Speria is focused on applying technology, analytics, connected systems, and industry expertise to improve predictability across food production. The business brings together farm-level controllers, sensors, gateways, supply chain optimization, animal health intelligence software, and expert services to help producers turn fragmented operational data into earlier and more actionable insights. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Pia Brantgärde Linder, Global President of Speria and Global Vice President of Munters, to learn more about the company’s approach to operational intelligence, artificial intelligence, sustainability, and the future of livestock technology.
Pia Brantgärde Linder’s Background
When asked about her background and what led her to her current role as Global President of Speria and Global Vice President of Munters, Linder explained:
Throughout my career, I’ve been drawn to industries where technology can solve complex operational challenges and create meaningful real-world impact.
After more than 20 years in leadership roles across R&D, operations, sales, and general management at ABB, I developed a practical view of technology.
Innovation matters, but what matters even more is whether you can industrialize it, scale it, and make it reliable enough that customers can depend on it every day.
What attracted me to Munters, and ultimately to leading Speria, was the opportunity to apply those lessons to one of the world’s most essential industries.
Food production is becoming more complex, with increasing pressure on producers and integrators to manage costs, labor availability, sustainability expectations, and operational performance all at once.
That is what makes Speria exciting to me.
We have the opportunity to help producers understand what is happening earlier, make better decisions, and run their operations with greater predictability.
Lessons From Industrial Technology
When asked what lessons food production can take from industries such as manufacturing as it becomes more digital and automated, Linder said:
One lesson is that a great prototype and a great industrial solution are two very different things.
In mission-critical industries, technology has to work every day, at scale and across very different operating environments.
It has to integrate with what is already there. And people have to trust it.
Food production is no different.
You cannot simply introduce a new technology and expect an operation to adapt around it.
These are live production environments where reliability matters and mistakes have real consequences.
That industrial mindset is something we bring to Speria.
We build on infrastructure customers already use, connect capabilities step by step, and focus on technology that improves how operations actually run.
That is also what responsible innovation looks like to me.
Technology should create real business value and positive impact at the same time.
The Biggest Challenges Facing Food Producers
When asked about the biggest challenges facing food producers and where technology can have the greatest impact, Linder explained:
The challenge I hear about again and again is uncertainty.
Producers and integrators are dealing with thin margins, rising input costs, labor shortages, changing environmental conditions, and increasing expectations around animal welfare and sustainability.
At the same time, many are operating with fragmented systems and information that arrives too late.
If I had to describe the industry’s biggest need in a single word, it would be predictability.
Food production will always involve uncertainty.
Weather changes. Markets move. Animals behave differently.
You cannot eliminate uncertainty entirely.
But if you can identify changes earlier, understand what is happening across your operation, and act before issues escalate, you fundamentally change how decisions get made.
I sometimes describe predictability as the best insurance policy a farmer, producer, or integrator can have.
Knowing earlier what is likely to happen allows people to plan better, allocate resources more effectively, and avoid costly surprises.
Turning Food Production Data Into Action
When asked why food producers are not seeing more value from the enormous amount of data already generated by their operations, Linder said:
The industry doesn’t have a data problem. It has an actionability problem.
Many operations already generate huge amounts of information, but it often sits in different systems, arrives at different times, and requires someone to interpret it manually before action can be taken.
More dashboards won’t solve that.
The opportunity is to turn fragmented operational data into clear, prioritized guidance that people can actually use in their daily work.
That is what we mean by operational intelligence.
We combine operational data with technology, analytics and deep industry expertise to understand what matters, and provide clearer guidance for earlier action.
At Speria, we bring together farm-level controllers, sensors, and gateways with supply chain optimization and animal health intelligence software and deep expert services.
By connecting these capabilities across operations and the wider supply chain, we can help turn fragmented data into earlier, more informed action.
Priorities For Speria
When asked about her priorities for building Speria, supporting customers, and driving innovation across the food supply chain, Linder explained:
My priority is enabling food producers to build more predictable operations and proving that this creates measurable value.
Everything else follows from that.
Better performance. Better planning. Better animal outcomes. Better sustainability outcomes.
I also believe that innovation starts with our customers rather than technology itself.
The best ideas come from understanding how food producers and integrators actually work, what challenges they face every day, and building solutions that fit naturally into those environments.
My role is to make sure we stay close to those realities as we build Speria.
We need to keep listening, keep learning, and keep proving through measurable results that our connected capabilities make a difference in customers’ operations.
Why Speria Launched Now
When asked why this was the right time to launch Speria, Linder said:
The food industry is being reshaped by rising costs, labor shortages, sustainability expectations, and increasing operational complexity.
While producers have invested in digital tools over the years, many operations still rely on fragmented systems that don’t communicate with one another, making it difficult to turn data into timely action.
At the same time, technology and workflows are evolving rapidly.
We can connect systems, analyze operational signals in real time, and increasingly move from simply showing people what happened to helping them understand what is happening and what may happen next.
For many years, the industry focused on digitalization.
The next phase is operational intelligence, bringing operational data, technology, analytics and deep industry expertise together to understand what is happening, what may happen next, and where action is needed.
Speria was built because we saw an opportunity to bring those capabilities together and make them more useful in day-to-day mission-critical operations.
Our ambition is to enable customers to move from fragmented information to greater visibility, earlier action, and, ultimately, greater predictability.
Productivity, Sustainability And Animal Welfare
When asked whether productivity, sustainability, and animal welfare have to be competing priorities, Linder explained:
No. In many cases, they reinforce each other.
Feed is a good example.
If you improve feed conversion, you use fewer resources to produce the same amount of protein.
That matters economically because feed is one of the largest costs for a producer.
But it also means less waste and a lower environmental footprint.
The same applies to animal health.
Earlier insight gives people more time to act.
If producers, veterinarians, and their teams can identify potential issues sooner, they have a better opportunity to respond before they escalate.
This is something I strongly believe in: improving business performance and creating positive impact often go hand in hand.
The best innovations are the ones that create value across multiple dimensions at the same time.
The Role Of AI In Food Production
When asked where artificial intelligence can genuinely improve food production, Linder said:
I think we spend too much time talking about AI and not enough time talking about outcomes.
What matters is what AI can do in practice.
In food production, its value is very practical.
It can help identify patterns that people might otherwise miss, detect changes earlier, improve forecasting, and help teams focus their attention on where it is actually needed.
Imagine managing hundreds of farms or production sites.
You don’t need another system generating hundreds of alerts.
You need to know which three things require attention today.
That is where AI becomes useful as part of operational intelligence: helping people understand what matters earlier.
It should augment human expertise, not replace it.
Producers, veterinarians, and operations teams understand their businesses.
Technology can help identify changes earlier, prioritize more effectively, and make decisions with greater confidence.
Over time, I believe these capabilities will help us move from simply seeing what is happening to anticipating what comes next and increasingly automating routine decisions.
But that will happen step by step, as the technology proves itself in real operations and earns people’s trust.
What Will Define Successful Livestock Technology Companies
When asked what qualities will define the companies that successfully shape the future of livestock technology, Linder explained:
The companies that shape the future of livestock technology will earn trust before they earn market share.
Food production is mission-critical.
Technology has to perform when customers need it, not just when someone is demonstrating it.
In my experience, trust isn’t built through product demonstrations or marketing claims.
It’s built through years of delivering consistent results when customers depend on you most.
That’s especially true in food production, where every decision has operational and financial consequences.
The companies that succeed will combine innovation with consistency.
They will connect rather than complicate.
They will help customers modernize at a pace that works for their business while demonstrating value over time.
Trust will matter more than hype.
Munters Seeking A New Owner For Speria
When asked why Munters has chosen to seek a new owner for Speria, Linder explained:
Over the past decade, Munters has built its FoodTech business into a successful global operation, now brought together under Speria.
Speria is an industry leader with a differentiated portfolio of capabilities and a strong position in attractive, high-growth markets.
It largely operates as a stand-alone business with a customer base, go-to-market model, and product portfolio that are distinct from Munters’ other business areas.
As the business has grown and evolved, Munters believes a dedicated owner can provide the focus, flexibility, and speed to support Speria’s next phase of growth and realize its full potential.
Speria has the scale, capabilities, and market position to build on the strong foundation Munters has established and continue investing in its customers, technology, and people.
This does not change Speria’s strategic direction.
It creates an opportunity to accelerate it.
Throughout this process, Munters remains fully committed to Speria, its customers, employees, and operations.
The Future Of Speria And The Food System
When asked what excites her most about where Speria and the broader food system are heading, Linder said:
What excites me is the possibility of making one of the world’s most important systems more predictable.
The future of food production will be shaped by the industry’s ability to anticipate change rather than simply react to it.
As operations become more connected, producers will be able to identify emerging issues earlier, understand what matters most before problems escalate, and manage performance more proactively across the production system.
Over time, more routine decisions could happen automatically, allowing people to focus on the decisions where their expertise creates the greatest value.
That is the direction I believe we’re heading.
For Speria, our job is to help make that transition practical.
That is what operational intelligence ultimately comes down to: turning data into insight, insight into action, and action into impact.
