Marcel is driven by a long-standing commitment to ensuring that farming remains a viable livelihood, reimagined in a more sustainable and resilient form. Having spent much of his youth on a farm, he brings a deeply personal motivation to strengthening the future of agriculture and food systems.
His professional career has been fully dedicated to the ingredients and AgriFood sector. Marcel began his career as a Product Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim. Guided by the belief that food is the new medicine, he later joined the specialty ingredients start-up Selko BV as Global CCO and CMO. Following its acquisition by Nutreco, he served as CEO and board member of TNI Specialty Ingredients.
Subsequently, Marcel held several CMO and CEO roles in agri-food and health service companies undergoing transformation, where he developed a strong ability to operate and lead in rapidly changing environments.
Over the past year, Marcel has been working as Senior Investment Manager at the Brightlands AgriFood Fund. In parallel, he is the owner of a mushroom farm in São Paulo, Brazil. His expertise lies in accelerating ideas into market-ready concepts and building sustainable businesses in global markets. He focuses on sectors in transition, with deep know-how in connecting agriculture to sustainable food systems and healthy lifestyles, while placing farmers at the center of the value chain.
Marcel holds a Master’s degrees in Animal Nutrition, Animal Health and Business Economics from Wageningen University, an International MBA from Webster University, a Master’s degree in Marketing, and is an EMC-certified Registered Marketeer (RM).
