About Sarah

Sarah Nolet is a globally recognized food systems innovation expert. A systems
thinker with an understanding of the complexities of the food system, Sarah brings a visionary yet pragmatic approach. She is committed to results. Sarah works across the global food system supply chain, helping farmers, agribusinesses, universities, investors and entrepreneurs to achieve their goals.

Sarah holds a Masters in System Design and Management from MIT, a certificate in sustainability from the Sustainability Initiative at MIT Sloan, and a B.S. in Computer Science and Human Factors Engineering from Tufts University.

Sarah is on the board of the Future Farmers Network of Australia, a non-profit dedicated to empowering and supporting young people in Agriculture, and was named a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum in 2016. Sarah is also a writer, startup investor and advisor, and in demand speaker.

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About Cass

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Cass Mao is a strategist, entrepreneur and lifelong emerging technology nerd. With a background in sales and marketing, she’s spent her career building and supporting social enterprises and technology start-ups. She’s led the go to market strategy of two Australian startups, managed investments at VC fund Trimantium, and scaled non-profit incubator Vibewire as Executive Director. 

As a consultant and presenter, Cass has worked with organisations including GroupM, ABC, the Foundation for Young Australians, National Council of Social Services, Vivid Ideas, University of Technology Sydney, Optus and Private Wealth Network. 

Cass holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney. She is a Board Director of Youth Without Borders, and was named a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum in 2015. She represented Australia as a delegate to the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Global Summit in Germany and was selected by the U.S. Department of State for the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program in 2017.

Collaborators

At AgThentic, we bring a global network of leading consultants with expertise in agricultural economics, venture capital, technology and entrepreneurship, and data-driven research to help our clients build the food system of the future.

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Renée Vassilos is a Dutch-American Agricultural Economist with 15+ years of agriculture industry experience. Her expertise ranges from strategic market analysis and product development, to sales, marketing, and distribution strategy. She has lived and worked abroad- three years in Amsterdam and six years in Beijing- contributing to her robust global experience, cultural competence, and network.

Renée brings global, cross-functional experience to AgThentic, having worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and John Deere. She has a BS and MS in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and University of California, Davis, respectively.

David Ansley is an entrepreneur, management consultant and emerging technology guru. An engineer by training with an MBA from IMI (now IMD) in Switzerland, David has experience building and leading companies from idea to exit (listing and acquisition). For five years at Accenture, David led consulting teams to help major APAC corporations develop strategy, improve their supply chains, build better customer interactions, and identify how to create value from IT and the internet.

Having seen many ventures launched and few succeed, David has developed a rigorous and creative approach to commercialization, and is committed to helping get new technologies and business concepts off the ground. David is an expert in understanding emerging technology and its potential to, combined with digitization, disrupt industries...including agriculture.

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Recent Speaking and Writing

What Clients and Partners Say

 
 
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“Sarah is an expert in the agtech industry, constantly on the cutting edge of innovation in the food system. Her contributions to AgFunder News have been invaluable, including a top 10 most read article in 2016. Our work with AgThentic highlights Sarah’s commitment to raise the bar in agtech- she’s someone to watch.”

- Rob Leclerc, CEO, AgFunder

“Each year we have hundreds of students come through MIT Sloan, and each year I am proud to see how capable and accomplished our students are. Then every once in awhile someone comes along who truly blows me away. Sarah is one of a kind - she is both visionary and practical, disciplined and joyful, expert and eager to learn. Watch out, world.

- Jason Jay, Director, Sustainability Initiative at MIT Sloan

 
 
“Sarah was a great addition to the 2017 400M agtech event. Sarah is on top of the latest topics in agtech globally, and her talk was engaging and informative. Many of the pitching startups also appreciated that Sarah was able to provide insights and practical pitch feedback after the event.”

- Ben Lyons, CEO, Food Leaders Australia