José Francisco Fernández Serna

Building genuine and purpose focus cohesion within the organization and within the different teams is decisive but also very complex. In many organizations we can see that it prevails the internal competition and while this, to a certain degree, could be beneficial, the reality is that without a proper guidance, the right leadership style and an experienced management on balancing it, that could lead to misconception and to create a toxic work environment. I have recently read some articles about the Navy Seals teams and other operating units, you don't need to become friends but fostering trust, respect and fairness to create a rewarding culture to attract and retain talent and to drive and deliver superior performance.

Adaptability is probably one of the most crucial leadership skills and very connected to execution and to innovation. You may do everything else right in your business or career but, in our fast-pace environment, if you fail to nimbly adapt you might be compromising business growth, career progression and in essence, your development. "[...] Be water my friend" Bruce Lee 1971

Food processing and preservation are part of the core strategies of the leading manufacturing companies. The development of industrial processes to process agricultural outputs was one of the key drivers in the First Industrial Revolution from the 18th century to mid 19th.The development and adoption of mechanical technology to transition from hand made to mechanized factory systems was a crucial turning point for some of the global powers to become such. Mass production and automation were the 2nd and the 3rd and they came at a cost. In the Food System,the 4th Revolution is driven by Protein transition and more sustainable and efficient food sources and processes across the entire value chain through science, deep-tech and better practices

When reading this headline my first thought is that you are blessed. Having advice from multiple qualified mentors is an invaluable resource and it means that you are doing many things right: you were able to successfully connect with senior expertise, to stimulate their engagement with you and your project and gaining exposure within your ecosystem. That being said, you have to manage this resource and adapt it to your needs considering which ones are immediate, short/mid term and more strategic. Your intuition in the decision making process will encompass your ethos, leadership style and will consider subconsciously other relevant aspects such as past experiences, past mentoring that failed, you real motivation and ultimate goals.

We are immersed in a Food System deep transformation, the pandemic taught us many things and some of them very relevant to this topic: 1. Our Food System is vulnerable and not efficient to give rapid response to crisis. 2. Food ( and its relation with water ) is a scarce resource and it will become one of the strategic drivers for future conflicts ( and current ones already ) 3. Technology and its adoption to develop more use cases within the Food System will play an instrumental role in this transformation process (and its happening as we speak) Innovation is the way forward to accelerate and lead this revolution and many Governments, PEs and other key Research institutions already realized and are increasing their support. The time is now

It is simply unacceptable that according to the UN,13 % of the Food produced is lost between harvest and retail and 17% is wasted in households. These figures reach 50% in developed countries. In periods like the one we are facing after the pandemic with an increasing inflation of Food products it becomes urgent to take action and one of the most impactful and easier ones is to reduce Food waste and food loss. Government and policy makers but also the Food Industry are key stakeholders in the dissemination process and in establishing policies to help reducing that such as "best before" instead of "expiry date", incentivize more efficient and sustainable processing capabilities, reduce portions or promoting local and seasonal productions