Nutrition for Impact

Nutrition for Impact is nutrition, innovation and advocacy consultancy, registered in Singapore, with an agile network of nutrition and public health experts, and business strategists.

Executive Director and Principal Consultant ・ Singapore Dec 2022 - Present

• Overall strategic and operational responsibility. These include identifying and developing new opportunities to drive growth; driving innovation particularly in the areas of social impact, food tech and agri-tech; and forging productive collaborations with local and global industry, academic partners, and public agencies.

Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh, Institute of Agribusiness and Development Studies

Premier institute of higher agricultural education and research in the country

Invited Expert・Bangladesh Mar 2023 – Present

• Food security expert for a multi-year project on the nexus between social determinants, household assets ownership, and food and nutrition security in Bangladesh: consumption-vs-assets based approaches .

Ghent University, Belgium, Agri-Food Marketing & Chain Management

Ghent University is a top 100 university globally and one of the major research universities in Belgium.

Invited Expert・Belgium Jun 2021 – Present

• Food safety and nutrition lead for commissioned projects with a focus on LMICs.
• Jury member for Master’s and Doctoral thesis

Tenity (formerly F10)

F10 is a Zurich and Singapore based Incubator and Accelerator which supports and guides start-ups in transforming their ideas into successful companies.

Business Mentor and Coach ・ Singapore Sept 2022 - Present

• Thought partner for a selection of invested companies with a focus on agri- and food tech solutions. Focus on identifying and measuring social impact.

GROW. Singapore

GROW is a global food and agriculture technology accelerator, headquartered in Singapore with support from key industry partners, and backed by AgFunder, the leading domain-focused venture capital firm.

Business Mentor and Coach ・ Singapore May 2022 - Present

• Guidance on product design, partnerships and food systems impact to a selection of GROW's portfolio of invested companies.

NatureLock Foods LLP

Naturelock Foods LLP is a Nairobi-based SME that turns surplus and ripe produce sourced from smallholder farmers and mid-size farms into affordable and nutritious foods with a long shelf life.

Advisory Board Member・Kenya Jan 2022 - Present

• Strategic advisor on scientific affairs, stakeholder engagement and partnerships, nutrition programs, and policy and advocacy initiatives.

Independent

Nutrition and Innovation Consultant・ Belgium Jan 2021 - Nov 2022

Science-based strategic advice and services to help companies and organisations translate ideas and investments into innovative, tailored, actionable solutions.

Some projects included:

• Claims and communication roadmap to refresh and accelerate growth for a nutraceutical
• Credibility roadmap to strengthen scientific evidence for a global infant formula brand
• White space exploration for a speciality milk for new business ideas based on its functionality and nutritional benefits
• Facilitation of innovation and stakeholder roundtables between food companies and relevant subject matter experts

FrieslandCampina Development Centre AMEA (Singapore)

FrieslandCampina is one of the world’s five largest dairy companies that produces and sells consumer and specialised nutrition products such in Europe, Asia and Africa. FrieslandCampina Development Centre AMEA, in Singapore, is the regional hub responsible for Asia (including China)

Principal Expert, Global Development Nutrition・ Singapore Jul 2019 - Sep 2020

Global role representing the voice of FrieslandCampina, internally and externally, as the domain expert with a holistic view on dairy, nutrition and health. Talent review team member for Asia R&D Development Centre team.

• Influenced the business in the development of global nutrition strategy and garnered buy-in from local operating companies for its implementation.
• Introduced innovative (research) opportunities and novel technologies to showcase ingredient functionality that helped unlock new insights, fuel the business and foster stakeholder engagement.
• Represented FrieslandCampina at various multi-stakeholder forum as the spokesperson and expert on nutrition/ food systems, particularly in LMICs.
• Advised the wider business on affordable nutrition and stakeholder engagement strategy for LMICs.
• Mentored and trained cross-functional teams through knowledge sharing and presentations.

Manager, Global Development Nutrition Asia・ Singapore Jun 2016 - Jun 2019

A 6-month special assignment extended into a permanent role leading a team of 6 nutrition experts to deliver nutrition design, claims and research for Specialised Nutrition (infant and young children, adult/elderly) and Consumer Dairy (children and family) portfolios for Asia

• Developed and aligned research plans and priorities for evidence-based claims with research teams and commercial teams to achieve business goals
• Teamed up with cross-functional teams to design and test new innovative business concepts for infant, child and maternal nutrition, with a focus on Asia and Africa
• Conceptualised and led the multi-million euro South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II - aimed at gaining in-depth insights on nutrition, diet and lifestyle of infants, toddlers and children in four countries - with successful leadership of internal teams and research partners
• Led the 'first-ever' claim substantiation studies, from design to completion, for specialised nutrition portfolio for China and Vietnam
• As Asia R&D Leadership team member, contributed to building synergy and collaboration across R&D as well as with Commercial teams.
• Successfully supported the team in growing into high performance achievers, consistently delivering in line with business objectives

Manager, FrieslandCampina Institute International・ Singapore Jun 2016 - Jun 2019

A 6-month special assignment, leading the communication and engagement platform of FrieslandCampina for Asia region, extended into a permanent role

• Provided critical inputs into the strategy and communication plan of FrieslandCampina Institute in line with external developments
• Oversaw and facilitated knowledge sharing on dairy, health and nutrition for professionals via multiple channels
• Coordinated planning, set up and conduct of scientific workshops with participation from world-renowned experts in the relevant fields
• Invited speaker at various conferences and workshops

FrieslandCampina Innovation (The Netherlands)

FrieslandCampina is one of the world’s five largest dairy companies that produces and sells consumer and specialised nutrition products such in Europe, Asia and Africa. FrieslandCampina Innovation is the global R&D centre of the company.

Senior Scientist, Global Development Nutrition・ Netherlands Jan 2014 - Dec 2016

• Led the design and business buy-in for the 5-year strategic plan for research and collaboration in Africa, focusing on areas of nutrition security, maternal and child nutrition.
• Successfully led a multi-country project in Africa - Africa Nutrition Initiative, a first-ever for FrieslandCampina, from conceptualisation to completion to understand nutrition priorities and their determinants among children under 12y and pregnant women.
• Worked across the Consumer Dairy business for Africa and the Middle East to ensure a portfolio with relevant fortification, reflective of favourable scientific opinion and substantiated with robust, credible science.
• Contributed to the development the first set of nutritional criteria for product innovation/ renovation for Consumer Dairy portfolio for Asian markets.
• Seconded, on request, to Corporate Public and Quality Affairs (Jun 2014 - Feb 2015) team to support the development of FrieslandCampina Corporate Social Responsibility plans (focus on affordable nutrition, school milk and education programs, Global Nutrition Standards) and as Manager, FrieslandCampina Institute International (Jan - Jun 2014) to deliver a strategic plan to launch the Institute in Asia.

Senior Scientist, Dairy Based Beverages・ Netherlands Dec 2010 - Dec 2013

Senior scientist and claims innovator focusing on Consumer Dairy portfolio for Europe and Asia

• Successfully led the company's first comprehensive, multi-country, national-level survey among infants, toddlers and children - South-East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) - to completion.
• Effectively catalysed internal and external networks to widely disseminate SEANUTS, foster partnerships and accelerate innovation.
• Led creative and innovative claims/communications for new and existing Consumer Dairy portfolio.
• Delivered robust design and substantiation for new product concepts with numerous successful market launches.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare

GSK Consumer Healthcare India is a leading fast-moving consumer healthcare company with a diverse portfolio of nutrition products for the masses.

Lead Scientist, Nutrition and Claims・ India Nov 2005 - Jun 2010

Lead scientist focusing on Nutritional Healthcare portfolio (Horlicks, Horlicks extensions and Boost) for India and subcontinent. Successfully delivered on roles with increasing responsibilities. Key highlights were:

• Led the design, implementation and management of research strategy for India in collaboration with internal and external experts.
• Successfully led a pioneering claims substantiation research for Boost, the second-largest brand in India portfolio, that contributed to double-digit growth in sales.
• Drove generation of innovative and scientific concepts/ideas for two of the largest brands in the Indian nutritional portfolio – Boost and Horlicks (along with their range extensions).
• Identified and managed a network of nutrition experts and key opinion leaders to strengthen the Nutritional Healthcare business