Conference speakers

On September 5, 2024, he was appointed Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, setting a course for the development of agricultural exports, support for farmers, and the introduction of modern agricultural technologies.

In 2023-2024 − Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, in 2019-2023 − Head of the Rivne Regional State Administration, in 2006-2019 managed enterprises in the agricultural, transport and construction industries, in 2004-2006 worked in the banking sector.

In 2003, graduated from the Ternopil Academy of National Economy with a degree in banking (Master’s degree in banking). In 2017, received MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree at Lviv Business School of the Ukrainian Catholic University. In 2021, studied at the Aspen Institute Kyiv.

Taras Kachka is an expert in international law, a former member of the Ukrainian delegation in negotiations with the EU on the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. Since September 2019 he has been holding the position of Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, and he’s also a trade representative of Ukraine. In June 2020 he became Deputy Chairman of the International Grains Council (IGC).

Taras has experience in promoting a dialogue between business and government. He worked as a manager for regulatory policy in international corporations, as well as in the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine (as Deputy Director of the State Legislation Adaptation Department of the Ministry of Justice).

He was the Commissioner for Entrepreneurship at the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine (on a voluntary basis). He headed the Ukrainian Media Center for Reforms and was a member of the Tax Reform Task Force under the Ministry of Finance.

He was also a Vice President for Strategic Development (since January 2014) and Interim President (November 2014 – April 2015) of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.

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.

Mykola Gorbachov – President of Ukrainian Grain Association

from February 20, 2017 – President of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA);

from March 28, 2005 – Director of the New World Grain Ukraine (Soufflet Group);

Co-Chair of the Grain and Oilseeds Committee of the European Business Association (EBA);

UZA Vice-President;

since 1992 he has held senior positions in various companies, such as Tradigrain SA (commercial director) or Ukrinpex (director).

Agroconsult’s Senior Market Analyst for grain and oilseed complex.

– Extensive experience as a head trader for corn, soybeans, and derivatives, with 20 years of experience on the trading desks of agricultural commodity firms.

– Depth knowledge of hedging mechanisms and commercial/logistical arbitrage through futures, options, and swaps trading on domestic and international exchanges, as well as in physical markets.

– Graduated in Agronomy from UNESP/Botucatu, with postgraduate studies in Agribusiness Management at FGV/São Paulo and Strategic Management at Fundação Dom Cabral.

Olena Voloshyna is a Ukrainian expert in finance and privatization with extensive experience working in international financial institutions.

In 1992, she joined the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank Group. From 1994 to 1996, she held the position of Deputy Head and later Head of the IFC project “Small Privatization in Ukraine,” which aimed to support the privatization of small enterprises across the country.

Since 1996, Olena Voloshyna has headed the IFC office in Ukraine, where she is responsible for attracting investments, implementing projects, and providing advisory services to government agencies and companies. Under her leadership, IFC has implemented projects that contribute to the modernization of Ukraine’s agricultural and industrial sectors, supporting the growth and increasing the competitiveness of local businesses. One of the key focuses of her work is attracting investment in agriculture, which is strategically important for Ukraine’s economy.

Valerii Tkachov is an expert in agricultural logistics. Since 2020 he has been working as the deputy director of the commercial department of Ukrzaliznytsia. Previously, he held senior management positions at Optimus and Delta Wilmar Trading House.

Mr. Tkachov graduated from the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine with a degree in Public Administration and from the International Institute of Management “MIM-Kyiv” under the PMD “Management & Leadership” and “Mini-MBA” programs.

Volodymyr’s professional path is inextricably linked with the NIBULON company, where he has been working for over 11 years. He has extensive work experience in the field of establishing foreign economic relations and wholesale trade of grain crops. 

With the active participation of Volodymyr’s team, significant transformations took place in the company: were implemented the best market practices from the point of view of trade and a new risk management system, systematized sales and procurement work. Also, under the leadership of Volodymyr, the trading division participated in the goals formation and investment program strategy for the construction of elevators and the river fleet development. 

In February 2023, Volodymyr was appointed Director on Trade of NIBULON. In this position, he is responsible for commercial activities in terms of the company’s trading activity, as well as the purchase of agricultural products. 

Until 2016 – Svitlana Nikitiuk worked in the energy and wine industry, later – in Mriya Agroholding;
2016-2020 – Head of the Trading Department of Epicentr K, export sales and logistics management
2018-2019 – Svitlana Nikitiuk worked as the Нead of the elevator division of Epicentr Agro Agro Holding;
Since 2020 – Head of Agro Division, Epicentr K Group

Svitlana Nikitiuk graduated from the Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman with a degree in economics. She also has a law degree.
MBA from Edinburgh Business School.
NUBIP, Faculty of Agronomy.
International Institute of Depth Psychology – Psychoanalysis

Kateryna Kuzmina has been working in procurement since 2003.

She has experience in both local and large international companies, including Borjomi International, Carlsberg Ukraine, and PepsiCo.

Kateryna received procurement education under the British CIPS system and holds multiple certificates from specialized procurement training programs. Currently, she is enrolled in the Global Procurement Academy program at AB InBev.

For the past three years, she has been leading the procurement department at AB InBev Efes Ukraine.

He has 10+ years of experience in logistics and socially responsible business management.

TEUS has been operating in logistics industry since April 2014, and since September 2021, the company is led by Dmytro.

During the full-scale invasion, the company has adapted its line of logistics services to meet the current needs of customers who require comprehensive solutions. But this is not the only thing that can be said about the head of TEUS. Dmytro participates in socially important initiatives, helps the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and, working with his team, focuses not only on career priorities but also on health, psychological well-being, and job satisfaction.

Andrii has 30+ years of experience in the agricultural sector of Ukraine. Нe has worked in state-owned companies and large private enterprises in senior positions. In addition to his own agribusiness, focused on trade, logistics, export sales, and processing of agricultural products, Andrii is an independent expert and consultant for agricultural projects, and a speaker at many conferences.

Pavlo has 20+ years of banking experience in senior positions, experience in agricultural sector – ATK Group, consultant to the USAID AGRO project, expert advisor on attracting investment in the agricultural sector.

Since 2010, Valentyna has been a Partner of INTELEVRAZ Investment Company, whose mission is to attract investments to Ukraine. She is also a Partner of the Strong Energy Investment Fund, which was created to jointly invest in solar power plants for “active consumers”, as well as develop solar and wind power plants.

She has more than 20 years of experience in investment transactions, M&A, business and real estate purchase and sale, investment and financing in the private and public sectors, real estate management, and has developed unique author’s expertise in determining the market value of assets in the agricultural sector and the investment attractiveness of real estate.

Maksym Kharchenko has been working at UkrAgroConsult since 2017. The main activity is related to the analysis of the logistics market in the Black Sea region.

He is the author of many studies on domestic and export logistics of Ukraine. Maksym also focuses on the global grain and oilseeds market analysis, and is in charge of the Vessel Lineups product development.

An experienced executive with over 20 years of management experience in production enterprises, including the agricultural sector. Specializes in crisis management, business process optimization, and increasing economic efficiency.

Has extensive experience in grain and oilseed procurement for large elevators and oil extraction plants, as well as in international trade of vegetable oils.

Among the successfully implemented projects is the construction of a sunflower husk pellet production facility with a capacity of up to 2,000 tons per month. Actively develops effective strategies in agro-processing and export.

Ivan Dogadayev is the founder of Agronizer, a trading platform for agri enterprises, and AgroUser, a trading service for individuals.

He has experience in selling agricultural products and organizing procurement in Ukraine. Specializes in interaction between producers and buyers.

Agronizer is an agricultural trading platform for companies specializing in agricultural products, fertilizers and fuel. The platform works with more than 2000 medium agri businesses and engages both Ukrainian and foreign buyers and suppliers in cooperation.

David Burton has recently started a role with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, as a senior adviser in the agriculture, Food and Blue Economy Team. This role involves high level policy advice to Governments of various countries.  He recently finished a role with the UK Department of Business and Trade’s (DBT), Sector Director for Agriculture, Blue Economy and Food, in Africa. In this role he managed the work of experts in 20 African countries, who are promoting UK investment and export of goods.

Before joining DBT, he spent 27 years working in international development, in which time he implemented 85 substantive assignments, and worked in 55 countries.

Mr Burton is also a highly qualified and experienced international team leader in addition to having considerable experience in land management, agricultural production, high yielding dairy cow production, trade, food security and rural and community development. He can also cite the following specific experiences:

Agri Tech – At his recent role in DBT, a big part of the job is understanding UK Agri Tech and innovation and promoting them in African markets. He liaised closely with the four UK Agri Tech Centres and was involved in several market entry research trials e.g. drone technology, biomass and satellite mapping. He was involved in a few large UK trade deals where UK innovation and new tech has been successfully scaled and taken to market. This included insect protein (Kenya), biochar (Kenya), seaweed processing (Tanzania) and rainforest regeneration (Ghana).

Investment – David has been involved in agricultural investment in one form or another for most of his career. This started with work as a farm business consultant in the UK and includes several investments led projects. In his role in DBT he worked closely with British Investment International (BII) and UK Export Finance (UKEF) to mobilise investment into agricultural and agri -processing assignments across Africa.

Co-Founder:

AI MyChatBot – Platform for creating AI agents

Ai My Community – Managing company processes with artificial intelligence

Maybutne Consulting – Building business processes in marketing and sales departments

Kostiantyn Tkachenko is the Editor-in-Chief of Latifundist.com, a leading agricultural portal, where he has been covering key trends and the inner workings of the agricultural market for over seven years. With 15 years of experience in socio-political, business, and agricultural journalism, he began his career as a correspondent for the “Visnyk Kremenchuka” newspaper, later working at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, “Ukrainian News,” and the weekly “Vlada Groshey.” After a stint in PR, he returned to journalism in 2017 as the head of Latifundist.com, focusing on creating content that resonates with the market’s pulse.

Maksym started his grain business career in 2004 in Kernel.

Since 2012 he has held various management positions in various areas.

Since 2020, he has been a part of the Agroprosperis team, heading the Origination division.

Taras is the Director of Strategy and Organizational Development at VITAGRO Group. He has a broad experience with a focus on strategy and investments in retail, e-commerce, FMCG and related processing industries. He is responsible for the group’s strategic development and transformation processes.

Bohdan Kruhlyk is the CEO of FRENDT, a precision farming center specializing in the implementation of innovative technologies in the agricultural sector. He has in-depth expertise in agribusiness digitalization, big data analytics, production process automation, and AgriTech solutions development. He is one of the initiators of digital field experiments using drones, sensors, thermal imaging monitoring, and agronomic analytics systems. Actively develops the areas of sustainable farming, energy efficiency and integration of agri-technologies with IT solutions.

The main activity is the development of digital fintech solutions for business in the B2B segment. WEAGRO is a B2B BNPL online agricultural installment plan for farmers.

Fintech Pro – develops the Oschadbusiness platform for SME clients of Oschadbank (Ukraine).

eDilo is an online service for providing deferred payments in B2B transactions.

He was a consultant to USAID AGRO and Deloitte & Touche on the USAID SOERA project.