Ice Cream Technology Conference

Anne is a Senior Expert in McKinsey’s Stamford office and part of the Global Consumer Practice. She has 20+ years of experience shaping growth strategies of Consumer companies using growth capabilities, consumer insights, and trends. Anne is longtime leader and shaper of McKinsey’s Global Sentiment Survey, providing insights on financial sentiment and CPG shopping behavior of consumers around the world.

Chirag is a partner at McKinsey’s Silicon Valley office in the Bay Area and is a global leader with meaningful global exposure in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia. He is passionate about transforming organizations and focuses on value creation both in institutional investor and industrial settings.

With his experience within consumer-facing and technology businesses, Chirag has led multinational teams with global business exposure in North America, Southeast Asia, and EMEA. He is experienced in working with people of various levels of seniority in organizations and has a high degree of affinity to consumer-facing industries and topics related to strategy and operations. This includes turnarounds and whole organization transformations.

He is passionate and has deep expertise with food ecosystems—including alternative milk and proteins—manufacturing equipment and systems, technology and latest disruptions, product development and consumer-insight-backed design innovations, recipe and formula platforming, ingredients, and novel foods.

Christine Bunting serves as Senior Director of Food Applications at Perfect Day, a consumer biology company on a mission to create a kinder, greener tomorrow by developing new ways to make the foods you love today. In her role, she leads the food team to unlock the applications for Perfect Day protein that extend our impact into the dairy aisle and beyond.

Christine has been perfecting food experiences through technology and research for nearly three decades. She is passionate about discovering new ways to produce food ingredients with the ideal flavor and texture, while maximizing nutrition and health benefits—with a reduced environmental footprint.

Christine joined Perfect Day from Clif Bar & Company, where she most recently served as the Director of R&D for the ingredients team. In her over 8 years with Clif Bar, she led their team to discover innovative ways to maximize the use of their existing ingredients and incorporate new ones. The result was the beloved energy bar continuing to deliver on its promise to promote the health, joy, and energy consumers need to pursue their passions. Prior to Clif Bar, she held product and R&D roles at a number of leading global food and nutrition companies, including at M&M/Mars, DSM Nutritional Products, Rich Products Corporation, Nellson Nutraceutical, ConAgra Foods, Kellogg’s, and Nabisco (now Mondelēz Int’l).

Christine earned her BS in Dietetics from James Madison University, her MS in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her MJ in Global Food Law from Michigan State University. She is passionate about the future of animal-free protein and is driving Perfect Day to its vision of building a more equitable, resilient, and diverse food system for all of us.

Jay Sanghani is a Senior Technologist in the Sweetener Technical Service team at Ingredion Incorporated. He supports customers with sugar reduction projects in dairy, alternative dairy, and other applications. He has over 4 years of experience in the development of vegan cheese, yogurt, and frozen dessert formulations and processes with starch-based texturizers, plant-based proteins, hydrocolloids, and sweeteners. Jay has presented his research on optimizing texture of high protein plant-based yogurts at IFT Symposium and presented the impact of starch and hydrocolloids in processed cheese at the Processed Cheese Short Course at the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jay has a BS in Food Science and MBS in Food Science from Rutgers University.

Emily Julian is the COO of Moo Thru and has been making sure people get delicious ice cream for years. Moo Thru was founded by 4th generation dairy farmer Ken Smith and provides amazing ice cream in Virginia.

Peter Suddard is a Vice President and Mar-Kov Computer Systems. Mar-Kov provides ERP software for Batch Manufacturers that help manage inventory, traceability, dispensing, and more. When he is not in meetings Peter enjoys going for runs and playing with his family.

Kaavya Rathnakumar, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist specializing in Ice cream and Frozen novelties at Balchem. Formerly Director at the Frozen Dessert Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her expertise are flavor applications, process optimization, and frozen dessert innovation. A recipient of 10 international research awards, including the John Brandt and Women in Engineering Awards, Kaavya has published extensively -25+ articles, 5 books, 10 chapters and presented at 30+ conferences.

Anders Torbensen is an Ice cream equipment professional with more than 16 years of experience in the industry. Educated in mechanical engineering, combined with a passion for the industry, he has been an important factor in recent years technological development of solutions in the global ice cream industry. Strategical focused on the industries challenges of providing solutions, complying with regulations, consumer demands, hygienic and latest carbon impact in the industry, he has a long track record of proven impact in the industry.

Charles McGuill is the Product Manager for Hygiena’s Allergen detection platforms.  Charles has over 15 years’ of Food Safety experience; with roles in sales, marketing, and product management.

Beth Johnson brings over 25 years of food policy experience serving inside and outside the government, including the Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Agriculture, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and the National Restaurant Association, where she built strong relationships with a broad group of stakeholders and a unique and in-depth understanding of how industry can impact policy decisions. Over the years, Johnson has been involved in policy negotiations and development at the local, state, federal and international level. She also helped lead USDA’s work on CODEX and the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Beth holds relationships with administration officials, agency career staff, key congressional offices as well as public health and consumer advocates that help pave the way for fruitful discussions for our clients. Johnson lives near Annapolis with her husband and two daughters.

Stacy Ostromecki is the Dairy Commercial Development Manager at Sterilex. In this role, she supports the dairy industry in food safety, sanitation, and biofilm control. Stacy is active with Sterilex’s R&D efforts to deliver innovative solutions & new products to meet the needs of dairy producers. Prior to her role at Sterilex, Stacy has held roles at Hydrite Chemical Co. as R&D Chemist, Account Manager and Business Development Manager in the Food Group. She has BS in Biological Sciences from Marquette University. A Wisconsin native, Stacy has a deep appreciation for the dairy industry and is passionate about supporting it. Outside of work you can find Stacy skiing, trail running with her black lab Atlas, and mountain biking.

Susan Scherer RN, BSN, OCN is a veteran and seasoned nurse with over 20 + years in the oncology, critical care, and patient advocacy space. After years of watching patients struggle with nutrition and life threatening weight loss, she created and became CEO of HHC Brands which holds the subsidiary Heavenly Hash Creamery. Founded in Florida in 2018, Heavenly Hash Creamery was the first ice cream manufacturer to produce CBD infused ice cream on a large scale. Heavenly Hash Creamery is a food technology company that utilizes frozen desserts as a medical delivery system for cannabis and other related compounds. As an entrepreneur and innovator, she is committed to patient and consumer safety, science based evidence for future product development and raising the manufacturing standards for cannabis products. Susan continues to work on legislative efforts regarding patient advocacy and cannabis on a federal and state level. In 2017 she drafted a bill that passed and became law improving patient rights in the state of Florida. In May, she completes her 2 year master’s degree in medical cannabis science and therapeutics from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.

Logan Cisewski works as a scientist for Kerry’s dairy and culinary team where he’s focused on cultured, fluid, and frozen dessert applications for the last 5 years. Often serving as a liaison between a team of global chefs and researchers, his knowledge in dairy processing, formulation, and characterization has led to numerous successful product launches with customers both large and small. Utilizing Kerry’s wide range of technologies, he enjoys layering cultural flair and authenticity to his creations through unique flavor and ingredient selections. Most recently, Logan and his team were awarded 1st place in the 2019 IDFA Most Innovative Prototype Ice Cream competition with “Brandy Bramble Crumble”. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Coe College, and resides in the “Swiss Cheese Capital of the World” Monroe, WI.

Annika Day leads strategic marketing for dairy and plant-based dairy in Kerry’s North American market. A graduate of The University of Alabama, she has experience in digital marketing, partnership activation and nonprofit marketing. While not a food scientist by trade, Annika considers herself an amateur ice cream enthusiast and enjoys trying unique ice cream flavors in northern Illinois, where she resides, and in her travels.

John Allan helps lead all dairy food safety efforts for IDFA and has responsibilities in federal, state and international regulatory, technical and scientific affairs. He engages on behalf of IDFA members with 3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc., and the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS). Allan also helps represent IDFA’s international interests through engagement with the International Dairy Federation and the Codex Alimentarius Commission.  

Prior to joining IDFA, Allan worked for the American Frozen Food Institute and National Yogurt Association; the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization within the Codex Alimentarius Commission Secretariat; and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  He graduated from the Univ. of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and a Master of Science in food science and technology. See LinkedIn profile.

Michelle provides technical and regulatory leadership to advance IDFA’s nutrition and health advocacy, ensuring dairy’s role in federal nutrition programs and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). In addition, she delivers training on dairy standards and labeling, and provides guidance to IDFA members related to product labeling.

She has worked closely with IDFA over the years, serving on staff between 2002-2010, and then as founder and principal of AM Food & Nutrition consulting, where she worked closely with IDFA providing regulatory support on federal rulemaking and nutrition programs, led IDFA labeling training, and advised IDFA members on labeling requirements. Prior to 2002, Michelle worked at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Nutrition at Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y., and her Master of Public Health degree in Nutrition from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Society for Nutrition and is a past board member of the DC Chapters of both the Institute of Food Technologists and the Society for Nutrition Education.

Danielle Quist leads IDFA’s work on environment, sustainability, packaging, worker safety, financial regulation, and environmental compliance, where she advocates industry positions and monitors regulatory issues impacting dairy processors. She has more than 20 years of legal experience and serves as IDFA’s legal counsel.

Before coming to IDFA, Quist worked as senior counsel for public policy at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), where she co-led AFBF’s legal advocacy program, advised lobbyists on policy matters, and lobbied federal agencies on behalf of farmers and ranchers for almost 14 years. Before that, Quist worked on Capitol Hill as a counsel on the House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs for former Congressman Doug Ose (CA). Previously, she was an associate at Howrey Simon Arnold & White, LLP, and served as a law clerk to Judge Eugene Sullivan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Quist earned her Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and her Bachelor of the Arts in Political Science from Columbia College of Columbia University in New York City. She is a member of the D.C. and New York Bars. Originally from southern California and New Mexico, she speaks Spanish.

Joseph Scimeca, PhD, lead IDFA’s Regulatory and Scientific Affairs team. Scimeca has extensive technical regulatory and scientific expertise that includes over 33 years of industry experience. In his position with IDFA, he provided strategic regulatory and scientific leadership for the dairy food and beverage industry covering a broad range of areas including product safety, quality, and labeling; nutrition and health policy; product identity standards; food defense; sustainability initiatives; Codex and other international standards; technical trade barriers; and emerging science and technologies affecting the dairy sector.

He came to IDFA from Cargill Inc. where he worked for 16 years, serving most recently as Vice President of Global Regulatory & Scientific Affairs. For Cargill, Scimeca provided leadership for ensuring food, feed, and other consumer products were safe, protected against intentional acts of economic adulteration and bioterrorism, and in conformance with relevant food/feed regulations, standards, and internal policies. He managed a team of 30 regulatory professionals based in locations around the world that collaborated with their business partners in facilitating compliance against existing and emerging regulations. Previously, he held similar regulatory affairs roles with General Mills, Pillsbury, and Kraft.

Scimeca has a proven track record working with the FDA and USDA to lead the broad food industry in regulatory reform, with notable efforts in shaping and influencing FDA FSMA regulations, and with several foreign governments in their efforts to modernize food regulations, including China, Canada, India, EU, and Indonesia. Scimeca is skilled at building and leading private-public partnerships to advance food safety initiatives leading to improved public health.

He has and continues to chair or serve on numerous and varied technical committees for scientific, academic, and trade organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, IUFoST, IFT, ILSI, and JIFSAN, among others. He has authored nearly 40 peer-reviewed scientific papers, monographs, and book chapters.

In his leisure time, he enjoys traveling with his wife and adult children, and finding time to run, backpack, and rock-climb. See LinkedIn Profile.