Key competencies: Seed & grain sector, plant breeding, plant breeding innovation, new plant breeding techniques, plant breeders' rights, plant variety rights, plant variety protection, intellectual property, patents, biotechnology, phytosanitary matters, regulatory affairs, trade facilitation, profit & non-profit leadership and international outreach.

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Large international network: Over the years, Marcel has met 3000+ people from 100+ countries; LinkedIn => 9100+ followers (including many government decision makers, Ministers etc.) and 1800 endorsements.

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2014-present: Consultant on seed & grain issues, plant breeding, plant breeders' rights, intellectual property, trade facilitation and international outreach

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2014-present: Editorial Director of EUROPEAN SEED, a platform focusing on the European seed sector.

2015-2017: Senior Science Adviser for the INTERNATIONAL GRAIN TRADE COALITION (IGTC)

2014-2015: Secretariat of the INTERNATIONAL GRAIN TRADE COALITION (IGTC)

2007-2014: Secretary-General of the INTERNATIONAL SEED FEDERATION (ISF)

1998-2007: Global Manager Plant Variety Protection at Seminis Vegetable Seeds

1998-1998: License broker for Agricultural & Biotechnological Inventions at the Innovation Center for Inventions (ID-NL)

1996-1998: Manager IP Rights at the CPRO-DLO

1995-1997: Chief Editor of the Annual Report '95 and '96 of CPRO-DLO

1990-1994: PhD research on 'Optimization of the use of polygenic resistance against Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat' at Plant Research International in Wageningen, The Netherlands

1983-1989: Agricultural University Wageningen, Department for Plant Breeding

 

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Plant Breeding is his passion. He studied plant breeding at Wageningen University, followed by a PhD on Fusarium resistance in wheat. While writing his PhD thesis he became interested in the field of intellectual property (IP) and decided to take some IP courses. The research institute where he was working at that time put him in charge of the IP portfolio, after which he set up an IP policy, and started giving lectures and raising awareness on the topic. The combination of plant breeding and IP got quickly picked up and he was asked to join the legal department in a vegetable seed company. For almost 10 years he was in charge of the global IP portfolio, and more specifically the plant breeders' rights. It was during this time that he started to become engaged with several seed associations. He joined the IP committees of the Dutch Seed Association Plantum and the European Seed Association (ESA). In addition he joined the Sustainable Agriculture Committee of the International Seed Federation (ISF). When the position of Secretary-General of ISF opened up he did not hesitate and was chosen to succeed the outgoing Bernard Le Buanec. In 2007 he started working at ISF in Switzerland. After 7 very successful years at ISF, he decided it was time to start something new, and started his own seed consultancy. He has been helping non-profit and profit organizations ever since.

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