Ian Roberts
Ian Roberts has served as CTO of Bühler since 2011. During that period the company has undergone a digital transformation, developed a collaborative innovation culture, building and engaging with broad ecosystems and continued to strengthen an innovation leadership position. A strong advocate for entrepreneurship and sustainability, he is a co-founder and president of the startup accelerator MassChallenge Switzerland, a board member of RESTOR, a global ecology and land restoration platform and an Ambassador for the education programme Aiducation. Ian Roberts has a PhD in Chemical Engineering and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. He has more than 25 years experience in the food industry, having previously worked in a range of innovation and business development roles for Nestlé.
Talk - Connected Value Chain
Sustainability should not be a side show for a company. Many common promises e.g. mitigating climate change or protecting nature lie outside the core business model of the company and so are unconvincing. To drive growth and scale positive impact the sustainability promise must be embedded in the company business model. This brings credibility, as what you say is generally what you do, the purpose inspires and attracts talented employees and this becomes a vehicle for driving innovation and adopting new business models.
At Bühler we have a clear promise and commitments for sustainability and utilise this to inspire customers, catalyse innovations, drive business and culture.