Speakers

Meet the Leaders Shaping Medicinal Cannabis in APAC

40+ speakers from 15+ countries bringing global expertise to the regulation, cultivation, manufacturing, therapeutics and trade conversations taking place in Bangkok this September.

Tewan Thaneerat

Deputy Director-General
Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, The Ministry of Public Health
Thailand’s medicinal cannabis laws and regulations; Latest updates; Plans for future policies

Maythasith Konkarn

Director of Academic Group
Office of Agricultural Regulation, The Department of Agriculture (DOA)
Thailand’s Cultivation, Import, and Export of Medicinal Cannabis

Sita Schubert

General Secretary
European Medicinal Cannabis Association (EUMCA)
APAC Market Opportunities; Regulatory Challenges; GMP Cannabis

Ben Nikaj

Senior Crop Advisor
Grodan
AI-powered harvest forecasting; Rootzone data-driven precision growing; Optimizing efficiencies in indoor/GH cannabis 

Paul Long

CEO
Little Green Pharma
one of the most recognisable medical cannabis brands in Europe and Australia; APAC Cannabis Market Landscape: Capitalising on Early Opportunities

Bryan Ebstyne

CEO
Austranna
an automated large-scale medicinal cannabis farm in Australia: AI, automation and robotics; APAC cannabis market landscape; Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) in CEA

Rehan Mehta

CEO
Thai Stick
APAC Market Opportunities; The High-Bar of GMP Medicinal Cannabis; Adapting to Local Growing Conditions

Menno Keppel

Founder & CEO 
Agri Solutions Asia
Climate-adapted greenhouse technology for Southeast Asia; Data-driven precision cannabis growing for local conditions 

Tommy Huppert

Founder | Director
Cannatrek
One of Australia’s first fully licensed medicinal cannabis producers. APAC Cannabis Market Landscape: Capitalising on Early Opportunities

Jesus Diaz

Senior Cultivation & Post-Harvest Specialist 
Austranna
Selection Techniques for Genetic Cultivars; Data-Driven Yield Optimisation

Chase Martin

Founder
Umami Seed Co 
Breeding; Genetics; High-Tech Indoor Cultivation; Data Analytics

Natcha Klahan

Chief Operating Officer
World Pharma Solutions
Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation in Thailand; Operational Leadership; Business Development; Sustainable Growth

Ben Niehaus

CTO
SpexAI
a start-up in Germany using cutting-edge imaging technology for Cannabis growth insights: Computer vision; Plant selection and breeding; AI-driven efficiency

Michael Abdo

Commercial Unit Leader – Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, Public Health Surveillance, Agrigenomics (AMEA)
Illumina
Genomics in One Health; microbiology; infectious diseases; agrigenomics; technology adoption; next-gen sequencing; AI in agriculture.

Tewan Thaneerat

Deputy Director-General
Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, The Ministry of Public Health
Thailand’s medicinal cannabis laws and regulations; Latest updates; Plans for future policies

Sirichai Thaworn

Director of Plant Variety Regulatory Group
Division of Agricultural Regulation
Department of Agriculture, Thailand
Thailand’s Import and Export of Medicinal Cannabis

Avi Rebera

Assistant Secretary
Office of Drug Control and Gene Technology Policy
Australian Government Department of Health
Disability and Ageing
Regulatory Frameworks; Medicinal Cannabis Policy; International Trade & Compliance

Sita Schubert

General Secretary
European Medicinal Cannabis Association (EUMCA)
APAC Market Opportunities; Regulatory Challenges; GMP Cannabis

Michael Murphy

Vice President
The Australian and New Zealand College of Cannabinoid Medicine (ANZCCM)
Medicinal cannabis clinical practice; pharmacology; patient access; evidence-based care.

Marika Graham-Woods

CEO & Chairman
Cannabis Trades Association (CTA)
UK medical cannabis market developments; Trade and policy; Global business opportunities in cannabis and CBD.

Nicholas Lintzeris

Conjoint Professor | Chair, SESLHD Collaborative Research Committee
Drug & Alcohol Services, SESLHD & University of Sydney
A leading clinician-researcher in in addiction medicine: advancing the evidence for medical cannabis, research design beyond RCTs, patient-safe regulation, and clinical integration

Carmen Doran

Chair
The New Zealand Medicinal Cannabis Council (NZMCC)
New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis regulatory framework; The role of industry associations in aligning stakeholders across emerging markets; Export pathways and what cannabis jurisdictions can learn from each other

Dedi Meiri

Associate Professor Technion Israel Institute of Technology
Cannabis phytocompounds and the entourage effect; Matching strains to patients; Precision cannabinoid medicine.

Supat Jiranusornkul

Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy
Chiang Mai University
Pharmaceutical sciences and medicinal product development relevant to cannabinoid research and therapeutics

Bryan Ebstyne

CEO
Austranna
An automated large-scale medicinal cannabis farm in Australia: AI, automation and robotics; APAC cannabis market landscape; Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) in CEA

Rehan Mehta

CEO
Thai Stick
APAC Market Opportunities; The High-Bar of GMP Medicinal Cannabis; Adapting to Local Growing Conditions

Paul Furfaro

President, Global Medical Cannabis Division
Village Farms International
From grower to global sourcer: CEA cultivation at scale; Evolving business models; Government regulatory leadership; Shaping cannabis trade policy from Canada to APAC

Matt Cantelo

CEO & Founder
Australian Natural Therapeutics Group (ANTG)
Capital, Patience, and Pain: A decade building one of Australia’s first medicinal cannabis companies; Business resilience; Navigating regulation, biology, and time

Tommy Huppert

Founder | Director
Cannatrek
One of Australia’s first fully licensed medicinal cannabis producers. APAC Cannabis Market Landscape: Capitalising on Early Opportunities

Chase Martin

Founder
Umami Seed Co 
Global cannabis genetics company building high-performance cultivars for commercial production, combining advanced breeding with data-driven cultivation, automation and AI.

Benjamin Selma​​​

Director of Cultivation
Hollandse Hoogtes
Large-scale cannabis cultivation in the Netherlands; cultivation leadership and team development; science-led production within the Dutch regulated supply-chain framework

Tyson Cramer

Former VP & Chief Cultivator
Aurora Cannabis
Founder & CEO
Peak Profit Yields 
From Humboldt to global standardisation: GMP-certified production; Third-party supply management; Continuous improvement; Yield optimisation; Hydrocarbon extraction

Max Edgley

Head of Cultivation
Tasmanian Botanics
Scaling Commercial Cannabis Operations; High-Tech Greenhouse Production; Smart Infrastructure & Automation; Data-Driven Cultivation Strategy

Varavij Kambhu Na Ayudhaya

Co-Founder
KAMBIS
Thai EU-GACP cultivation; Cost efficiency in a competitive market; AI as a cultivation advantage; Value-added cannabis product

Jesus Diaz

Head of Cultivation
Austranna
Cultivation scale-up and post-harvest planning; Yield optimisation and operational efficiency; Capacity modelling, QA handoffs, and commercial cultivation readiness.

Nuttha Potapohn

Associate Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
Chiang Mai University
Plant science and cultivation expertise relevant to medicinal crop production

Aphichai Techanitisawad

CEO
Grasshopper Collective
Thailand-based medical cannabis cultivation; genetics R&D; energy-efficient production; domestic and export supply

Sandro Bombardieri

Founder / Chemist
HY-GEN NUTRIENTS
Heavy metal contamination in cultivation; Quality considerations across nutrients and inputs; Supporting compliant medicinal cannabis production

Rob Bruun

CEO & Co-Founder
Evergreen Medica
From Canadian scale-up to Thailand’s export market: Genotype and phenotype selection; GACP certification; Facility design; Elevating farm standards across Asia

Shabnam Sarshar

Women’s Health & Endocannabinoid Medicine
The Recalibration
Bridging herbal tradition with cannabinoid science: Cannabis therapeutics for women’s health; Hormonal wellness and phytochemistry.

Sandra De Lange

COO
Entourage Effect
From the cannabis farm startup to access — connecting suppliers, prescribers, patients, and pharmacies through technology.

Paul Naske

CEO
Rua Bioscience
GMP Manufacturing and Cultivation; Regulatory Compliance; New Zealand Medicinal Cannabis Market; Risk Management; Public Company Leadership

Laura Ramos

Editor-in-Chief
CannaReporter®
Award-winning cannabis journalist and editor; Portugal/EU market coverage; policy and industry insight; storytelling that connects regulators, operators, and patients.

Stephen Murphy

Founder & CEO
Prohibition Partners
Global cannabis market intelligence; European regulatory markets; regulated cannabis policy; emerging market development

Matthias Bakker

Director
Blom Medical
A South African family-run GMP cannabis greenhouse: Climate control systems for challenging environments; Clean room design best practices; Navigating international compliance; Market development

Kohei Yamada

Founder | CEO
KISEKI GROUP CORP
Japan’s first vertically integrated medicinal cannabis company. From Asia to Western markets: building trust through pharmaceutical-grade quality using plant-factory tech, SOP/QA systems, and proprietary genetics.

Giuseppe Plebani

Physician & Cannabinoid Medicine Specialist Private Practice, Ticino, Switzerland 
One of Switzerland’s leading medical cannabis prescribers: Individualized CBD and THC titration strategies; Real-world clinical outcomes in complex patients; Prescribing within Europe’s regulated frameworks

Yolande Martin

Co-Founder
Altermedic
Patient-driven pivot to medicinal rosin; Australian and export market dynamics; ODC licensing, compliance, and operational lessons

Božidar Radišič

CSO
MartianGrow
Cannabis genetics in orbit: microgravity and radiation exposure; post-flight growth and analysis; selecting next-generation space-bred varieties

Oussama Badad

CSO
Trilogene Seeds
Exponential breeding tech and small-farm access; elite cannabis genetics by decade’s end; cannabis ploidy essentials

Nicolas Pougnet

Head of Quality and Compliance
Austranna
GMP compliance and quality systems; TGA and PIC/S GMP readiness; validation, risk management and automated processes.

Adam Windish

CEO
BRITISH CANNABIS™
Medical cannabis manufacturing; quality standards and compliance; patient access; industry education and regulated market development.

Esias Meyer

Founder
JoziGrow
South African indoor cannabis cultivation; Sustainable production & renewable energy; Data, automation & operational efficiency

Jessica Steinberg

Managing Director
The Global C
English & Welsh Solicitor 
Oxford Law PhD 
Commercial transport of cannabinoid medicines, legal aspects of sales contracts, and M&A with licensed producers

Jean-Baptiste Daguerre

Founder & CEO
YD Pharmaceuticals
Distribution partner and / or acquisition? How to conduct proper due diligence; France opening: what it takes to enter Europe’s 2nd largest market (1M patients); Why Europe is not a commodity flower market

Tom Forrest

Co-founder & Chief Development Officer
Puro
Business resilience: overcoming early challenges to scale; Solventless extraction: production methods and target markets; Puro genetics: outdoor breeding for New Zealand conditions

Song Panvichean

Founder & Director
Solar Farm Thailand
3MW solar-powered indoor cultivation: environmental impact and energy use; AI for trichomes and ripeness: assessing harvest timing and consistency; market development challenges: regulatory changes needed to support business growth

Thanudej Thimamontri

Managing Partner/Co-Founder
LeafN
Transitioning from domestic to international cannabis markets; Strategic alliances and cross-border partnerships; Navigating compliance, export readiness, and buyer-seller dynamics

Benjamin Hall

Founder & CEO
LATscan
Cannabis in a new light – Using Laser Ablation Tomography to explore three-dimensional anatomical and spectral features for cannabis strain analysis

More speakers to be announced soon..

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