Benoit Fayaud, Analyst and Senior Manager at Stratégie Grains by Expana, France

Benoit joined Stratégie Grains in 2013 as a crop analyst on the European Union and Black Sea region. Then, he took charge of the analysis of the European and world corn market (supply and demand) for the company. Since January 2023, Benoit leads the grain market analysis team and crop forecast team. He is also editor in chief of the monthly grain reports of Stratégie Grains.
In 2023, Stratégie Grains was bought by Mintec which became Expana in June 2024.

Venceslav Slavov, Entrepreneur and Owner & CEO of Ajax Group, Bulgaria

Ajax Group Bulgaria is a leading company in the production of fattened pigs, founded in 1995. Ajax pig farms operate in the markets of Bulgaria and Romania, offering animals of high quality. Over the years, Ajax has established itself as a leader in its field, thanks to its continuous pursuit of excellence and innovation.
Venceslav Slavov is the executive director of Ajax Group Bulgaria, with 12 years of experience in the company. He made a significant contribution to the construction of one of the largest pig farms in Europe, part of the Ajax Group.

Theodore Marinakis, Grains Operations and Trading Manager at Soya Hellas, Greece

Theodore began his career in operations in 2011 and joined Soya Hellas in Athens, Greece in 2018, a prominent Greek industry and trading company specializing in food and feed materials, initially as an Operations and Trading Manager. Currently, he is responsible for managing and enhancing the origination flow for Greek durum wheat, overseeing all import and export operations of grains. He also oversees the profit & loss of the grains department, sets target volumes, and plays a key role in shaping and implementing departmental strategy.
Theodore holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Athens Economic University and obtained his master’s in business administration from the University of Piraeus in 2019.

Anna Platonova, Senior Vegoil Market Price Reporter and Analyst at Fastmarkets, UK

Anna Platonova has more than 18 years of experience in the agricultural market; since 2006, she has been an expert in the Ukrainian and Russian sunflower oil markets in the APK-Inform; since 2011 to 2020, she has been organizing and holding conferences, webinars on oilseeds. She has completed more than 25 events. In 2021, Anna joined Agricensus (which was later acquired by Fastmarkets), where she is developing markets for oilseeds and vegetable oils in the Black Sea region and parts of Europe.

Sunchitsa Savovich, Economist & Managing Director at Serbia Grains Association, Serbia

Sunchitsa is agriculture economist with 18 years of professional experience in Serbian grains and oilseeds sector, located in Belgrade, Serbia. She is focused on data management and developing accurate analysis as a key to successful grains and oilseeds production and trading operations.
Besides the leading position as the association of grains and oilseeds producers, traders and processors, mineral fertilizers producers, exporters & quality control companies, Serbia Grains Association, during its 46 years of work, has developed the most reputable and reliable market information report for farmers and traders in Serbia and Balkans region, Serbia Grains Weekly report, where Sunchitsa contributes as the editor. Due to her broad experience in agricultural market analysis, especially Balkans region with emphasis on Serbia, she is frequent lecturer at agricultural conferences, events, and all relevant food and trade shows.

Magda Boyanova, Contract execution / Proxy for Bulgaria for Cofco International, Bulgaria

Magda Boyanova has been working in the field of grain contract execution for the past 17 years. During this time, she has had the opportunity to learn extensively, but she also recognizes that there is much more to learn in this specific industry.
"It is expansive, and there is always something new that keeps us on our toes!" She concludes.

Svetlomir Todorov, Entrepreneur and Founder of Kehlibar, Bulgaria

Kehlibar is a leading company in sunflower processing in Bulgaria, founded in 1999. It produces high-quality oil and meal, which it sells mainly in the EU. Svetlomir is the founder and manager of Kehlibar EOOD with 25 years of experience.

Namık Parlak, Editor-in-Chief at Miller Magazine, Turkey

With extensive experience on the foreign news desks of several national media platforms in Turkey, Namık Kemal Parlak has served as the editor-in-chief of Miller Magazine since 2015. Miller Magazine is an esteemed international publication focusing on global grain markets and grain processing technology. Mr. Parlak actively engages in the grain industry by participating in numerous events as a moderator and speaker. He contributes by writing news and articles about market trends and conducts insightful interviews with prominent figures within the industry.

Kalin Yonov, CEO of Loulis Mel Bulgaria and Wheat Purchases Coordinator for Loulis Food Ingredients Group, Greece

Loulis Food Ingredients counts with 241 years of milling history, being the biggest wheat processor in the Balkans. It currently operates two flour mills in Greece, being the market leader, also having a Bulgarian flour mill in NE Bulgaria (Dobrudzha region). The combined mills’ purchases amount annually to more than 300k tons of wheat sourced from the Black Sea region and beyond.
The Bulgarian state-of-the-art wheat flour mill started operations in 2019. In 2023 it was awarded as “Innovative Company of the Year” by the EU Commissioner for Innovation while in 2024 was ranked by Forbes Bulgaria s #3 Best Production Company in Bulgaria.

Kalin Yonov has studied Management in Greece (AUEB) and in Spain (UC3M), being also a recent MBA graduate from Sofia University (summa cum laude). He is a seasoned executive who relies on 20 years of experience in the international commodities business (Non-ferrous metals, Paper, Wheat) and FMCG. Apart from his CEO role, currently Kalin is teaching Management in the international MBA program of Sofia University.

Eddie Tofpik, Head of Technical Analysis & Senior Markets Analyst at ADM Investor Services International Limited, United Kingdom

Eddie started in the markets in 1980 and has worked on trading desks in Bullion, Energy, Agricultural, Softs, Metals Futures & Options. In the late 1980’s he added FX, Equities and Fixed Income to his abilities and by 1990 he’d managed desks in all of these. He joined Esprit Brokers (precursor to ADMISI) in 1991 to develop FX business & started the 24 Hour FX Desk. By 2018, after 27 successful years as Head of FX he moved over to a new role as Head of Technical Analysis and Senior Markets Analyst. Eddie is Chairman of The Society of Technical Analysts in the UK (the ‘STA’). Most recently he became a Director of the International Federation of Technical Analysts (‘IFTA’), the oversight body for all Technical Analysis Societies in the World. Eddie publishes ‘Eddie’s Crayons…’ Technical Analysis reviews on FX and commodity futures markets including Grains & Oilseeds. He regularly speaks at conferences and on TV & radio. ADM Investor Services International Limited (ADMISI) is a full service brokerage company with a 100+ year history in London & international markets. ADMISI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland (UK) Limited & indirectly a wholly-owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company of the U.S.

Deian Atanassov, Senior Merchant at Cargill, Bulgaria

Deian began his career in Cargill Bulgaria as a commercial trainee back in 2014 and since then has progressed to his current role of Senior grains trader. His responsibilities include managing the local origination team, handling key accounts, implementing the company’s strategy for development in Bulgaria and managing the local grains book. He holds an MA degree from University of York (UK - 2013).

Petar Kirovski, Director at Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Bulgaria

Peter has been working in the administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria for a decade. He is an agronomist by profession and has a doctorate in the field of agriculture since 2006. From 2015 and onwards, he has been directly responsible for monitoring the grain market in the country.

Natalja Skuratovic, Senior Account Executive at EarthDaily Agro, Belgium

Natalja spent a decade trading grains at Glencore Rotterdam, managing EU markets and later expanding her expertise to North Africa and the Middle East. Following this, she dedicated eight years to working for one of the largest grain and oilseeds importers in the Middle East. Upon return to Europe she now work as a Senior Account Executive for EarthDaily Agro, formerly known as GeoSys, using satellite imaging to provide advanced analytics to mitigate risk and increase efficiencies of agribusinesses.