Former Salinas mayor joins World Food Expo as ag-tech judge
Former Salinas mayor joins World Food Expo as ag-tech judge
Dennis Donohue, former mayor of Salinas, CA, and chairman and co-founder of the Steinbeck Innovation Cluster, has embarked on an international trip carrying the banner of Salinas Valley Ag abroad. He spoke on a panel for the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari Oct. 9, and on a panel of judges for ag-tech innovation at the World Food Expo in Milan Oct. 11.
Dennis Donohue, former mayor of Salinas, CA.
Donohue was one of a number of judges for ag-tech start-up pitches at the expo, selecting the winning entrepreneur who will receive seed money for their venture.
In addition to Donohue, the panel of judges also included prestigious executives and professors from around the world, including Alberto Acito, managing partner at SVG Partners; Marco Gualtieri, founder and chief executive officer at Seeds & Chips; Stavros Messinis, founder at The Cube Athens; Moura Quayle, professor of strategic design at d.studio at UBC; Marco Nannini CEO at Impact Hub Milan Business Incubator and MD at FabriQ; Esben Svane Stockmarr, venture development at Rocket Internet AG; Makrand Gupta, vice president of hardware partnerships at WearHacks; Ivan Lukanov, KPMG Deal Advisory; Serdar Temiz, chairman of Open Knowledge Sweden; Andrea Roberto Bifulco, video marketing and partnerships at Vodafone; and Josh Levant, international entrepreneur coach.
Prior to being a part of the World Food Expo, Donohue spoke Oct. 9 at the “Innovation Food Chain,” which is being put on by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari in Italy. After speaking to a group of students, entrepreneurs and professionals, Donohue engaged in structured learning sessions, where he was to mentor and coach students and entrepreneurs to assist in turning their ideas into prototypes that could be presented to potential investors.
“I am pleased that the Steinbeck Initiative recently was recognized by the California League of Cities with its Helen Putnam Award," Donohue said. "It is equally exciting to note that our efforts are being recognized internationally and that the Salinas Valley, and the Monterey Bay Region, continues to lead the way in fresh innovation.”