Speakers

Sergii Feofilov  – Director General of UkrAgroConsult, Ph.D. in Economics.
Founder of UkrAgroConsult – the first Ukrainian consulting agency specialized in agricultural sector of the Black Sea region (marking its 30-year anniversary in 2024).

Sergii Feofilov has vast expertise in analysis of agricultural market of the Black Sea region and Eastern Europe. He has broad international contacts in trading, banking and investment spheres, is a recognized expert and speaker at the major international agri conferences.

UkrAgroConsult serves global agribusiness operators from 50+ countries worldwide, delivering quality market information and analysis for effective decision making. The company provides analytical reports on grain and oilseed markets, in-depth agri market research, investment consulting, business planning, is an organizer of the major international conferences on grains and oilseeds.

Company’s services are trusted by the leading international agricultural producers, traders, agri holdings and farms, processors, investors, banks etc. UkrAgroConsult cooperates with the major global and intergovernmental organizations in agricultural sector.

UkrAgroConsult annually holds major international agri conferences in the Black Sea region and Europe, in particular such events as BLACK SEA GRAIN, BLACK SEA OIL TRADE, EURO GRAIN HUB Exchange & Forum and other.

Dr. Irina V. Birman is a Netherlands-based strategic advisor with more than 15 years of experience in international trade, maritime and multimodal logistics, transport economics and business development.

Her work focuses on the changing geography of trade and cargo flows between Europe, the Black Sea region, the Caucasus, the Caspian and Central Asia, including the development of alternative and multimodal transport connections.

With a background in marine engineering and a PhD in transport economics, Irina combines strategic analysis with practical business experience in international logistics, market development and cross-border cooperation. She has worked with companies and industry stakeholders across Europe, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Her current work examines how new cargo origins, changing commodity markets and existing transport infrastructure can be connected into commercially viable supply chains, including maritime, rail, inland and intermodal solutions. The Middle Corridor is an important part of this work, alongside wider Black Sea, Baltic, Caspian and North Sea trade connections.

Irina is the co-organiser of the 4S Business Summit Rotterdam 2026, connecting business communities around the North Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Caspian Sea and bringing together cargo owners, commodity traders, logistics providers, ports, financial institutions and market experts.

Vito Martielli is working as Senior Grains and Oilseeds analyst for Rabobank at Rabo Research Food & Agribusiness department in the Netherlands, since 2005. As expert of grains, oilseeds, meat and vegetable oils, Mr. Martielli has taken part to business trips and was invited to speak in global conferences in Europe, Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. His job is mainly focused on the assessment of the business risks for Rabobank and on the evaluation of business opportunities for internal and external clients.

Before joining Rabobank he worked for the Agricultural office of the Dutch Embassy in Rome for bilateral relations in food and agribusiness sectors. He also advised the Italian Ministry of Agriculture for promotion and quality of the Italian food in the world market. Previously he had been employed by McDonald’s Italy in Milan working in the marketing research and business development.

He holds a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan (Italy) and an International Ph.D. from Faculty of Agriculture of University of Basilicata (Italy) and in cooperation with Wageningen University (the Netherlands).

A trader and trading manager with over 27 years experience in the cash and future markets within the grains and oilseeds sector, having traded from offices in Johannesburg, Paris and Geneva and having operational experience within the Black Sea origination markets, Southern Africa and North Africa/Middle East.

As Head of Grains for Europe and Black Sea and as Head of the Black Sea countries at LDC and as Global Head of Trading for Sierentz, he has grown and managed large scale origination teams, globally marketed and distributed these originated volumes and managed and led infrastructure and asset developments and projects within the origination supply chain.

As a Strategic Consultant he works with companies within the export supply chain and at the demand base on trading strategies, analysis, risk management and business growth strategies.

Mercury Intertrading Ltd is led by founder and Managing Director Nick Egert, who brings more than 15 years of international agricultural commodity trading experience.

Headquartered in Varna, Bulgaria, with an office in Valencia, Spain, the company connects Black Sea producers with international buyers.

Its activities include commodity and freight brokerage, sourcing, contract negotiation and logistics coordination for grains, oilseeds, vegetable oils, meals and pulses.

Arnaud Burgess is a senior transport economist and project manager at Panteia with over 30 years of experience in international freight transport, rail logistics, multimodal corridors and European transport policy. Since 2014, he has contributed to several European Commission TEN-T corridor studies, including the Rhine-Alpine, Rhine-Danube, Orient/East-Med and Baltic-Adriatic corridors.

He has extensive experience analysing international freight flows, rail and terminal capacity, cross-border bottlenecks, infrastructure requirements and investment priorities. In RETRACK, he contributed to developing a commercially oriented rail freight corridor between Rotterdam and Constanța. Arnaud’s recent work covers Eastern European and Ukrainian transport developments. His combination of freight modelling, corridor development and EU policy expertise enables him to assess how emerging cargo flows from Ukraine, the Baltic region and the Middle Corridor can support commercially viable connections.

Dmytro Zagorodnyuk is a Partner at Fortior Law with over 10 years of experience in international trade, shipping and arbitration.

He specialises in international trade and shipping disputes, including quality and shortage claims, demurrage, detention, non-payment and non-delivery matters. Dmitry represents clients in international arbitration, including disputes arising under GAFTA and FOSFA contracts, as well as disputes involving charterparties and bills of lading.

Vitaliy Kozachenko, Managing Partner of Fortior Law and a lawyer admitted to practise in England & Wales and New York.

Vitaliy specialises in international commercial disputes, arbitration, international trade and shipping. He represents clients in complex cross-border matters, including trade, corporate and shareholder disputes, as well as cases involving international carriage and the performance of commercial obligations.

At Fortior, Vitaliy has represented clients in proceedings before the English High Court, international arbitrations, including under the LCIA Rules, and complex multi-jurisdictional disputes spanning England, Switzerland, Cyprus and the UAE. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and a supporting member of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA).

Dave has over 20 years of international leadership experience gained across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Before joining Ahlers, Dave held senior positions at Halliburton, Panalpina, P&O Maritime Logistics, and Blue Water Shipping.

Didier is a seasoned logistics professional with over 20 years of industry experience, focusing on Eastern Europe and Central Asia. As Head of the Consumer Division at Ahlers, he leads the development of tailored logistics solutions across a range of industries, including tobacco, home appliances, FMCG, and personal care, with particular attention to opportunities along the Middle Corridor.