Organisers of the Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium, taking place on 22 May 2013 in Melbourne, Australia, released select names of speakers for the inaugural event. The symposium is taking place one day ahead of the Melbourne International Coffee Expo, which is hosting the World Barista Championships and World Brewers Cup. Organisers noted that this event serves as an ideal professional development opportunity for those interested in a broader perspective of the international coffee industry. The event is being sponsored by Cafetto cleaning products, with Mahlkoenig onboard as a grinder sponsor for the event. US-based INTL FCStone are participating as a session sponsor. Beginning with Business in Asia, the event will welcome industry leaders who will share their experiences. This will include a keynote address by Global Coffee Review columnist Dang Le Nguyen Vu, Chairman of Trung Nguyen, Vietnam’s largest coffee company. As one of the biggest players in the roast-and-ground and instant coffee market in Asia, Vu offers a compelling perspective, having developed a successful brand from a producing nation. Other speakers for this session include Rainer van der Beek, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Probat Werke, as well as Santiago Pardo, Director Asia Colombian Coffee Growers Federation. Both have extensive experience in entering the Asian market, and will share their overviews and lessons learned. On the fundamentals side, the event will dedicate one session to an overview of supply and demand forecasts, and how this will affect the security of future supplies. A separate session on coffee prices will feature a key address by Albert Scalla, Executive Vice President INTL FCStone, a leading expert on implementing risk management strategies in commodity markets, coffee in particular. A session on research and development will welcome experts working on the ground in origin countries, who are leading the scientific advancements that will ensure a future supply of sustainable quality coffee. This will include an update from Miguel Medina, Vice Chairman of the Guatemalan National Coffee Association Anacafe, who will report on breaking developments from Central America. A session on certification will continue this discussion about on-the-ground efforts, with a key address from Alain Poncelet, the past Vice President of Coffee & Tea Starbucks Switzerland, who has taken the reigns of Ecom’s Sustainable Management Services Division. On the consumption side, the advent of single-serve capsules is one that simply cannot be ignored. As the fastest growing segment of the coffee industry, single-serve machines are re-defining at-home consumption. This session will host industry leaders to discuss the broader implications of single-serve machines. The event will take place at Zinc, Federation Square in Melbourne's iconic city centre. Tickets are limited, and participants are encourage to register their interest by emailing Steve.Roberts@primecreative.com.au. For details, visit www.globalcoffeereview.com/gcr-leaders-symposium/about
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