Gerhard Schiefer
proQuantis Ltd & Co. KG
http://www.fooddynamics.org
http://www.proquantis.de
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schiefer graduated in agricultural economics and received a PhD in economics. He founded the International Center for Food Chain and Network Research at the University of Bonn and chairs the independent International Center for Management, Communication and Research (CentMa) which organizes annual conferences on system dynamics in food networks and publishes a related international journal. He was instrumental in the foundation of EFITA (European Federation for IT in Agriculture, Food and the Environment; founding president), INFITA (the European and International Networks for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment) and the establishment and coordination of the regular World Conferences on IT in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (WCCA). He has been co-initiator of the European Technology Platform (ETP) Food for Life where he acted as member of the board and chairman of the working group on Food Chain Management. He is presently chairman of a regional development park (Bio-Innovation-Park Rheinland; www.bio-innovation-park.de) that creates an innovation environment linking business with research, development, communities, and policy. He initiated a major software company in the filed and is presently director of proQuantis, a company engaged in management issues and the development of supporting software tools. Prof. Schiefer has been engaged in a substantial number of European projects and was engaged in the various projects within the FI-PPP program (Future Internet). His main research interests focus on new management and innovation schemes in food networks as well as in the utilization of management technologies in support of food chain strategies towards improvements and innovations in food safety, food quality, and chain sustainability.