Mr. Horvitz is a seasoned entrepreneur and financial executive with more than 25 years experience managing life sciences and emerging growth companies. He has transitioned three organizations from venture backed start-ups to publicly traded companies raising over $250 million in the process. His areas of expertise include: fund raising, mergers and acquisitions, contract negotiation, budgeting, SEC reporting, corporate governance, investor relations, business development, facilities management, and human resources. In June 2007, Mr. Horvitz was the recipient of the New Jersey Technology Council CFO of the Year Award.

Giulia Buendia Braghieri is a curious and purpose-driven food engineer with 10+ years of experience in business development, finance, and innovation in startups and multinational CPG companies!

A Stanford Ignite Alumni with a profound 360º background and strategic view, having passed through central departments with solid deliverables. Giulia is part of NotCo’s early team and is currently responsible for leading business development for the B2B tech business unit for NorAm and Global accounts.

Nils Lommerin, Co-Founder & CEO of Olfactive Biosciences was president and CEO of Del Monte Foods. During his tenure growth in EBITDA increased more than $46 million in three years. Nils has also worked at Texas Pacific Group, Oxford Health Plans, PepsiCo, Post Cereals, and in consulting roles at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and KKR. Nils earned a Master of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from East Stroudsburg University.

Dulce Almario has more than 25 years of experience in the Fragrance and Beauty industry, where she held executive positions in fragrance & product development, sales and global marketing. Currently, she leads the newly established C3 by Cosmo International Fragrances,

Prior to Cosmo Fragrances, she was at Victoria's Secret Beauty’ where she spearheaded fragrance and product development.  She started her career as an R&D chemist at L'Oréal   She has an undergrad in Chemistry from Rutgers University & a Master in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology.  She serves as a mentor for the FIT undergraduate Cosmetics & Fragrance Marketing program.

Dmitry Rinberg, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He specializes in systems, cognitive, & computational neuroscience.

Read about how he decodes how the brain senses smell.

Leah Holzel is a culinary professional and food writer, and is currently putting finishing touches on her book, A Food Lover’s Guide To Smell Loss. 

Leah lost her sense of smell in 2016, and offers guidance in smell training, and coaching to individuals navigating smell loss and their intimate relationship with food. 

Dr. Reed is Chief Science Officer of Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Alex Wiltschko is Founder and CEO of Osmo, on a mission to give computers a sense of smell. He is a repeat entrepreneur and has spent much of his career exploring new frontiers and building businesses at the intersection of AI and biology. Previously, he was a research leader at Google Brain, has founded and exited two AI companies (Syllable, sold to Neumora; Whetlab, sold to Twitter), and was named to the Top 100 people in AI by Business Insider. Alex holds a Ph.D. in Olfactory Neuroscience from Harvard University.

Award-winning Perfumer Max Rossa grew up in a household of contrasting worlds. His father, a mathematician and professor, was logical and pragmatic, while his mother, a baker, was imaginative and expressive. This unique upbringing sparked Max's interest in both the creative and analytical worlds, manifesting in his love for music and food, and his passion for the natural sciences.

Jerome Pellaud, Global Head of Supply for Beyond Beer at ABInBev since August 2022, entered the world of beer and beverages through flavor and fermentation. A chemist by education and a brewmaster, he received a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from the University of Basel (Switzerland). He moved to Belgium in 1998 to pursue a post-doctoral study on fruity sulfur flavors from hop and produced by yeast during fermentation at the Brewing Technology Lab of the University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), the same University where Jerome gained certification in Brewing and Malting.

Jerome joined Anheuser-Busch InBev in January 2000 as a Senior Scientist in the Brewing Science Department in Leuven, Belgium, before joining the Global Product Development Team in 2005. He was tasked to build the first Exploratory Product & Process Development team in 2006 where he was responsible for yeast & fermentation, sensory and consumer science as well as product development. In 2008 he became Global Director for Exploratory Product and Packaging Development. In early 2015, Jerome led the creation of the new Global Craft and Specialty beer division within ZX Ventures and, in 2019, built the new Adjacencies division within ZX Ventures, before becoming General Partner of the ZX Ventures Beverage Fund for Europe and Africa in January 2021.

Mimi Chiahemen is a trauma-informed yoga teacher (RYT 300) and Reiki master based in Harlem, New York. Her teaching practice focuses on guiding students inwards and towards a sense of wider interconnectedness with classes focused on cultivating self-love and oneness of body, mind, and spirit. Her work is guided by intuition and  grounded in Five-Elements Theory – a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Connect with Mimi via her website and/or Instagram.

Andreas Keller is a New York-based academic with PhDs in neuroscience and philosophy who is interested in olfactory perception. He has over a decade of experience in olfactory psychophysics and the clinical aspects of olfaction. The results of his experiments have shed light on human olfactory capacities, on the relation between the structure and smell of odor molecules, and on the perceptual consequences of variability in odorant receptor genes. He is the author of The Philosophy of Olfactory Perception, in which he explores the philosophically interesting differences between seeing and smelling, and the owner of Olfactory Art Keller, an art gallery in New York’s Chinatown that is dedicated to the exploration of scent as a creative medium.

Assistant Professor, Rhinology & Skull Base Surgery  | Department of Otolaryngology - HNS. Columbia University Irving Medical Center  |  New York Presbyterian

Amy Caljean is a Senior Fragrance Development Manager at MANE, designing commercially adored fragrances for popular retail brands. She obtained her bachelor's degree from LIM College in Marketing with a minor in Cosmetics and Fragrance and holds a certificate from Cornell University in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Ha Nguyen, Ph.D. has been working on the connection between genetic ancestry and bitter perception, the efficacy of bitter blockers, and the heritability of food preference and consumption behavior. She is also studying the mouthfeel perception of sugars and fats in foods and beverages. Dr. Nguyen’s research in human sensory psychophysics and genetics at Monell advances her general interests in expanding sensory knowledge, improving sensory methods, and improving the missing participant diversity.

Jenna Trovli is a seasoned journalist and Managing Editor at Perfumer & Flavorist magazine, where she brings her expertise in the fragrance and flavor industries to life through insightful articles and interviews.

Managing Editor of Happi / Rodman Media, Christine Esposito is an experienced reporter/writer/editor with a demonstrated history of success in the B2B publishing industry, covering diverse industries from mainstream beauty and personal care to highly focused/technical products.

With 47 years in the fragrance industry, including 44 years as an active creative perfumer, Vincent has had an illustrious career. He served as President of the American Society of Perfumers (ASP) and currently chairs the ASP.

Vincent is currently a Senior Perfumer specializing in the creation of fine fragrance specialties at Mane Fragrance & Flavors. His extensive portfolio reflects his passion for science, health, and innovation.

Alex is the Sensory Sciences Manager at Mane, best known for bringing statistics and digital tools into every project.

Following her intuition and her smell, Melina Napolitano has created this concept of smells in movement. Reviving the intrinsic power of these particles that travel through the air making part of our lives.