Speakers

Angeline Achariya

Chief Executive Officer/Food Innovation Centre, Monash University

The global consumer is continuously evolving and demanding more from the actors in the food and agriculture value chain. With the growing focus on the intersection of Food, Health, Nutrition, Wellness and Digitisation. The time is ripe for both innovation and disruption to bring new sustainable innovations to market that continue to win the hearts and minds of the global consumer. Personally, I see many possibilities for food and Agriculture businesses to collaborate and co-create not just new product innovations but new business models that address the key resource challenges we face. As a global consumer myself, I am demanding food for me, wherever I maybe and whenever I want it. The possibilities are endless and truly exciting.

Angeline is a globally recognized and respected leader in commercializing innovation to market, a practicioner of building innovation capabilities and export pathways into Asia. With a career spanning over 20 years of diverse international innovation and leadership experience in blue chip multinational companies like MasterFoods Japan, Fonterra, Yum! Brands and Mondelez International, has resulted in more than 800 innovations launched in grocery retail, foodservice and quick service restaurants.

Angeline is on a number of advisory boards and committees and most noteworthy is the development of Victoria’s Food & Fibre strategy in 2015. Angeline’s strong commercial and innovation skills have paved the way for her leading and establishing a world first industry shared model, the Mondelez International Food Innovation Centre (FIC). The FIC has transitioned to Monash University in 2016 as a neutral industry shared innovation services start up to support the growth and revitalisation of the Australian food and beverage industry.

Polly Burey

University of Southern Queensland

Dr Polly Burey is a chemical and materials engineer with expertise in developing fundamental understanding of the relationships between composition, microstructure, processing and rheological behaviour of food. Her current research focuses on the development of useful products from food excess and processing by-products, specifically ingredients, nutritional products and composite materials, including bioplastics. Dr Burey joined the University of Southern Queensland in 2017 leading the Food Waste Valorisation Research Program Team and the BSc Food Science major. In 2018 Dr Burey led the Food Waste MoPS (Modular Processing Systems) team through CSIRO ON Prime identifying different players in the food supply chain that could benefit from her team’s research.

Lisa Cork

Fresh Produce Marketing Ltd and Lisa Cork Strategic Consulting

Lisa Cork is an award-winning marketer and strategist, empowering clients to boldly face the future and embrace change as a strategy for growth. A thought leader and challenger of the status quo, Lisa’s workshops and strategy ‘super-sessions’ help companies thrive in a climate of disruption. Over her 30-year career, Lisa has shaped current thinking on produce branding and marketing through her writing, speaking and industry involvement. Her work with clients globally enables her to see and incorporate the latest international trends and insights into her work.

Lisa is a Director of the PMA and involved in the Demand Creation and Global Development taskforces. She holds both a Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Agribusiness Marketing and is a popular conference and workshop presenter. You can find Lisa’s columns on fresh produce marketing, branding and trends in FreshFruitPortal.com, Fruitnet.com and Produce Plus magazine.

Outside of work, Lisa loves to travel and summit mountains in exotic locations. You can connect with her on LinkedIn: LisaSCork and Twitter @LisaCork_FPM. For more information: Lisa@freshproducemarketing.com or visit www.freshproducemarketing.com.

David Cox

Principal Research Scientist/CSIRO Health and Biosecurity

Dr David Cox is a Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Adelaide. Since obtaining a PhD at the University of London, he focused upon psycho-social and sensory predictors of food choice and acceptance at the Institute of Food Research, UK.

Since joining CSIRO in 1998, work has included consumers’ acceptance of novel food technologies, cross-cultural differences, functional foods and a particular interest in increasing vegetable consumption through a long relationship with the horticulture industry, including studies of the acceptance of brassicas, children’s acceptance, school curriculum work and the development of a strategic approach to increasing children’s vegetable intakes.

Sandro Demaio

Co-host/Ask the Doctor, ABC

Sandro trained and worked as a medical doctor at The Alfred Hospital in Australia. While practising as a doctor he completed a Master in Public Health including fieldwork in Cambodia.

In 2010, he relocated to Denmark where he completed a PhD with the University of Copenhagen, focusing on non-communicable diseases. His doctoral research was based in Mongolia, working with the Ministry of Health. He designed, led and reported a national epidemiological survey, sampling more than 3500 households.

Sandro held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School from 2013 to 2015, and was assistant professor and course director in global health at the Copenhagen School of Global Health, in Denmark. He also established and led the PLOS blog Global Health.

From November 2015 until April 2018, Sandro was Medical Officer for non-communicable conditions and nutrition with the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development at the global headquarters of the World Health Organization.

In April 2018, Sandro became Chief Executive Office of EAT: the science-based, global platform for food systems transformation.

In his pro bono work, Dr Demaio co-founded NCDFREE, a global social movement against non-communicable diseases using social media, short film and leadership events – reaching more than 2.5 million people in its first 18 months. In 2015, he founded festival21, assembling and leading a team of knowledge leaders in staging a massive and unprecedented, free celebration of community, food, culture and future in his hometown Melbourne.

Then in 2018 and funded through his media work with ABC TV and Pan MacMillan publishers, Sandro established an independent, not-for-profit foundation focused on improving the health and nutrition of Australians.

Dr Demaio currently co-hosts the ABC television show Ask the Doctor – an innovative and exploratory factual medical series broadcasting weekly across Australia.

To date, he has published 30 scientific papers and more than 90 articles. He is also the author of the Doctor’s Diet, a cookbook based on science and inspired by a love of good food.

Sandro is fascinated by systems-innovation and leadership; impact in a post-democracy; and externality-driven disease.

Samantha Gash

Endurance Athlete, Inspirational Speaker, Author, Social Impact Entrepreneur, Ambassador/World Vision & Royal Flying Doctors Service

Like many young people her age, Samantha Gash had a desire to challenge herself and to make a difference in the world. Ambitious, determined, naïve and stubborn Samantha couldn’t have imagined that her journey would take her to the four corners of the earth and impact so many lives. The ‘4 Deserts Grand Slam’ requires competitors’ to run four, 250km ultra marathons across the driest (Chile), windiest (China), hottest (Sahara) and coldest deserts (Antarctica) on earth. When all four races are completed in one calendar year, it is regarded as one of the toughest endurance events on the planet. Samantha made history by becoming the first woman and the youngest person at the time to complete the Grand Slam. Her journey was captured for the big screen in the award-winning film Desert Runners.

Samantha’s view on what she was capable of changed forever from this point. With an increasing desire to push the physical envelope even further, the following year Samantha found herself entered into a 222km non-stop run across the Himalayas, in an event that had only been completed by one man.

As an Ambassador for World Vision, Samantha completed a 76 day/3253km run from the West to the East of India. She raised over $150K to fund six education focused programs and visited 18 communities that World Vision support across the country. These stories were shared through a digital platform with organisations and individuals taking part in a global peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.

Samantha is also an ambassador for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and will be releasing her memoirs with Macmillan Publishers & Run India documentary in 2019. Samantha’s experience has made her an inspiring and energetic communicator with a unique ability to inspire people to push through their limitations.

Tim Gentle

Think Digital

Immersive Technologies like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are no longer gimmicky and fictional, rather these innovative technologies provide the latest way we can communicate with our team, customers and stakeholders. Improve efficiencies, increase productivity, tell your story, train your staff and create a point of difference for your marketing are all types of outcomes made possible through VR & AR. Think Digital’s FarmVR and FarmAR platforms focuses on Immersive technologies for agriculture, designed to educate people where their food comes from and encourage them to consider a career in agriculture. We also create immersive experiences for an array of clients to help them to grow their business. My presentation is designed to showcase these technologies, teach you a few DIY tricks and help guide you to consider integrating these exciting technologies into your business.

Owen Gwilliam

Australian Organic

Owen Gwilliam is Head of Standards and Regulation at Australian Organic Limited. Owen has carried out organic auditing, training and consulting in 15 countries, and has served the Australian Organic industry in all levels of certification – from farm auditing, to certification management at Australia’s largest certification body. Owen is a dynamic educator across various fields, from Organic farming, composting and Permaculture design to Austrian economics.

Fiona Krautil

Diversity Knowhow

Fiona is one of Australia’s leading gender equity, diversity & inclusion specialists. Utilising the latest best practice and her extensive industry experience, she enables employers to develop robust strategies that deliver staff ownership and action. She also delivers innovative education solutions that energise people and inspire new conversations to create practical solutions that shift the dial and increase employee engagement, innovation, customer service and profit. Fiona is a certified member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), a founding member of the AHRI Inclusion & Diversity Reference Panel, and a national awards judge. In 2014 Fiona launched her book “Diversity Unplugged – how leading CEOs champion workplace inclusion.”

Chow-Ming Lee

Consumer Sensory Lead/Bayer

Chow-Ming is the Consumer Sensory Lead for Bayer Crop Science, responsible for sensory and consumer testing of fruit and vegetables in both US and European markets. His research covers basic and applied research aspects of descriptive sensory analysis and consumer acceptance, usage & attitudes, buying behavior. His primary focus is to bridge instrumental measurements, sensory properties and consumer liking. His work helps to shape fruit and vegetable breeding for better flavor and consumer preference.

Adam Liaw

Food columnist - Fairfax and The Guardian, Host - Destination Flavour, SBS

Adam Liaw is a unique voice in Australian food. He is a food columnist for Fairfax and The Guardian, and the author of five hugely popular cookbooks on Asian cuisines.

On television, Adam hosts the prime-time SBS food and travel program, Destination Flavour, soon to be in it’s fifth season was recently awarded the ACTAA for the Best Lifestyle Program for 2016 for Destination Flavour Scandinavia.

Adam was the winner of MasterChef Australia’s blockbuster second series in 2010.

Declan McDonald

SESL

Declan has 30 years experience in agricultural, horticultural, recreational and amenity soil management with Private Enterprise, State and Local Governments, and Catchment Management Authorities. In May 2014 he opened an office for SESL in Victoria.

He holds a B.Sc in Urban Horticulture (UTS) and a Master of Sustainable Agriculture (University of Sydney). He is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist as accredited by Soil Science Australia.

He has authored / co-authored a number of publications aimed at improving understanding and management of soil as a living realm. Included in these is an investigation of soil invertebrates under vegetables in Tasmania and the inaugural chapter on soil biology for the dairy industry’s Soils and Fertiliser Manual.

In his current position of Senior Soil Scientist with SESL Australia he is responsible for high level technical input for corporate and private farms, land assessments, major redevelopment work, and urban renewal projects, all while continuing to follow his passion for sustainable management of our soil resources.

Astrid Poelman

CSIRO Agriculture and Food

Dr Astrid Poelman is Team Leader Sensory, Flavour and Consumer Science at CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Sydney. She holds a MSc and PhD from Wageningen University (the Netherlands) and has worked for the applied research institute Food and Biobased Research (part of the Wageningen University and Research Centre), where part of her research focused on investigating consumer preference segmentation for horticultural produce and translating preferences to sensory properties for NPD and breeding programs.
She joined CSIRO in 2006 and the strategic focus of her research broadened to understanding and changing sensory preferences for healthy foods, with a large focus on increasing children’s acceptance and intake of vegetables. Her current research includes the development and evaluation of a school curriculum resource to increase children’s vegetable enjoyment.

Chris Russell

Judge/The New Inventors, ABC

Known to many as a Judge on the popular weekly ABC television series “The New Inventors”. Chris has worked in advisory and agricultural research and developmental roles in over 20 countries and has served as National President of the Australian Institute of Agriculture and is currently the Chair of the Federal Ethics Committee and the Disciplinary Tribunal of that body. Chris is also currently a member of the AgriMinds Think Tank.

In 1997 Chris was awarded a Fellowship in the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology and in 2017 he was made a “Champion of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW” at the Sydney Royal Easter Show as well as being recognised as Sydney University’s Faculty of Agriculture 2017 Alumni of the Year in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

In this years’ Australia Day Honours – he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to agricultural science and technology through advisory and research roles and as a mentor and innovator.

Lauren Scott

Chief Marketing Officer/Produce Marketing Association

Lauren M. Scott is Chief Marketing Officer of the Produce Marketing Association, a trade organization representing companies from every segment of the global fresh produce and floral supply chain. Lauren has over 20 years of experience in the consumer products industry. Prior to joining the PMA, Lauren worked at PepsiCo and Diageo in a variety of marketing roles with increasing responsibility including brand management, foodservice, activation, field marketing, national promotions, cultural branding, global innovation and strategy. Lauren began her career as a four-year Inroads intern and full-time hire in sales at Colgate-Palmolive. A believer in continuous education and development, Lauren earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Rutgers University, a Master of Business Administration(MBA) from University of Maryland and a Master of Science in Strategic Communication from Columbia University, where she continues as a graduate project advisor. She also actively coaches and mentors. Lauren has served on recruitment teams and held leadership roles in a variety of employee resource groups. A self-described foodie, Lauren’s civic passions include combating food insecurities and perpetuating arts and culture. Lauren enjoys her thespian hobbies of tap dance, music and choral singing. Most of all, she loves great meals and good laughs with her friends and family including her husband and son, affectionately known as The Allens.

Andrew Steele

Account Director/GS1 Australia

Andrew is a leading industry expert and well-respected supply chain professional with over 25 years’ experience in fast moving consumer goods and the food retail sector.

Andrew currently leads the Supply Chain Integrity team at GS1 Australia who are responsible for developing insightful initiatives to ensure the highest level of efficiency, safety, traceability and best practice in the Australian Food and Beverage and retail sector. Andrew is an active member of a number of industry working groups in the retail grocery, liquor, meat and fresh produce sectors.