2026: International workshop on agriculture policy for resilient systems (GFFPI event)

Natalie Bidner-Swehla joined USCIB in 2024 as Director of International Agriculture Policy. Before joining USCIB, Bidner-Swehla worked at the World Food Prize Foundation, leading global agriculture and food security initiatives and programming. She also fostered synergetic stakeholder relationships and cultivated unique partnerships.

Prior to that role, Bidner-Swehla was a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Iowa State University where she assisted professors in classroom instruction. She was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award in 2020 and the James A. Socknat Memorial Scholarship in 2019 for her work at the university. During her studies, she lived in Brussels and New Delhi interning with the State Department and Sehgal Foundation to better understand and strengthen the intersection between agriculture and policy.

Bidner-Swehla also served as the World President of the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS).  In this capacity, she led over fifty member countries, amplifying the youth voice in global forums and organizing impactful agriculture and science-based projects and events.

Bidner-Swehla holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Iowa State University and dual degrees in Global Resource Systems and Political Science with a minor in Agronomy from the same institution.

Peter Creaser is Australia’s Minister Counsellor for Agriculture to the European Union, based at the Australian Embassy in Brussels. He supports trade opportunities for Australian agricultural products and represents Australia’s agricultural interests in international forums.

Peter brings more than 30 years’ experience across the private sector and state and federal governments, working with farmers, exporters and trading partners. His career includes senior roles in agricultural trade, plant biosecurity and market access. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s in Natural Resource Management and is a Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.

Tassos Haniotis recently retired, after a 33-year career in the Commission, as the Director of Strategy, Simplification and Policy Analysis in the Directorate General for Agriculture of the European Commission. Tassos is Sustainable Productivity Adviser for the Forum for the Future of Agriculture and a Senior Guest Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. He previously held posts as Head of Unit in the Agricultural Policy Analysis and Perspectives unit and the Agricultural Trade Policy Analysis unit in the same Directorate General, as Member and subsequently Deputy Head of the Cabinet of former European Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler (with respective responsibilities the preparation of the 2003 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, and the agricultural chapter of the Doha WTO Round and the EU-Mercosur negotiations), and as the Agricultural Counsellor of the European Commission’s Delegation in the United States. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of Georgia, USA, and a B.A. in Economics from the Athens University of Economics and Business, in his native Greece. Before joining the European Commission, he spent six months as a visiting Fellow at the Centre for European Agricultural Studies, Wye College, University of London, focusing on EU-US agricultural trade relations in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. He hold a Honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Thessaloniki. Active in the ag research community, he is a member of the International and European Associations of Ag Economics, the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, and the EU Nitrogen Expert Panel.

Ambassador Guido Landheer took up his duties as Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the OECD on 3 September 2026.

Mr. Landheer is a macroeconomist with more than 30 years of experience in senior public leadership, economic policy and international co-operation. Throughout his career he has held senior leadership positions across the Dutch Government, working at the intersection of macroeconomic policy, international trade, industrial policy, agriculture and sustainable economic growth. His experience spans many of the OECD’s core policy areas, including productivity, innovation, trade, food systems, sustainability and economic resilience.  

Mr. Landheer holds a degree in (macro) Economics, with a specialisation in International Trade and Macroeconomic Policy. His academic training laid the foundation for a career spanning economic policy, industrial competitiveness, international trade and food systems, always from a broad macroeconomic perspective. His career has been guided by a commitment to open markets, sound public institutions and international co-operation as key drivers of sustainable prosperity.  

He began his career at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management in 1992, where he worked on aviation policy and market regulation. During this period, he contributed to the privatisation of Schiphol Airport, the KLM-Air France merger and the liberalisation of international aviation markets. He also completed a professional placement at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Washington, D.C.  

In 2006, Mr. Landheer joined the Ministry of Economic Affairs, where he held several senior management positions, including Deputy Director for Energy and Sustainability and Director for Top Sectors and Industrial Policy. He played a leading role in shaping Dutch industrial, innovation and energy policy and strengthening the competitiveness of the Dutch economy.  

From 2015 to 2019, Mr. Landheer served as Deputy Director-General for Foreign Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was responsible for the Netherlands’ international trade agenda and economic diplomacy.  

Since 2019, Mr. Landheer has served as Director for European, International and Agroeconomic Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature. He has also served as Deputy Director-General and for one year as Acting Director-General. His responsibilities have included European agricultural policy, food security, international affairs, innovation and co-operation with organisations including the OECD, the European Union and the FAO.  

Alongside his government career, Mr. Landheer has served as Chair of the Royal Netherlands Cricket Association (KNCB). During his tenure, participation increased by more than 25%, the men’s national team qualified for three ICC World Cups, and the women’s national team qualified for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time.  

In 2026, Mr. Landheer was awarded the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) Special Award for his contribution to strengthening economic relations between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.  

As Permanent Representative to the OECD, Mr. Landheer draws on his broad experience in macroeconomic policy, international trade, public leadership and multilateral co-operation to contribute to the Organisation’s work on building stronger, more sustainable and more inclusive economies.  

Tyler McCann is the Managing Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. His career in agri-food policy includes working for federal ministers, farm groups, industry associations and agri-food businesses. Tyler operates a beef and goat farm with his wife and children in Western Quebec.

Experienced in the fields of policy research, editing, communications, and project management, Katie McRobert has been part of the Australian Farm Institute team since late 2017, holding roles as Senior Researcher and General Manager before becoming Executive Director in April 2024. Prior to joining AFI, Katie worked as a global Content and Community Manager for Rabobank, liaising with farming clients to build knowledge banks, and as the National Editor for FarmOnline. Katie has an MBA from Griffith University specialising in Sustainable Business. She is currently Chair of the CSIRO Drought Resilience Mission Advisory Group, and a member of the Australian Agricultural Traceability Governance Group, the CSIRO Agriculture & Food external advisory group, and the NSW Farm Writers Committee. At the AFI, Katie’s role gives her the opportunity to deep dive into evidence-based policy research focused on the sustainability of agrifood systems – work she feels proud and privileged to be part of.

As Deputy Director of the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD), Ms Nielson helps oversee work to develop and communicate evidence-based advice to governments with the aim of helping them improve the domestic and international performance of their policies in the areas of trade, food, agriculture and fisheries.

Ms. Nielson has over 20 years’ experience in multilateral trade and development, strategy and management. She was previously Head of the Emerging Policy Issues Division in TAD, with responsibility for issues including digital trade and the level playing field. Prior to this, she worked for the World Bank Group (WBG), including in the office of the then-President of the WBG, Bob Zoellick. Ms. Nielson began her international career in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, following which she joined the OECD Trade Directorate, working on trade in services. Ms Nielson left the OECD in 2005 to join the Trade Department of the WBG. Ms Nielson holds a Bachelor of Arts Hons (1st class) and a Masters in Foreign Affairs and Trade from the Australian National University.

Mark is a Co-founder and a former Director of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture. He is now a Member of the Forum’s Advisory Council and a Senior Fellow at the Transatlantic Policy Network. Mark joined SpiritsEUROPE as their Director-General in September 2025, having enjoyed a long career in the agri-food sector, principally at Syngenta where he held several senior leadership and executive level positions in corporate affairs and business sustainability in the EAME region and globally. After leaving Syngenta in 2017, Mark became the CEO of EngineeringUK before joining Indigo Ag, where he held a variety of different roles before becoming Head of Corporate Affairs and a Member of the Executive Team in 2024.  

Dr. Uetake has 23 years of professional experience in the agri-food sector, including work in developing countries such as India and Bhutan, as well as in international organizations including the OECD, FAO, and the EU. His expertise focuses on legal and economic policy analysis, stakeholder relationship management, trade and environmental negotiations, and public–private partnerships. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Hitotsubashi University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.