career has been dedicated to implementing sustainability strategies in land-use contexts, bridging science, public policies, and local actions. At IPAM, she leads landscape initiatives that aim to strengthen governance, promote conservation and sustainable production, and contribute to the responsible use of natural resources, forest restoration, and the development of innovative solutions for sustainable territorial development.

Didier Bergeret is Director, Sustainability at The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a CEO-led “do-tank” that brings together retailers and manufacturers from all over the world to drive positive impact across the consumer goods industry.

In his role, Didier leads three CGF Coalitions of Action: the Forest Positive Coalition, the Human Rights Coalition and the Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI).

With both private- and public-sector experience, Didier’s expertise lies in building key partnerships to foster sustainable business performance, with additional professional background in sustainability, NGO management, procurement and consulting services. Didier was educated in Political Science and International Economics in France, Sweden, Germany, Spain and the UK.

Manuel is a curious and strategic thinker with a passion for teaching and leadership. He loves to travel the world, understanding other cultures and making sense of world economics. Most of his career has been spent around the topics of sales, marketing, strategy, business analysis and leadership. He studied International Business Administration in Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management and then completed his MBA at Macquarie University, Macquarie Business School in Sydney. He's currently living in the UK, close to Windsor with his family of three young children.

Manuel began his professional career in Amsterdam in 2012 as a marketing specialist at Tradin Organic (part of Acomo), one of the world’s leading trading companies of organic ingredients. After returning to Colombia, he joined Unilever, as part of a trainee management program in which he focused on strategic sales, marketing finance, and marketing.

He then joined his family business the Daabon Group in 2016 as a Strategy Business Analyst at their HQ in Santa Marta, Colombia. The Daabon Group is a sustainable development agro-industrial family business that grows, mills, refines, processes and exports organic and sustainable palm oil and palm kernel oil, biofuels, soaps, bananas, and coffee, and offers services in logistics, ports, financial services, and real estate.

Soon after joining Daabon, he was relocated to Tokyo to support Daabon Japan and continue his work as an Analyst for the Asia Markets. After completing his tasks in Asia, he was then sent to Daabon Australia in Melbourne, as the Financial Director, to oversee the construction of a new organic vegetable oil refinery to serve the organic infant formula industry of Australia. In 2023, after the pandemic restrictions were lifted, he took up the role as the Managing Director of Daabon UK focused on organic palm kernel expeller serving the organic dairy industry of the UK. More recently, he has been appointed Managing Director of Daabon Europe, a well-established organic palm oil sales office in Germany.

His current interests are the EUDR, traceability and sustainability, vegoil economics, carbon credit industry, biochar (black pellets), biogas, biodiesel and SAF, product development and formulation, and regenerative agriculture.

Silvia Castro leads global collaboration efforts at Proforest to advance the collective forest agenda and drive sectoral transformation in key commodity supply chains. She spearheads Proforest’s work as technical partner of the Consumer Goods Forum’s Forest Positive Coalition of Action, helping member companies - including Jeronimo Martins - align on voluntary commitments and translate them into meaningful action. In her broader work Silvia also facilitates collaboration between the private sector and implementers of landscape and jurisdictional initiatives to build resilient, forest-positive landscapes. Silvia holds an MSc in Biodiversity Conservation & Management from the University of Oxford and a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of East Anglia and UC Berkeley. Prior to joining Proforest, she supported multi-stakeholder initiatives addressing human rights issues in tropical fruit supply chains.

Luís Paulo Costa has been Mayor of Arganil since 2017, and was re-elected in 2021. He holds a master’s degree in Accounting and Auditing from Universidade Aberta and a degree in Management from Universidade Internacional da Figueira da Foz. He also completed postgraduate studies in European Studies and Public Procurement, as well as the Advanced Management Seminar at INA.

He began his municipal career in 2005 as a member of the city council and served as Deputy Mayor between 2013 and 2017. Alongside his political activity, he works as a Senior Technician at the Institute of Social Security and has been involved in the financial management of the Social Security system. He founded and chaired the youth association Projeto Radical and has held various positions in regional and intermunicipal organisations related to development, the environment and youth.

Nick advises the EuroCommerce Environment Committee and is working on files related to circular economy, performance of products and responsible business conduct. He supports the Working Groups on waste, eco-design and energy labelling and responsible supply chain management at EuroCommerce. Nick is a German expat and has a background in political science.

Daniel Aristizabal is a sociologist with a master's degree in development and environment. He began at the Amazon Conservation Team - Colombia in 2013. He is currently coordinator of ACT’s PIACI (Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact) process, whose objective is to protect the rights and territories of these peoples, working in coordination with national and international institutions. In Colombia, together with his team, he led the formulation of a decree that establishes the urgency of creating a system to protect indigenous peoples in isolation, incorporating the visions of neighbouring communities and making them active participants in political processes. He contributes extensive knowledge and exemplary leadership, focused on the strengthening of community capacities, public policy advocacy, and research and monitoring.

Pedro Mendonça Pinto was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal. He has over 25 years’ experience in media, communications and sport. During his career, Pedro spent over a decade with CNN International in Atlanta and London as a senior sports anchor, reporter and executive producer covering the world’s top events and athletes. He was in charge of UEFA’s communications department from 2014 to 2018, leading all editorial and digital content, the press office and corporate communications campaigns for European Football’s Governing Body. He worked directly with UEFA Presidents Michel Platini and Aleksander Čeferin. Pedro Mendonça Pinto is founder and CEO of Empower Sports, a PR agency specialised in sports.

Camilo Gómez is Supply Chain Manager at Café&Co, where he leads the short- and long-term green and soluble coffee sourcing strategy, distribution, foreign trade, and logistics. An Industrial Engineer with a specialization in International Business that brings 17+ years in the coffee value chain—covering sourcing, logistics, and B2B commercial strategy across the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East.

Active CEO and CFO with 30 years of international experience, within Poland, CEE and beyond, in listed and large-scale companies. Was a Supervisory Board member at Orbis SA (Accor group), serving on various committees. A senior lecturer at CEMBA program, SGH Warsaw School of Economics and UQAM. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1993, Holds MBA with Honors, and B.A. in Economics and Accounting. He has been a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Iwona Łagodzińska is the President of the Management Board at Terravita, a leading Polish chocolate and confectionery company. With nearly 40 years of market presence, Terravita has expanded to nearly 30 markets across Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. Under Iwona Łagodzińska’s leadership, Terravita has been diversifying its portfolio, which includes not only chocolate products under its own brands, but also a wide range of semi-finished confectionery products for B2B clients.

Pedro Encarnação is the CEO of Seaculture, a company under the Jerónimo Martins Group focused on offshore aquaculture. He holds a degree in Marine Biology, a Master’s in Aquaculture and a PhD in Fish Nutrition. Pedro has built a global career in aquaculture and joined Jerónimo Martins in 2015. He has led Seaculture’s expansion, making it Portugal’s largest producer of sea bream and sea bass in open sea environments.

José Fraga is the Chief Executive Officer of Best Farmer, a leading Portuguese agribusiness specialising in sustainable livestock production and innovative farming practices. As part of the Jerónimo Martins Group, Best Farmer benefits from a strong foundation in innovation and strategic growth, driven by the Group's global expertise in the food business. With an academic background in Veterinary Medicine, José Fraga has been shaping Best Farmer’s vision for modern agriculture – focusing on animal welfare, environmental best-practices and operational excellence.