b'HLNE GUILLOT (KHAN NIAZI) LAIA FITManaging Director of the Agricultural Crop LicensingDirector R&D at Semillas FitoPlatform (ACLP)After completing her pharmacy studies, Laia Fit joined Semillas Since the beginning of her career, Hlne Guillot (Khan Niazi) FIT. During her initial years, she assisted her uncle Antonio as has always been fully dedicated to the plant breeding industry.a breeder. Fit established connections with a research institute She is a lawyer by training and spent three years at UFS andcalled IRTA, recognizing that molecular markers and other biotech another seven years at ISF. Guillot is very well connected in thetools are essential for efficiently breeding new varieties. After seed industry and has extensive experience in managing andcompleting management courses at prestigious business schools, bringing together a broad range of interests, stakeholders andshe formed an international team of plant breeders and biotech-topics. Complemented by her broad expertise in IP this made hernicians dedicated to working on fruit and vegetable crops. Since the perfect fit for the role of managing director of the Agriculturalthen, Fit has led the companys growth by establishing one of Crop Licensing Platform (ACLP). The ACLP has been recentlythe most extensive vegetable breeding programs on a global established and constitutes a collaborative source for plantscale. Starting with a Spanish foundation, Fit envisioned a team breeding innovation and enables access to innovative traits forof enthusiastic breeders, biotechnicians, and farm managers that all members. It thereby ensures continued access for breeding ofpropelled Semillas Fit to become one of the top 10 seed fruit commercial varieties to breeding companies of all sizes. Guillotvegetable companies in the world. Today, as the director of R&D strives for attracting new members and continuous further devel- and with over 25 years in the company, Fit leads a global team opment of the platform in order to make best use of the benefitsof more than 350 people across America, Europe and Asia. of conventional breeding and innovative traits. With that, the plant breeding industry will be better placed to achieve the ambitious targets of the EU Green Deal and F2F Strategy in Europe. MARIANA SILVA ARTUR MARIOLA MARKIELAssistant Professor at WageningenGlobal Sustainability Lead & Marketing ManagerMariana Silva Artur completed her MSc in Agronomy and PlantEurope at Alta Seeds Physiology at the University of Lavras in Brazil, followed by a PhDMariola Markiel strongly believes that seed companies can truly at the Laboratory of Plant Physiology at Wageningen University &impact food security. In her career at Alta Seeds, the European Research, where she studied the evolution, structure and func- flagship brand of Advanta Seeds, Markiel has focused on tion of LEA proteins from seeds. De Silva Artur then completedpromoting the importance of contributing to food security and a postdoc at Utrecht University, investigating development andthe well-being of farmers. Under her leadership, Advanta Seeds drought responses of tomato root exodermis. In 2020, she waswas ranked the No. 5 global seed company in the Access to appointed as a postdoc in the Seeds for the Future Initiative ofSeeds Index in 2019 and No. 2 in the South and South-East Index. the Wageningen Seed Science Centre to bridge fundamentalAdvanta also secured No. 4 in the Africa Access to Seeds Index and applied seed research, teaching and mentoring. De Silva2021 for contributing to UN SDGs and food security by World Artur was awarded with a personal grant (NWO-ENW Veni grant,Benchmarking Alliances. Markiel also leads initiatives promoting 2020), and in 2023 started to develop her research group onclimate-smart and highly nutritious crop awareness among value plant desiccation tolerance and seed resilience. With her inspiringchain partners and the food sector. Along with the Alta Seeds enthusiasm, knowledge and skills, she has put seed physiologyEuropean team and various sorghum organizations, including again on the agenda of many students at the WageningenSorghum ID and Sorghum United, she works on developing University by developing new lectures and a practicum in seedsorghum awareness in Europe to tackle climate change problems physiology.and promote nutritious, highly productive crops. SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPEISEED WORLD EUROPE I 15'