Behind every edition of the Global Shrimp Forum is a team working months in advance to bring the event to life. Since joining the forum in 2023, Dutch event agency PINO has played a central role in shaping both the programme and the overall event experience, helping coordinate everything from content and production to logistics and delegate experience.
We spoke with Rogier Mulder, co-owner of PINO, who together with Project Manager Lynn van Rennes and the wider PINO team works closely with GSF partners behind the scenes to deliver the forum each year. Rogier shared more about the collaboration, the preparation involved, and what it takes to create a seamless experience for a global audience.
What is your name, and your role outside of the GSF?
My name is Rogier Mulder, and I am co-owner of PINO, an event agency based in the Netherlands. We specialise in designing and delivering conferences where content, experience, and interaction come together, often in complex, international settings.
Describe your role at GSF
At the Global Shrimp Forum, I focus primarily on the programme design. Together with Willem van der Pijl and the chairs of the different tracks, I help shape the content and overall structure of the event, making sure there is a strong balance between insights, discussion, and variation across the three days.
At the same time, we work very much as a team from PINO. Our project manager, Lynn van Rennes, plays a central role in bringing everything together. She works closely with Willem and partners such as Robert from Van der Valk and Ivo from Wavru, aligning everything from setup and capacity to technical production and the design of key moments like the welcome reception and conference dinner.
How long have you been working with the GSF?
We have been involved with the Global Shrimp Forum from the early editions, and have seen it grow into a leading international platform for the shrimp industry. Each year, both the scale and the level of the event have increased.
What do you most enjoy about collaborating with the GSF team?
What stands out is the combination of ambition and openness. There is a strong drive to keep improving the forum, while at the same time there is a very collaborative way of working. Ideas are taken seriously, and there is room to experiment and refine, which makes it a genuinely co-creative process.
What would you say makes the Global Shrimp Forum unique?
It is the combination of high-level content and a very accessible atmosphere. You have decision-makers from across the entire value chain in one place, but the setting makes it easy to connect and have meaningful conversations.
At the same time, the forum is very focused on what is relevant now for the industry—market developments, sustainability, and innovation—which makes it highly practical and valuable for participants.
What is a part of your role that you think goes unnoticed, but is vital in the delivery of the forum?
A lot of the work is in the coordination and fine-tuning behind the scenes. Our team is continuously aligning programme, production, logistics, and partner expectations so that everything fits together seamlessly.
Lynn is in close contact with Willem, Robert from Van der Valk, and Ivo from Wavru on all operational and technical aspects. In parallel, Barbara Bekker supports the registration process and is in daily contact with delegates and sponsors, ensuring that questions are handled quickly and that expectations are managed well in advance.
That combination of detailed coordination and constant communication is largely invisible, but it is what makes the event feel smooth and effortless for participants.
For how long, ahead of the event in September, are you preparing?
Preparation starts many months in advance and gradually intensifies. We are continuously working on the next edition, from shaping the programme to refining the setup and introducing improvements.
For example, this year we are working on innovations such as the use of Speaksee to make the event more accessible through live translation. We are also redesigning parts of the exhibition area to make it more open, accessible, and better integrated into the overall flow of the event.
In addition, we are developing a new and more dynamic approach to the opening, both in terms of content and stage design, creating a more engaging, talk-show-style start to the forum.
We’re celebrating our 5th anniversary this year. What have you enjoyed most about working with the team over the years?
It has been very rewarding to see how the forum has developed over the years, not just in size but especially in quality and impact. Each edition builds on the previous one, with new ideas, improvements, and a growing international community.
What I particularly enjoy is that this progress is very much a team effort. The collaboration between the GSF organisation, partners, and our team at PINO has become stronger each year, which makes it possible to keep raising the bar together.
