NPA is excited to have industry experts, innovators, and esteemed educators speak at the 2024 meeting. Speakers include*:

Esteban Abascal, La Moderna

Esteban Abascal was born on May 26th, 1987, in México City. He graduated with honors in International Business from “Universidad Anahuac del Norte” in Mexico City in 2009. While studying for his degree, he was also certified by the course “Entrepreneurship” offered by the Economy and Business Faculty and in the Excellency Program “Vértice Anahuac,” from which he graduated in its 8th generation. He was named Export Manager of North America, responsible for the operation, logistics, distribution, and sales of the company products in the USA and Canada. In 2013, he was also appointed Sales Director of Global Exports, in charge of the territories of South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. In 2017, he was promoted to Distribution and Sales Director of the USA. By the end of 2018, he was appointed CEO of Interamerican Foods Corp. (La Moderna USA), a responsibility he carries today.

He represents “Grupo La Moderna” in international organizations such as the “National Pasta Association” (NPA) in the US and the “International Pasta Organization” (IPO).Abascal has also been a distinguished speaker in different forums such as the “Global Competitiveness at Anahuac University” in 2014, the “International Commerce College World Forum” in 2015, “PROMEXICO Global” in 2016, and recently at Expo ANTAD in 2019, 2020 and 2023 editions, talking about competitiveness as a tool in the international markets and the Successful story of La Moderna on foreign countries. The AEM – Dallas Chapter awarded him CEO of the year in 2019. He was also recognized with the Young Business Professional Award by the City of Cleburne, TX, and the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce in 2021. Recently, he was honored by D CEO with the Dallas 500, which recognizes the most influential business leaders in North Texas in their 2024 edition.

With 15 years of experience in the Pasta Industry, some of the best achievements during his professional career were the Strategic alliance with “Bryden´s” (distributor in Trinidad and Tobago) in 2013, the development of the strategy to build the first Pasta Factory in the US in 2015; the growth of the Colombian market in 2016; the incursion on the Hong Kong market in 2017; the development of the Food Service and Ingredient pasta markets in the USA in 2020; increased by double pasta sales in the USA in 2021; and achieving record of sales and net profit for La Moderna USA in 2022. The latest project he is working on is the expansion of the factory, which will allow La Moderna USA to increase its production capacity by 60%. Esteban Abascal is a Board Member of the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce and the National Pasta Association of the United States. He also serves in the North Texas Workforce Commission as a Board Member representing Johnson County. Today, he is leading the general strategy of La Moderna USA to consolidate it as one of the key dry pasta producers in the United States.

Martin Bolli, Buhler

With almost 20 years of experience in the Food Industry, he held different management positions and global functions in the Business Grains and Food as well as in Advanced Materials within the Bühler Group during this period. Martin holds a Executive MBA degree in General Management and a Master of European and International Business Law, both from the University of St.Gallen. In 2019 he took over the global responsibility for the pasta segment. Before, from 2006 to 2012 and from 2014 to 2019 Martin was successfully leading many pasta projects in all regions of the world with financial and commercial responsibility. With his customer oriented mindset, he is developing new solutions and technologies including services and digital products.

Emily Boyd, NielsonIQ

Emily is a passionate storyteller on NielsenIQ’s Customer Success team. She has spent her career in market research working closely with large manufacturers to drive value and help them create impacts in the marketplace.

She has tailored experience supporting pasta brands, diving into category dynamics and consumer sentiments.

When not digging into research, Emily is an avid Indiana basketball fan and enjoys finding new restaurants and coffee shops in Chicago. Her favorite pasta cut is mezzi rigatoni.

Daniele Capecchi, Landucci

Daniele has worked with Landucci since 1998. After attending his first NPA Meeting in 2015, he has never skipped any NPA meeting since. He currently works clients based in Europe, North America, and East Asia. He speaks Italian, English, French, Spanish, and a little Polish. Outside of his passion for pasta, he loves 1960s American music, and guitar.  

Veronica Colas, Hogan Lovells

Veronica Colas is outside counsel to the National Pasta Association. She is Counsel in Hogan Lovells’ Food & Beverage regulatory practice group, based in Washington DC.  For over 12 years she has helped food companies and their trade associations navigate the regulatory requirements that apply to foods from farm to table, both at the federal and state level.  Veronica works with her trade association clients to effectively advocate with regulatory agencies on behalf of their members.

Giovanni Cannata, De Mari Pasta Dies

Giovanni has over 25 years of experience in machining and extrusion die manufacturing. After graduating with his degree in CAD/CAM manufacturing, Giovanni joined the family business. A machinist by trade, he helped his father and uncle transform the small family business into one of the largest die makers in the world. In 2018 Giovanni successfully took over manufacturing operations for D. Maldari and sons, a 120 year old die making business located in Brooklyn, NY. Giovanni is a leading expert in die design, shape optimization, and new product development. In 2024 he helped his company launch the De Mari lab, allowing them to become an end to end solutions provider for product improvement, and development. Giovanni was born in Siracusa, Italy but has lived in Boston most of his life and is fluent in Italian.  

Renato Dall’Agata, FAVA S.p.A

Renato has over 20 years of experience in project engineering, operations management and energy management especially in the food industry, both on national and international markets. He is also an expert in automation, robotics and renewable technologies such as photovoltaics, wind, biomass and geothermal.

He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master in Environmental Management Systems, from the University of Padua and a Masters in Supply Chain Management from the SDA Bocconi University of Milan.

Dr. Nyree Dardarian, Drexel University

Nyree Dardarian, EdD is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at Drexel University and Director of the Center for Nutrition & Performance (CNP). She is a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics and Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Dardanian’s research projects focus on the eating behaviors of esports players, collegiate and professional athlete nutrition knowledge and behavior change, resting metabolic rate, body composition and nutrition centered workplace wellness programming. Her most recent book chapter “Match Analysis in Squash” in the book Match Analysis: How to Use Data in Professional Sport reimagines how squash is being played by using data.

Randy Gilbertson, Pasta Montana

Randy Gilbertson is an accomplished food manufacturing professional with more than 30 years of experience.   Randy joined Pasta Montana in 2000, the same year the company was acquired by Nippn Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.  As a member of the company’s senior management team, Randy has been a key player in the success and growth of Pasta Montana.  He currently directs all aspects of operations within the company, ensuring that expectations from high demanding customers in North America and Japan are exceeded.        

Randy has served on the National Pasta Association Board of Directors since 2006.  He holds a BS degree in Food Science from North Dakota State University.  Randy and his wife of 21 years reside in Great Falls, MT.   

Yiğit Güler, GEA

Yiğit Güler is the Market Manager for GEA Extruded Food Technologies in North America (USA & Canada). His experience in food processing equipment sales over 13 years has included pasta & extruded food technology in the last 3.5 years with GEA Pavan. After successful 2.5 years in Turkish pasta & snacks market, he relocated to New Jersey, United States in September 2023 to discover new markets for GEA Pavan Extruded Food Technologies in North America. During his professional career, he visited more than 15 countries in Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Americas. Yiğit graduated from the Middle East Technical University with a bachelor’s degree in food engineering.

Rodrigo Iglesias, ABIMAPI International

Mr Rodrigo Iglesias has been working in international business for almost 20 years, including two MBAs in this area and a Master in Sustainability. From the Brazilian foreign trade procedures through the Santos’ Port (the Latin America biggest port) to the strategic area assisting national policies of Brazilian Exports Promotion, he has developed business intelligence analysis for Brazilian product’s introduction in Africa and Middle East and he is FMCG-oriented since 2014 – looking for opportunities in Brazilian biscuits, pasta, breads, cakes and other cereal and roots based packaged goods. During his professional life, he has already visited more than 20 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia. He is the International Director of ABIMAPI (Brazilian Manufacturers Association of Biscuits, Pasta, Breads and Cakes) since 2014.

Kevin Kenny, Food Chain ID

Mr. Kenny is an experienced regulatory attorney who has worked and consulted for nearly 30 years in the food and consumer products space.  He co-founded Decernis LLC in 2003 and advises some of the world’s largest manufacturers on Food Additive, Food Contact and Product Safety challenges globally.  Decernis was acquired in 2019, whereupon Mr. Kenny became a member of the Executive Leadership Team at FoodChain ID in 2020 as SVP Compliance Services, responsible for regulatory content and global Subject Matter Expertise across the 228 jurisdictions covered globally.

Mr. Kenny retired from FoodChain in April 2024 but continues to consult for them on a part-time basis.  He has since founded a new company, Invenimus LLC, which offers online and hybrid trainings across all areas of global regulatory compliance, including food additives/labelling, food contact, packaging sustainability, chemical product safety and using AI/ML to comply with regulatory requirements.

Mr. Kenny has led capacity building seminars for governments in Africa (Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) and Asia (India, Thailand) on Food Additives, Labelling and Food Regulation. He is a proponent of global and regional harmonization. An expert on food contact and food additive regulation globally, Mr. Kenny is a frequent speaker at international conferences and active participant in several food and consumer products associations. He also attends Codex Alimentarius Food Additives (CCFA) meetings in China annually as a member of the International Food Additives Council delegation.

Prior to founding Decernis, Mr. Kenny worked as a regulatory attorney and later VP, International Operations at Ariel Research (Today: 3E), managing product safety regulations globally for chemical manufacturers.  Previously he taught Public International Law at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel, Germany.

Mr. Kenny has lived and worked for seven years across five European and Asian countries, is fluent in German, Spanish and French and has also studied Italian. He possesses an honors Juris Doctor, an LL.M. in International Law and the Hague Diplôm de Droit International.  In 1992, he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Young Leader Research Fellowship in Bonn, Germany.

Jaume Mas, Pasta Gallo

Jaume Mas did graduate on Agricultural Engineering both in Spain and France. Joined the Gallo Group in 1998, and has been working at the Export Department, R&D, Quality, and today, as its Technical Director, manages a combined purchase of 200.000 Tn of durum wheat per year. He is at the same time President of Semouliers, the Association of Semolina Millers of the EU, representing 180 semolina mills processing about 8,5 MTn of Durum Wheat per year, and member of the Expert Group EU Crops Market Observatory, consultancy body for the DG-Agri at the European Commission. 

Jim Meyer, Managing Director at Durum Milling Business Unit and VP at Richardson US Office Lead Richardson International

Upon Richardson’s acquisition of Italgrani USA in 2021, Jim was named Managing Director, Durum Milling Business Unit. Additionally, in response to the growth of Richardson’s American operations, a U.S. Country Office was built in St. Louis, MO, where Jim oversees the operations as Vice President, Richardson US Office Lead.

Jim joined Italgrani USA in 1988 as the Chief Financial Officer and was quick to be promoted to Executive Vice President in 1989. In 2006, Jim was named President of Italgrani USA. Italgrani USA (now named Richardson USA) is the largest durum milling company in North America, providing semolina and durum flour products to pasta manufacturers across the United States and Canada.

In addition to his work at Richardson USA, Jim is also on the Board of Directors of the National Pasta Association and has served as the Treasurer of the NPA for a number of years. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the North American Millers Association and sits on the Board of Trustees of the Grain Foods Foundation, where he serves on the Executive Committee and also acts as Treasurer. Jim graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Jim Peterson, North Dakota Wheat Commission

Jim Peterson is the Policy and Marketing Director for the North Dakota Wheat Commission.  He is primarily involved with enhancing the international and domestic market opportunities for North Dakota wheat.  Peterson also conducts market, trade and transportation analysis, helps prioritize wheat research investment, and provides market insight to both producers and customers.  His efforts are focused on optimizing the market value and trade opportunities for producers, and working to ensure North Dakota grown wheat meets the quality demands of customers. Peterson currently serves as Chair of the Wheat Quality Council, and Co-Chair of US Wheat Associates Transportation Working Group.  He is a graduate of North Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics, and early in his career was a grain merchandiser for Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).  Jim grew up on a small grains and livestock farm near Makoti, ND, and he and his wife reside in Bismarck.

Dr. Curtis Pozniak, Director of the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan

Dr. Pozniak is currently the Director of the Crop Development Centre, and leads the durum and high yielding spring wheat breeding programs at the University of Saskatchewan. He and his team have developed 17 wheat varieties since 2003, and have published over 180 manuscripts, including publications in Nature and Science. His research publications have been cited more than 15,000 times by other researchers.  He is a world-leader in the application of next-generation genomic technology to wheat breeding and is currently leading his 3rd large-scale Genome Canada funded project “4D Wheat: Diversity, Discovery, Design, and Delivery”. His genomics work feeds directly into the UofS wheat breeding program, ultimately delivering more productive, disease resistant wheat varieties for western Canadian farmers.

Tom Quinn, Nuovo Pasta

Tom Quinn is President and Chief Operating Officer at Nuovo Pasta Productions, Ltd. and has been with the Company since 2004.  His experience and skills in both sales and operations over his 35-year career have included both retail and food service and has been instrumental in helping to guide Nuovo to its current level of success.

Tom’s responsibilities include overseeing all daily operations of the Company, high-level contacts with domestic and international equipment suppliers, senior management contacts of Supply Chain and Quality Assurance Departments, and interaction with regulatory and municipal officials.

 He is the chairman for the National Pasta Association’s Government Affairs Committee and the Membership Committees. Locally, Tom is the Chair of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council as well as being an active member of the Connecticut Business Industry Association. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Meals on Main Street, an organization fighting food insecurity in Westchester County, NY.  He holds a B.A. in Economics from Fairfield University.  Tom is also a published author and lives in Fairfield with his wife Linda of 36 years, and they have two children.   

Michael Reimer, Corteva

Michael Reimer combines his passions for agriculture and food sciences with management, research, and marketing expertise as an Innovation Manager for Grains, Oilseed and Protein at Corteva Agriscience. He has a deep knowledge of wheat end-use quality, plant proteins and pulse flour and specializes in market development and customer relationship management. As a member of the Quality Evaluation Team for The Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye, and Triticale (PRCWRT), Michael plays a crucial role in evaluating candidate cultivars of wheat and making pivotal recommendations for their registration in Canada. His work is instrumental in fostering public-private collaborations that drive innovation in agricultural practices. Michael has an MBA, BS and MS in food and human nutritional sciences from the University of Manitoba.

Chef Rosario Del Nero, NPA Chef Spokesman

Rosario Del Nero lives and breathes pasta! He arrived in the US from Milan, Italy in 1983 and has enjoyed a multi-faceted career in the culinary arts ever since. Rosario and his wife, Constance, launched The Apple Orchard Restaurant in Ipswich, MA, which focused on authentic Italian cuisine and Rosario’s original creations. It was awarded Boston Magazine’s coveted Super Food award in 1987. Later, Rosario joined Bertucci’s Italian Restaurants as their Corporate Chef. He worked at Bertucci’s for 15 years, dreaming up dozens of new pizza, pasta, appetizer, and entrée recipes. Rosario has also led product development teams for several prestigious companies, including Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta, Buitoni, La Pasta, and Nuovo Pasta Productions. He taught Regional Italian Cuisines at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts for many years, eager to impart his knowledge of pasta and dough-making to students from all over the world. Rosario was appointed spokesperson for the National Pasta Association in 2020 and has enjoyed getting people enthused about cooking and eating pasta every day. 

Kristie Sigler, Global Lead – Food, Agriculture and Beverage, FleishmanHillard

Kristie Sigler is a seasoned food marketing professional with more than 25 years of marketing strategy experience in both the retail and foodservice spaces. She is FleishmanHillard’s global leader for the food, beverage and agribusiness sector, helping clients uncover and translate consumer insights into profitable programs and products, specifically within the ingredient and nutrition industries. A food scientist by training, Kristie also provides senior counsel for 12 of the firm’s largest food and agriculture clients, ensuring the teams deliver insight-driven programming. Prior to FleishmanHillard, Kristie worked in both product development and brand management at Kraft Foods and menu marketing at Applebee’s. An avid volunteer in the food equity and education spaces, she has an MBA from Northwestern University and a BS in food science from Iowa State University.

Nora Stabert, Philadelphia Macaroni Company

Nora Stabert currently serves as Vice President of Sales at Winland Foods, a global manufacturer of private label and branded pasta, dry dinners, sauces, and related products. In her role, Nora oversees the Foodservice Sales, Comanufacturing Sales, and Customer Supply Chain teams. Before joining Winland, Nora held the positions of President and Chief Operating Officer at the Philadelphia Macaroni Company, a family-owned business where she represented the fifth generation.  

Since 2018 Nora has been an active member of the NPA, joining the NPA Board of Directors in 2021. She assumed the role of Chair at the National Pasta Association in 2023. Nora earned her B.A. with Honors from Vanderbilt University and holds a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University. Currently, she is pursuing an MBA for Executives at the Wharton School. 

Manoj Venugopal, Caesar’s Pasta

Carl Zuanelli, Nuovo Pasta Productions

Carl L. Zuanelli is the current President of the International Pasta Organisation (IPO), past Chair and Board Member of the National Pasta Association (NPA), and the Founder/CEO of Nuovo Pasta Productions, Ltd., a leading producer of premium refrigerated pasta, sauces and meal kits.  Carl founded Nuovo in 1989 after leaving a successful career in investment banking.  Nuovo employs over 300 people and maintains over 160,000 sq ft in Stratford, CT and in Cleveland, OH facilities.  Currently Nuovo produces over 25,000,000 pounds of fresh refrigerated pasta, sauces, and meal kits per year.  Nuovo’s products are sold in specialty stores, supermarkets, national accounts, and warehouse clubs in all 50 states, Mexico, and the Caribbean.  Carl received a BA from Pace University in Marketing and Finance then went on to have a successful career in the financial services industry with Citibank NA and Merrill Lynch.   In his roles at the IPO and NPA, Carl held the responsibilities of directing new initiatives and implementing its strategic plan.  Carl is also a member of Connecticut’s New Haven Manufacturing Association.  He is on the Board of Directors of Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI), a refugee and immigrant advocacy and services nonprofit. Through Nuovo sponsorships, he supports the AC Connecticut youth soccer program and Connecticut’s USSL professional soccer programs.  He is an active member and Trustee of the Notre Dame Catholic Church and has served on the parish council.  Carl, a native New Yorker, is a current resident of   Easton, CT where he, together with his wife Karen have raised 4 children.   

*Speakers are subject to change