Advisory Board

• Roy was born in England and as a child always looked forward to the Friday night ‘fish’n’chips’ but memory suggests that was where fish/seafood was on the family menu. Once he started work, he recalls having an interest in seafood, but it was only when having eaten a meal at a Windsor public house that his life changed. That meal saw him be hospitalized for 1 month and off work for 3 months as he recovered from Salmonella typhimurium.
• The hospitalization saw him make a friend of an Australian and once over the disease he applied to move to Australia. As fate would have it, he joined a seafood import/export company, and the rest is history.
• Roy is a believer in continuous improvement and in collaboration and always striving for innovative ways to improve.
• Now retired, he believes he has much to offer in increasing people’s seafood knowledge and consumption. Recently he became an MBA Candidate and the idea of assisting seafood consumers globally has grown through that process.
• Seafood is the most traded food commodity in the world, it is an essential product for the health of humans, and it is critical for many underdeveloped countries for food security and nutrition. Roy believes that aquaculture will become the most important farming that the world does.
• “We must plant the sea and herd its animals using the sea as farmers instead of hunters. That is what civilization is all about - farming replacing hunting.” Jacques Cousteau.

Paul Robert van der Heijden (1955) is a biologist and also a biochemist by education. After years of biological research and (interim) management Paul became involved in European seafood with a focus on fisheries and aquaculture, in the Netherlands and in Norway. His company LLC MatureDevelopment in the Netherlands is performing research and development in global aquaculture & nutrition. As requested by the president of the United Nations ICC he shifted his portfolio priorities towards seafood and food security and as a Dutchman, consuming seafood is part of his identity. As a volunteer, he is Global Ambassador Aquaculture without Frontiers.

• Ramesh has over 3 decades of experience in the Data Analytics, Business Automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Content Management industry. Along with global IT leaders, he has been engaged in the analytical modules of complex projects like Automated Clearing House for Banks, e-Filing of Income Tax, Indian Atomic Energy Research Bureau and similar mission mode projects. He has executed and managed projects in several geographies across various technologies that covered Fuzzy logic, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence.
• Ramesh is the CEO of Rosemallow Technologies which develops and deploys disruptive solutions supporting the digital transformation of businesses.
• Though a strong enthusiast of technology adoption by businesses, he believes technology is only a means to the business objective and should be treated only as such.

Mr Jeffers Miruka is CEO & MD of the African Associations Management Company (AFAMCO). He also served as CEO of the African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).He has been a seafood enthusiast and consumer for many years. He leverages his extensive experience in the African Agricultural sector and seafood industry, from sourcing and processing to distribution and regulatory compliance;he now serves as an advisory board member for the Seafood Consumers Association (SCA). His deep understanding of the continent's blue economy in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors positions him as a champion for responsible fishing practices and ensuring African consumers have access to safe, affordable seafood. At the SCA, Mr. Miruka advises on African market matters, represents consumer interests internationally, and connects African producers and consumers to the global market. Through his leadership, he is helping build a more sustainable and prosperous seafood future for Africa.

Industrial Civil Engineer Univ. of Chile and M.Sc. Economics, Hull University, UK. International Consultant in Aquaculture and Fisheries for over 35 years. Honorary Life Member, World Aquaculture Society. Chilean national.

President of CIDEEA, International Center for Strategic Studies in Aquaculture, Executive Director AWARD Ltd, International Fisheries & Aquaculture Consultants. Former President of the Chilean Strategic Salmon Program, and former Manager of Marine Resources (Fisheries and Aquaculture), Fundación Chile, one of the main Chilean technology transfer institution devoted to economic diversification. Creator and board member of several showcase business-size enterprises for new farming technologies and newly farmed species, to validate the technical/economic viability of these innovative proposals for the country.

Consultant for the FAO, OECD, World Bank, UNIDO, and for several Governments and Programs in Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Jamaica, Honduras, Costa Rica and other countries/institutions on policy planning, development strategies, governance, business development, markets, marketing and consumption, research-development and innovation, technology transfer, aquaculture diversification and sectoral prospective.

Associate Professor in Strategic Studies, Dept. of Aquaculture and Agri-Food Resources, Universidad de los Lagos, Chile and twice Member of the Executive Committee of IIFET, International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade.

Founder and first Director for 10 years of AQUA NOTICIAS Magazine, currently AQUA Magazine, Chile. Particularly enthusiastic on the promotion and enhancement of fish consumption and trade, addressing consumer needs; on the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture; on designing new strategies to promote productivity, diversification, small scale activities and support for innovation and sectoral success.

My research interests are in the fields of Aquaculture, Aquaculture Nutrition, Offshore Aquaculture Systems, Environmental impacts of fish farms, and Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture. In the area of aquaculture nutrition, I am working on protein-energy optimization, and environment-friendly and cost-effective diets with alternative protein or lipid sources. In the area of aquaculture and environmental interactions, I am working on metabolic waste outputs from fish farms and the integration of multi-trophic culture systems. My recent research projects are in the field of Open Ocean Aquaculture Systems with environment-friendly nettings such as Copper Alloy mesh technology and trace metal human health risk assessment funded by ICA - USA.

Dr. Romi Novriadi is the associate professor at the Jakarta Technical University of Fisheries or known as Politeknik Ahli Usaha Perikanan, Agency for Marine Affairs and Fisheries Research and Development, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Republic of Indonesia. He has published more than 35 peer review research articles in the area of his expertise which include Aquaculture nutrition, shrimp and fish farming, functional feed, immunology, aquaculture technology and diseases management. In addition, his PhD’s Dissertation focus on ‘Evaluation of Advanced Soy Products in Diets Fed to Florida Pompano’ and master’s thesis on ‘A toolbox for Immune Parameters of Artemia’ provides beneficial information to the aquaculture industry. Dr. Romi was awarded two scholarships, the VLIR-UOS scholarship to pursue his Master of Science in Aquaculture at Ghent University – Belgium and the Fulbright scholarship to pursue his Ph. D in Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture at the Auburn University, Alabama, USA. Currently, Dr. Romi is actively promoting the consumption of aquaculture products in the domestic market and also carrying out various activities to help increase its competitiveness in the global market. The intervention to reduce production costs through reformulation of feed using cheaper protein sources, but at the same time still maintain the nutritional balance, provide significant impact to enhance the productivity and profitability of the farm. The next campaign is to promote the consumption of organic fish and shrimp, which is widely produced in several traditional production systems in Indonesia.

Edinburgh-based Karen Galloway has over three decades of experience in consumer marketing of food and drink products with over two thirds of this in the wonderful world of seafood. As the former Head of Marketing at UK-based Seafish Industry Authority, she became acknowledged as a global leader in the promotion of seafood and has most recently been a consultant working with brands, companies and member organisations. Karen has an MBA from the University of Edinburgh and lives with her partner, Liam and two - now teenage - girls.

• Ron grew up in Lake Tahoe and started fishing as a 9-year-old, then moved to San Francisco and started king salmon fishing, etc., in the Pacific Ocean and never turned back.
• In 1993 Ron launched a Mexican Seafood Co. Owning and operating his own company helped him acquire the skills needed to achieve the goals he set out to learn about the seafood industry.
• For 30+ years Ron’s attention has been focused on the commercial seafood industry, food safety and technology.
• Ron is a food and beverage industry leader with a deep knowledge of procurement, supply chain, sales operations, tech and manufacturing production across the value chain. Ron’s extensive international food experience combines with expertise in consumer trends and value metrics, financial analysis and reporting to produce innovative product strategies that drive exceptional performance improvements.
• Ron is a highly qualified administrator, innovator, marketing, and sales executive with experience in researching and developing late state of the art technologies (applicable to the seafood industry) management and public relations. While managing major accounts in the fish industry from the mid-size to Fortune 500 companies, Ron’s name became well respected in the US market as well as in overseas markets.
• In addition to implementing strategic marketing and sales strategies that effectively supported an increase in revenue for GFT/iPura, Ron consistently delivered the types of projects, programs, and solutions necessary to achieve higher profit margins and a wider marketplace potential.

• Fish consumption per capita in rural and urban areas of Markazi and West Azerbaijan Provinces of Iran
• Investigation of aquatic production estimate in downstream of Taleghan Dam
• Analyzing the conditions and production capacity of rainbow trout in the pools constructed in Golpayegan research station
• Monitoring health factors and evaluating the effect of environmental and management factors on the incidence of infectious diseases in shrimp farms
• Determination of PCBs levels in skin and muscle tissue of carp and pike
• Rainbow trout farming in desert underground brackish water in Iran

Erik Hempel (born 1947) is a Political Scientist educated in Norway and the USA. He has over 45 years of experience from the fisheries and aquaculture industry, mainly from his work for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO. He has served as Director of the FAO- initiated organizations INFOFISH (in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), INFOPÊCHE (in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire) and INFOSA (Windhoek, Namibia), and as a consultant to FAO HQ in Rome and the World Bank in Washington DC. He has also worked as advisor to the fisheries administrations in Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, and Tanzania, and he served on the Board of Directors of seafood companies in Norway and China. He is now residing in Norway and works as an independent consultant.

José Manuel Iglesias is a communications and marketing professional. Additionally he is a director and screenwriter of documentary and advertising films , as well as a writer specializing in gastronomic topics .

In the field of International Studies, he has held different positions in organizations and institutions such as SEi or certainty forum, specializing in political marketing. In December 2022, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in International Cooperation by the University of Postgraduate Studies in Law EPED / Unipol of Mexico.

In 2005 he was appointed delegate for Latin America of the ADE (Association of Spanish documentary producers and directors), member of FAPAE and has co-chaired the Spanish Association of Writers and Journalists of Gastronomic Culture between 2010 and 2013.

In September 2013 he was appointed General Director of Institutional Relations of the Society of International Studies (SEI) , based in Madrid, where he taught subjects related to electoral marketing and political marketing in the Course of Advanced International Studies , a diploma organized and awarded by the SEI annually since 1954 and which is endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and certified by the Rey Juan Carlos University .

Since March 2022, he has been the Executive President of the academic organization 'Certeza Forum for International Studies', which teaches the Postgraduate Course for Experts in Advanced International Studies, with offices in Madrid (Spain), Mexico City and Erbil (Iraq).

José Manuel has always been interested in gastronomy and from 2006 to 2012 he was director of communications and projects for the Fundación Arte y Gastronomía.From 2012 to 2018 he held the important position of general director and vice president of External Relations of the Spanish professional cooking team , and in 2011 he was appointed member of the International Board and co-president of the Spanish chapter of the World Gastronomy Institute.

In 2011 he directed the event "Cubiertos por Lorca" in which more than forty famous chefs collaborated altruistically with their teams and the cooperation of numerous food brands. The event was held at the Hotel Mirasierra in Madrid and received more minutes in the news than football matches dedicated to the same charitable cause. At "Cubiertos por Lorca" a table for the last day of the famous restaurant "El Bulli" by Ferran Adrià was raffled among the attendees.

In 2014 Iglesias was a KeySpeaker at the 3rd UNESCO UNITWIN International Conference, Tourism and Gastronomy Heritage.

Since 2015, he has been a member of the Board of the UNESCO Chair of Food, Culture and Development UOC In 2016 he was President of EXPOFOODING World Conference Gastronomy and International Relations, a World Congress with representation from 72 countries that included more than a hundred symposia, seminars, conferences and parallel activities 14 15 Since December 2017, he has been Secretary-General of the World Gastronomy Institute,an NGO present in more than 40 countries, with Consultative Status recognized by the Directorate of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, Member of UNWTO and Collaborating Entity of UNESCO Chair on Food, Culture and Development UOC, Members of UNITWIN.

Since 2019, he has been a member of the Worldchefs Board (World Association of Chefs Societies) as Special Advisor to Education, as the only Spanish Member of the Worldchefs Committee.

In the teaching field, Iglesias is a visiting professor responsible for the subject "Brand Image" in restoration at the Ferran Adrià Chair at the Camilo José Cela University. He collaborates with the Instituto Cervantes , where he is a regular lecturer on topics of gastronomic culture, having participated in different cycles such as Palabras de Vino , El Yantar por tierras del Quijote or El Sabor de la Eñe ,with the conference “ Letters with Denomination of Origin ” within the interactive activity “ Gastronomic Aromas in Spanish Literature ”.

Rachel V. Gow, Ph.D is a Nutritional Neuroscientist, Neuropsychologist and Neurodevelopmental specialist with expertise in ADHD, and associative brain (/mental) health conditions and learning and behaviour differences. In addition, Dr. Gow is a Registered Nutritionist (under the category of Science).

Dr. Gow in a Lecturer in Psychology at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. She is also a Visiting Lecturer (VL) position at the University of Roehampton with previous positions as a VL at the University of Surrey and Associate Lecturer at London Metropolitan University as well as an honorary role at The Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.

Between 2012-2016, Dr. Gow was the Lead Associate Investigator of the Neuroimaging, Omega‐3 and Reward in Adults with ADHD (NORAA) trial at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. This study was the first randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐ controlled, clinical trial globally to test the effects of omega‐3 fats in the brain activity of adults with ADHD using neuroimaging techniques.

In 2012, Dr. Gow was awarded a Ph.D in Child Neuropsychology from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. Her Ph.D was conducted in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and involved a clinical research project investigating blood measures of omega-3 fatty acids and assessments of brain function using EEG and Event Related Potentials in children/adolescents with and without ADHD. Dr. Gow has a Master of Science in Psychological Research Methods (Distinction) from Birkbeck University of London. Dr. Gow’s under-graduate Psychology degree was awarded First Class with Honors from the University of Kingston, London, accredited also by the British Psychological Society.

Collectively, Dr. Gow has approximately 2 decades of research and experience in psychological research in child/adolescent and adult clinical populations. Her research integrates multiple modalities including functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological assessment, genetic sequencing and nutrition/biochemistry.

Dr Gow has published 23 peer reviewed book chapters and scientific papers. She has extensive knowledge in neurodiverse conditions and the role of nutrition and in particular, brain‐ selective nutrients known to facilitate and enhance neurotransmitter function. Dr. Gow has been an active member of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) since 2008 and was awarded one of their New Investigator’s Awards in 2012. She is a current Council Member of the Food and Health Forum at The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM). Dr Gow has worked with both television, radio and media and was named as a “Leading Lady” by Time & Leisure Magazine. Her newly published book - “Smart Foods for ADHD and Brain Health” - is available to order on Amazon (Jessica Kingsley Publishers part of the Hachette UK Group).

Dr. Gow has a private clinic in which she developed a novel, nutrition and brain-health clinic providing a unique and comprehensive avenue to psychological health by adopting a personalised, science-based, integrative approach with interventions for the whole family. Dr. Gow is also the founder of a non-for-profit organization called Nutritious Minds Trust. The aim of the trust is to advocate for all types of learning and behaviour differences and empower young people to reach their highest potential through psychological, educational, nutritional support and community projects focused on the Creative Arts and Music. Nutritious Minds organizes community events and workshops on Nutrition, Fitness and Mental-Health and provides a motivational platform for individuals to talk about their collective experiences living with diagnostic labels as well as sharing inspiration and the tools which enabled them to overcome tumultuous obstacles in their lives. Dr. Gow’s son, who has ADHD and Dyslexia, was the driving force behind all her endeavours in the neurodiverse arena.