As we advance to the 2022 edition of Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF Colombia),  additional speakers and panelists for the two-day forum have been confirmed. 

Speaking from their years of expertise and experience in various areas of the global coffee industry, these speakers and panelists at PRF Colombia will present on and discuss a range of topics relevant to all areas of the coffee supply chain.

FRANK KAVANAGH – CLOUD PICKER COFFEE (REPUBLIC OF IRELAND) 

Frank Kavanagh co-founded Cloud Picker Coffee Roasters in Dublin, Ireland in 2013 with his partner, Peter Sztal. Prior to his work in specialty coffee, Frank was trained as a Graphic Designer and worked in the field until 2011.

As a trained Graphic Designer, Frank has applied his knowledge and expertise to elevate customer experience and branding at Cloud Picker. In 2018, Cloud Picker was recognised with the Award for  ‘Best New Product’ at the World of Coffee expo in Amsterdam, recognising their newly designed recyclable coffee packaging.

Frank currently lives in Wicklow, Ireland with his husband Peter and their two Great Danes. At PRF Colombia, he will join the panel ‘The Importance of Branding in Specialty Coffee: From Seed to Cup’ to share his insights on design, specialty coffee and the importance of impactful marketing.

MELISSA VILLANUEVA – BREWPOINT COFFEE (USA)

Melissa Villanueva is the Owner and CEO of Brewpoint Coffee in Chicago. With no business plan and very limited finances, Melissa has grown Brewpoint to four coffee shops and a successful coffee roastery. In 2019, she co-authored a book, “Starting & Running a Coffee Shop: Brew Success with Proven Strategies for Every Aspect of Your Espresso Startup’. 

Brewpoint has been mentioned in renowned publications such as Forbes, Fast Company, and Sprudge for their inspiring small business journey and dedication to building a better world through coffee. 

Melissa will join PRF Colombia alongside Chris Treter of Higher Grounds Trading Co., in the expert panel ‘Human-centric Coffee: Building a Community Driven Business.’

ALBERT SCALA – STONEX (USA)

Albert Scalla, Senior Vice President of Trading at StoneX, has combined his considerable knowledge of various markets with his experience in implementing risk management strategies in Futures, Options and Structured Products in the international commodity markets.  
Albert joined Hencorp Futures, later acquired by StoneX, 29 years ago, where he has been an important pillar for the development of Price Risk Management programs. He has been invited as a guest speaker to several national and international coffee conferences to speak on Price Risk Management for coffee participants in both producing and consuming countries.

At PRF Colombia, he will present a lecture titled ‘​​Why are Coffee Prices so High? Markets, Prices and Fundamentals’, drawing upon his years of experience to examine the global coffee market and price fluctuations.

If you’re interested in learning more about speakers, panelists and events at PRF Colombia, subscribe to the PRF newsletter or get in touch with a member of our team.