Jan Westra

Strategic Business Developer

Priva

Strategic business developer at Priva, De Lier, Westland, The Netherlands Dr. Jan Westra works at Priva as strategic business developer, mainly for research and development projects at the cutting edge of horticulture and building technology.  Another part is looking into what startups can bring for Priva and Priva for them. He graduated M.Sc. at the TU Delft in 1985, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Refrigeration and Indoor Climate Control (HVAC). Subsequently did PhD research at the same department, culminating in a thesis in 1990 on the topic: Development of an Advanced Absorption Heat Transformer. A thermal device to transform low grade heat without adding energy flows to high grade heat by an absorption process. After TU Delft Jan Westra worked for more than five years at an HVAC consultancy firm in Rotterdam. In 1996 Westra joined the Priva company. Partly for the development of equipment for water treatment for greenhouses, partly for directing research projects with universities and colleges. Examples: University of Ghent, KU Leuven, Wageningen UR, University of Twente and TU Delft. Priva operates in three markets: horticulture and building management systems plus vertical farming. In these fields he contributes in business development and researching new techniques.  A newer endeavor by Priva is the Sustainable Urban Delta concept, tying food, energy, recreation and other functions together in the most sustainable way. Jan contributes to this program. Jan Westra is a specialist in the field of urban agriculture or vertical farming, where the horticulture and building worlds come together. On behalf of Priva he is involved in many initiatives in this field worldwide. Last few years his focus is on Europe, USA and Canada, also connecting to research institutes and universities. Jan is a member of the board of the Netherlands Canada Chamber of Commerce, the advisory board of the TU Delft AgTech Institute as well as the Executive Board of the PIP program by FFAR in the USA. And a speaker at several conventions.