Professor Florian Popa, President of the Organizing Committee of the First International Congress ,,Health – Food – Welfare”, Rector of „Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacie in Bucharest, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of „Journal of Medicine and Life”, President of the Executive Board of Academy of Medical Sciences, President of Department of Surgery of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Vice President of the Romanian Society of Surgery, Member of International Society of Surgery, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Palermo, and more. „Journal of Medicine and Life” is pointing the concerns about medicine and life within the increasing importance of the patient’s point of view, while quality of life is managed within medicine and even going beyond, the necessity of reconsidering the essential role of communication in an adequate offering of the right answers in accordance with the changes in medical care, inviting us to make responsible steps on the way of building a collaborative environment, turning up the conversation focused on patients’ lives and on the outcomes of the necessary mature actions as meeting and surpassing patient expectations. 

Professor Eliot Sorel, M.D., D.L.F.A.P.A., is an internationally recognized medical leader, practicing psychiatric physician, educator, and health systems policy advisor. He directs and teaches courses in Health Systems, Health Diplomacy, and Global Governance and in Global Mental Health in the School of Public Health and Health Services at the George Washington University where he has professorial appointments in Global Health, Health Services Management and Leadership as well as in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Medicine. He is also the founder and chairman of the World Youth Democracy Forum at the Elliott School of International Affairs. Dr. Sorel is former President and Chairman of the Board of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, former President of the World Association for Social Psychiatry and of the Washington Psychiatric Society. He has served as a National Institutes of Health grants reviewer. In 1990 he founded the Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution Section of the World Psychiatric Association. He is a Life Member of the American Medical Association, a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He obtained his B.A. from New York University, M.D. from the State University of New York and psychiatric training at Yale University. He has developed and led health systems in the Caribbean and North America, has consulted and taught in more than twenty countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. In addition to his academic, clinical practice, health policy and professional organizations activities, Dr. Sorel has served as an advisor on health systems for the Pan American and World Health Organizations, and as a print & electronic media commentator on health related matters. He is the author or coauthor of more than sixty scientific papers, book chapters and the editor of six books. His latest book, The Marshall Plan: Lessons Learned for the 21st Century, is available at OECD in Paris and accessible online at OECD in Paris.  In 2008 Dr. Sorel organized a coalition of academic centers, governmental, nongovernmental, and professional organizations and convened the Lancet Global Mental Health Series, Americas’ Launch at PAHO/WHO in Washington, D.C., a catalytic and historic event promoting the integration of scientific evidence, advocacy and health policy with the goal of enhancing access to care and ending discrimination against the mentally ill, globally.

Professor Bernd Hallier, PhD, is Managing Director EHI Retail Institute (former EuroHandelsinstitut ), President of EuCVoT (European Competence Center for Vocational Training for Retail), President of the European Retail Academy (ERA), Chairman of the Advisory Board of EuroShop (world’s largest capital goods show in the retail sector), Member of the Board of AIDA Brussels, Member of the Astana Economic Scientists Club, Member of the Advisory Board of “Transparent Food” (the core relevance of transparency as a critical success factor and the need for the delivery of appropriate support by research has been emphasized in the Strategic Research Agenda/SRA of the European Technology Platform “Food for Life” from where this proposal evolved; it utilizes its links with the European-wide network of more than 30 National Technology Platforms to link up with stakeholders of the food chain including industry, consumers, research and sector representatives of different European countries),Chairman of the Board of the Orgainvent (the largest German labelling organization in the beef sector; the purpose of Orgainvent business is the “development and coordination of identification, assurance and merchandise management systems between the agricultural industry and the food retail trade”), Trustee of EHI Retail Institute at GLOBALG.A.P (a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of production processes of agricultural products around the globe; serves as a practical manual for Good Agricultural Practice – G.A.P anywhere in the world; the work of the Board and Committees is supported by FoodPLUS GmbH, a non-profit limited company based in Cologne, Germany, fulfilling a secretariat function for GLOBALG.A.P.; financial and legal ownership and responsibility for FoodPLUS GmbH is held by the EHI Retail Institute).

Professor Bernd Hallier began many years ago a fruitful collaboration with the prestigious Professor Klaus Toepfer (former Federal German Minister for Environment, former director of the United Nations Environment Program UNEP and initiator of the Kyoto Protocol), and with Dr. Angela Merkel (today Chancellor of the Federal Republic, and who pushed “environment” to become a high political issue during the EU-Presidency of Germany, in 2007).

Professor John L. Stanton,  Saint Joseph’s University’s Philadelphia, Department of Food Marketing,  Founding Editor of the „Journal of Food Products Marketing” and Editor of the „Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing”. At Temple University in Philadelphia he formed the „Institute for Food Nutrition and Health” and consulted for many of America’s largest food companies including Campbell Soup Company, Frito Lay and Kellogg.  At Saint Joseph’s  University Dr. Stanton served two terms of chairman of the department and also directed a  research center focusing on food and health. He has also worked as a food marketing practitioner, and he held the position of Vice President of Marketing of an international coffee company, worked in Germany for Tengelmann, owner of  retail stores throughout Europe, and worked in advertising as director of research of a US advertising agency. Dr. Stanton has served as an expert and expert witness to many food and beverage companies including Whole Foods, Target, Coca Cola, Ahold, Supervalu, Boars Head, Safeway and many others.  Dr. Stanton is also on the Board of Directors for Herr Foods, Premio Foods, David Michael Flavors and the Original Philadelphia Cheesesteak Company. He has been regularly quoted in the news media including CNN, the Today Show and NBC Nightly News and has been quoted in Forbes, Fortune, Advertising Age, Brand Week, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and many others.  He hosted an episode of the History Channel’s Modern Marvels entitled, “The History of the Supermarket.” Dr. Stanton was also among the first to author articles on health and nutrition advertising  claims with articles in the Journal of Advertising Research as early as 1987.

Professor Alexandru-Vlad Ciurea, Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of the First International Congress ,,Health – Food – Welfare”, President of the Romanian Society of Neurosurgery, Chairman Neurosurgical Clinic 1, „Bagdasar-Arseni” Hospital, Bucharest;

Vice-President WFNS “at large” (World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies); Chairman of the Nominating Committee of WFN; Vice-President AMN (Academia Multidisciplinaria Neurotraumatologica); Honorary President of the Romanian Society of Neurosurgery (RSN).