Marcel Smits is the former CEO and Chair of Cargill Asia Pacific, a global leader in the food and agriculture sector, where he led the company through a period of significant growth and operational transformation. Under his leadership, Cargill focused on expanding its global footprint, particularly in emerging markets, while maintaining a strong commitment to sustainability and responsible sourcing. He played a pivotal role in driving Cargill’s expansion into new markets and increasing its investment in technology to enhance organizational efficiency.

With more than 30 years of experience in the corporate world, Marcel has held senior leadership positions across a range of industries, including finance, operations, and governance. Prior to joining Cargill, Marcel held CFO and CEO positions at Sara Lee, KPN (the Dutch telco) and Vendex KBB (a European retail conglomerate) where he led corporate transformations. He has been a non-executive board member at various corporations but also at not-for-profit organizations such as unions, employers organizations, charities.

Marcel is an active investor and is dedicating a large part of his time helping young people and early-stage companies to be successful. He acts as an investor, coach and advisor. Most of these investments are sustainability or technology related. Examples are methane capture, recycling, insect protein, cultivated meat, sustainable aqua culture and electrification of aviation.

Marcel plays an active role at insect protein company Entobel where he is serving as both an investor and a board member.

He frequently writes opinion articles about a variety of subjects on LinkedIn and Dutch newspapers.