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.

Sam Bailey

Farmer, pilot, author

Sam Bailey is a farmer, pilot, husband and best-selling author. He has achieved all of those from a wheelchair….and has an incredible ability to take an audience on the journey of his life.

Today they live and work together on their beef cattle property in North West NSW, in between travelling the country telling their story and giving inspiration to others.
They are also working towards their next big goal – Sam becoming the first quadriplegic in the world to fly a helicopter and flying into schools to inspire children to fulfill their own dreams and goals.

The project, called Helifirst, will be launched during 2018.

Story: From a childhood growing up in the Australian bush to a car accident in the outback that turned his life upside down and its aftermath, Sam tells his story in his own down-to-earth laconic style that captures the great Australian spirit of ‘having a go’.

Farmer: He relates how he beat the odds to fulfill his life-long dream to be a farmer, learning to ride a four wheel bike; devising a hoist to get into farm machinery and ultimately learning to fly an ultralight.

Personal: Sam then found his soul mate in former Tamworth-based ABC radio Rural Reporter, Jenny Black – who he proposed to “live” on regional radio. The real-life proposal jammed the phone lines and the fax ran out of paper.

Book: Their story appeared on ABC TV’s “Australian Story” in 2000 with an overwhelming response and was published in April 2006 in their book ‘Head Over Heels’.

Denise Hamblin

Colmar Brunton

A passion for insights, stalking supermarket aisles, and all things food and wine saw Denise trade in neuroscience for consumer science. Denise is currently the National Sector Head for the Consumer Goods side of the business, leading a large variety of research programmes both locally and globally. Research that maximises the success of Australian businesses and that tunes into the evolving preferences of Australian consumers are Denise’s areas of expertise, strongly aligned with Colmar Brunton’s resolve to make a difference.

Andrew Bulmer

Bulmer Farms & Co-chair of Food & Fibre Gippsland

Andrew is the Managing Director of Bulmer Farm’s, one of Australia’s largest producers of Fresh salads. The business is based in Lindenow, East Gippsland and farm’s ten different properties over around 500 hectares in the Mitchell river Valley. Andrew puts their success down to “hard work, resilience and a passion for quality.”

Awarded 2017 ABC and Kondinin Group’s Farmer of the Year, he is a passionate advocate for Horticulture who is committed to making a positive contribution to Industry and regional communities, with a strong interest in farm innovation and new technologies. Andrew is also a graduate of Course 24 of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.

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.

Peter Buss

Sentek

A co-founder and an ‘inventor’ of Sentek’s technology, Peter is an international authority on agriculture and irrigation systems, with many published papers, and is responsible for the agronomic and soil science activities in Sentek.

He regularly travels the world to deliver training to dealers and researchers, and provides consulting services for complex agronomy projects.

He is involved in the ongoing development of soil moisture probes and software, and on-farm product testing.

Peter possesses a Degree of Engineering in International Agronomy, a Masters of Arts, and a Masters of Science in Rural Science from the University of New England, NSW.

Janice Byrnes

Zespri

Janice Byrnes is Zespri Kiwifruit’s Marketing Manager for Australia, Vietnam & Thailand.

Over the past 3 years, Janice has implemented marketing campaigns that have successfully increased awareness & demand for Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit & Zespri’s Australian marketing has been recognised as a finalist in the PMA-Produce Plus Marketer of The Year Awards twice.

Prior to Zespri, Janice held marketing roles at Goodman Fielder, where she worked on Helga’s bread and Praise salad dressings & mayonnaise. Janice also worked at Meat & Livestock Australia for almost 7 years where she led many iconic lamb & beef marketing campaigns.

Fabian Carniel

Mulgowie Farming Co

Fabian Carniel calls upon over 30 years’ experience in the Australian fresh produce industry to oversee the strategic direction, management and continued growth of Mulgowie Farming Company. Appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Mulgowie in 2009, Fabian performs a key role inspiring the Mulgowie team to consistently deliver quality, fresh and nutritious products through innovation and sustainable farming practices.

Fabian began his farming life by helping his parents strive to grow quality Australian produce where he learnt firsthand the value of having a strong work ethic and that a hard day’s work will more often than not result in a well‐earned reward.

Brianna Casey

Foodbank Australia

Brianna is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Foodbank Australia, the largest hunger relief organisation in Australia, and is Australia’s representative for the Global Foodbanking Network. Brianna joined Foodbank Australia in 2016, following her successful three-year term as CEO of Australian Childcare Alliance New South Wales, the peak body for privately owned long day care services in NSW. Prior to that, she spent 14 years in agri-politics, both in NSW and Queensland. Brianna served as a Policy Director at NSW Farmers and was Executive Director of Queensland Farmers’ Federation. Brianna has served on a number of Ministerial Advisory Councils and committees throughout her career, most recently having played a key role in the development of the Australian Government’s first ever National Food Waste Strategy. In her personal time, Brianna volunteers in her local community, particularly with her sons’ sporting clubs. She has a Bachelor of Science in Australian Environmental Studies, is a graduate of the iconic Australian Rural Leadership Program and was recently awarded the Pro Bono Australia Impact 25 Award.

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.

Harrison Enright

iTradeNetwork

Harrison Enright joined iTradeNetwork in 2018 as a Product Manager for iTracefresh, iTrade’s traceability solution suite. Harrison graduated with a B.S. from Stanford University, and has a background in management science and engineering. His vision for 2019 is to increase customer confidence in the integrity and safety of their food, and to expand iTrade’s traceability footprint in the food and beverage industry and beyond.

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.

Thomas Hertel

Fair Farms

Thomas is the Program Manager of the Fair Farms Training and Certification Program. Fair Farms is the horticulture industry’s response to the identified challenges around labour compliance. The program’s objective is fostering fair and responsible employment practices across the industry achieved through training, third-party audits and certification. Fair Farms is developed and implemented by Growcom with foundational support from AUSVEG and the Federal Government.

Before joining Fair Farms, Thomas led the contracting and legal department of a global international development project management firm. He is skilled in complex contract negotiations, government, effective stakeholder engagement, management and leadership with more than a decade of professional experience as a commercial lawyer, policy adviser, project and operations manager, tutor and mentor.

Thomas completed undergraduate law at Humboldt University of Berlin and holds a Master of Laws degree in international law and dispute resolution from the University of Queensland.

Martin Kneebone

Freshlogic

With over 25 years’ working in fresh food supply chains; Martin has market leading experience in the management, supply and analysis of fresh food categories across fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood.

His company Freshlogic is a Melbourne based specialist provider of market insights to commercial and government stakeholders involved in fresh food production and marketing across Australia and SE Asia. With the recent launch of Freshlogic Analytics enabling flexible access to a fuller set of market information and insights, Freshlogic are continually evolving their offering.

Martin will share his insights on achieving growth in a mature fresh vegetable market, drawing on the extraction of useful commercial applications.

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.

Gary Loh

DiMuto

Gary Loh is the founder and Chairman of DiMuto Pte Ltd, a trade technology firm providing end-to-end supply chain visibility for global businesses, ensuring traceability and trackability of business
documents, goods and services. Since late 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on their platform.

Mr Loh is the Vice Chairman of SunMoon Food Company Limited. He joined the company’s Board as Non-Independent Director and Deputy Chairman in 2007 and was Chairman of the Executive Committee from 2007 to 2013, before serving as Executive Chairman of the Board until 2017.

Mr Loh is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Capital Ltd, a private equity firm he co-founded in 2005.

He started his career as a venture capitalist for Pacific Capital Pte. Ltd. from 1992 to 1995, before joining Merrill Lynch as a Financial Consultant from 1995 to 1997. Subsequently, he was with UOB Kay Hian and BNP Paribas.

Mr Loh possesses a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science & Economics) from National University of Singapore (NUS), a Master in Applied Finance from NUS Business School and has also attended the Owner/President Management Executive program at Harvard Business School.

Charles Luo

pitt&sherry

Charles has over 8 years’ experience in the delivery of energy consulting and energy efficiency upgrade projects. He is a Certified Energy Efficiency Specialist, a Certified Measurement and Verification Professional, and a degree qualified Photovoltaic Engineer. Over the past 18 months, he has been working heavily in the Victorian horticulture industry to develop energy efficiency and energy productivity strategies, and their respective business cases, to improve the competitiveness through better energy utilisation.

Richard Macchiesi

Visy

Richard Macchiesi has 25+ years experience in the FMCG and manufacturing industries across multiple disciplines. He has worked in the flavour industry developing strategic new products in Australia before heading to Chicago establishing a new dairy-based technology. Richard’s career has traveled extensively in Europe and Asia identifying strategic alliances for new businesses, utilising a strong understanding of innovation and technology commercialisation. Richard is currently the General Manager of Insights and Innovation at Visy working on strategic initiatives that deliver value for the business.

David Marguleas

Sun World Innovations

David O. Marguleas is president of Sun World Innovations, the technology and licensing business of Sun World International LLC, the California agribusiness of which he also serves as executive vice president.

He is responsible for overseeing Sun World’s Intellectual Property, licensing and variety development activities as well as the Company’s broader agriculture technology pursuits and international investments.

Marguleas began his Sun World career in 1986 in retail merchandising and public relations. He has since overseen many facets of Sun World’s business, including sales and marketing, packing and cold storage facilities and operations, farming, research & development, international licensing, grower relations and business development. Appointed an officer of the Company in
1990, Marguleas has been integral to the development of the Sun World brand in the United States and internationally, and has driven the global development of its stonefruit and grape varietal brand strategy.

He serves on several industry boards including the California Table Grape Commission and its executive committee, California Fresh Fruit Association, Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and its Global Development Committee and Executive Committee. He is currently the board chair of the PMA and is a past board chair of the California Table Grape Commission as well as the California Fresh Fruit Association. Marguleas also sits on the board of directors of FIND, a regional food bank serving the hunger needs of California’s eastern Riverside County and southern San Bernardino County, and on the board of Farm Payment Technologies, Inc., a private agriculture technology start-up based in Fresno, California.

A third generation member of the produce industry, Marguleas earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and has been a journalist for various publications including The New York Times, The Packer and The Bakersfield Californian.

He lives with his wife Robin in Palm Desert, California.

Tammie Matson

Australian Zoologist

Tammie Matson is an Australian zoologist and author with a grand passion for Africa and all its wildlife, especially elephants. She worked for many years in southern Africa, completing a PhD on the threatened black-faced impala of Namibia, before becoming the head of WWF Australia’s species program in 2007, and a voice for threatened species worldwide. Having worked on human-elephant conflict in Namibia and India, she moved to Singapore in 2012 where she co-founded the Let Elephants Be Elephants (LEBE) campaign and National Geographic film with Asian TV star, Nadya Hutagalung, raising awareness to stop the demand for ivory that is decimating Africa’s elephants. Tammie is the author of three books on her conservation work and adventures, including ‘Planet Elephant’ which was awarded the Australian government’s ’50 Books You Can’t Put Down’. She divides her time between being a mum to two sons, Solo, aged 9, and Shep, aged 5, managing her ethical African safari company, Matson & Ridley Safaris and leading the Akagera Elephant Project in Rwanda.

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.

Bryn McFadden

iTradeNetwork

Bryn McFadden is iTradeNetwork’s Brand Marketing Manager and the Product Marketing Manager for iTrade’s traceability and quality inspection solutions. She has authored a number of case studies highlighting developments in traceability, food safety, quality, and supply chain visibility. Bryn has met with global food and beverage supply chain leaders and partnered with international industry associations like PMA and Fruit Logistica to promote innovation in the perishables supply chain and help participants adopt technology to solve real problems.

Ryan McLeod

Dicky Bill Australia

Ryan McLeod is a frustrated Rugby Union player that at 38 years of age admits that he may have missed his window for a call-up to the Wallabies. Apart from living vicariously through his 5 and 7 year old sons’ sporting careers, he is a managing director of the Dicky Bill Group of companies, a vegetable growing and value add processing business. A farmer for 15 years driving production at the group’s farms’ in Stanthorpe, Warwick, Gympie and Gin Gin, Ryan, his wife Tahirih and young family, moved to Brisbane 3 years ago to focus on the marketing and sales for the Dicky Bill Group and the brand of Dicky Bill Australia. The Dicky Bill Group currently farms in Gin Gin, Qld and Maffra, Victoria with produce being sent Australia wide and exporting to multiple countries in the SE Asian region daily.

Chris McLoghlin

Mycelia Organics

A fascination with soil and fungi drove Chris to found in 2015 what is now Australia’s largest Organic mushroom farming company.

After a decade in, supply chain planning and management, fresh produce and grocery procurement, moving into primary production was the fulfillment of a long term goal to grow food! He also cofounded escavox in 2018, a supply chain monitoring company working with Australias largest producers and supermarkets to improve visibility, accountability and managment in the food industry.

Chris is also a Director and Treasurer of Organic Industries Australia, and has been the winner of several awards such as the 2018 Australian Organic Farmer of the Year, 2018 AusVeg/PMA Young Grower of the Year as well as the 2018 ABC Rural/Kondinin Group Young Farmer of the Year and recipient of Award for Excellence In Technology.

Kieran Murphy

Agriculture Victoria

Agriculture Victoria is developing new service offers aimed at shortening pathways to impact for research outcomes. A Virtual SmartFarm website and Application Programming Interfaces (API’s) are delivering research information in easily consumable and accessible formats for a variety of audiences and users.

The Virtual SmartFarm platform provides a virtual gateway into Agriculture Victoria SmartFarms, with access to research technology innovation through immersive web experience technologies. The Virtual SmartFarm platform is a gateway to Agriculture Victoria’s Safer Smarter Farms initiative, with online learning and information supporting skill development and training opportunities in regional communities. Horticulture SmartFarms in Tatura and Mildura will be demonstrated at the conference.

A new Soils Parameter API demonstrator can provide Agritech and developer communities with the ability to integrate data on soil properties (modelled by Agriculture Research Scientists) for almost any specified location within Victoria. Potential users of the service would be Agritech service providers, application developers, industry and communities. An overview of the API service and how to access it will be provided to conference participants.

This presentation will combine the Virtual SmartFarm platform and the Soils API demonstrator as examples of Agriculture Victoria Research innovation pathways for improved science translation to support Horticulture research and industry development.

Keaton Okkonen

Black.ai

Keaton is a technical co-founder and CEO of Black.ai, a venture-backed Australian startup driving autonomous decision making in retail environments. Black.ai’s automation platform leverages state-of-the-art computer vision and AI to solve for traditionally unavoidable problems in theft and stock-bleed. They are currently deploying this system in Australian supermarkets.

Mark Paterson

Currie Communications

Mark is a strategist, connector and storyteller. He sees risk and opportunity as two sides of the same coin. He believes sustainable development is the path to prosperity.

As principal of consulting firm Currie Mark assists people in agriculture and natural resources to solve complex problems, future-proof industries and make a positive impact on people and the planet.

He empowers organisations to meet the challenge of global change. He brokers collaboration between stakeholders in value chains. He gives voice to the imagination of forward-looking leaders.

The son of corgi breeders Mark wants to change the world for the better.

Seriously.

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.

Wayne Prowse

Fresh Intelligence Consulting

Wayne Prowse is Principal of Fresh Intelligence Consulting and one of Australia’s leading horticultural market analysts with a focus on global fresh produce trade. Wayne established Fresh Intelligence after a long marketing career with food companies and Horticulture Australia where he developed a strong passion and understanding for export trade. Known for his pragmatic style, Wayne makes sense of reams of data and insights to create evidence-based reports for his clients across government, industry, and businesses that use it for strategic decision making. Wayne has prepared the Asiafruit Congress Statistics Handbook for many years.

Jessica Purbrick

Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand

Jessica has held senior leadership roles in private and not-for-profit organisations across a broad range of agricultural, disability, social purpose start-ups, education and research sectors. Her work along the agribusiness value chain has enabled industry collaborations to deliver real-world practical outcomes.

Jessica is an expert advisor to the Victorian Rural Women’s Network, a start-up mentor and volunteers at FareShare. She was a founding director of Freshcare Limited, established Women in Horticulture, interviewed animal activists in New York, worked for Mother Teresa in Calcutta and delivered outreach to near-release prisoners at Dhurringile Prison. She has qualifications from New York University, Melbourne University and the University of New England.

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.

Nigel Swarts

University of Tasmania

Dr Nigel Swarts is a Senior Research Fellow in the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture at the University of Tasmania. He is interested in the field of tree physiology and specifically tree crop nutrition. Nigel leads two collaborative projects on nitrogen management in tree crop production systems, and is working with his team to better understand nutrient use efficiency in apple and cherry orcharding.

Josie Thomson

Wise Advocate Enterprises

Josie Thomson is the CEO of Wise Advocate Enterprises, a multi-award winning executive coach, acclaimed speaker, author, single mum and two time cancer survivor. A force for transformation in the lives of many, Josie has completed studies in business, and executive masters studies in the Neuroscience of Leadership. Josie was awarded International Gold Stevie Award for Maverick of the Year (Difference Maker) for 2014 and 2015, The Women In Business Coach/Mentor of the Year 2014 Silver Award in New York City, and is a former Telstra Business Woman of the Year Finalist. She has just co-authored a new leadership book: The Wise Advocate – The Inner Voice of Strategic Leadership. Josie will share practical ways for incorporating exciting scientific advances and her personal story to show us how to break through barriers of limited thinking or perceived blocks to living a truly happy, meaningful, resilient and fulfilling life. If anyone knows how to do this – it’s Josie! You’ll be inspired – please welcome Josie Thomson.

Peter Tuohey

Melbourne Market Authority

Peter was appointed as Chairman of the Board on 18 January 2017 for a period of 3 years.

Peter is a fifth generation grain, wool and prime lamb producer whose experience in freight and logistics has seen him appointed to a number of advisory roles. Peter is Chair of the Victorian Government’s Grains Logistics Taskforce, Director Victorian Ports Corporation ( Melbourne ), a member of the Ministerial Freight Advisory Council, a member of the Victorian Road Freight Advisory Council, and a member of the Victorian Water Board Selection Panel.

He continues to represent the interest of farmers at a state level as a representative on the Victorian Agricultural Advisory Council . At the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) he served as President from 2012 to 2016 and Vice President from 2009 to 2012. He was also Chair of the VFF’s Farm Business and Regional Development Committee from 2010 to 2013. At the national level, Peter was a Board Director of the National Farmers Federation from 2012 to 2016 and served on its Economics Committee.

Felicity Turner

The Yield

With a diverse entrepreneurial background, Felicity thrives on taking technology businesses from concept to execution. Responsible for both the customer experience and accelerating commercialisation of The Yield solutions, Felicity was previously an award-winning Senior Azure Specialist at Microsoft.

Felicity is responsible for sales, marketing, support and services at The Yield. She works with top tier growers to ensure our products solve real on-farm challenges, while collaborating with them to scope and develop new products. Felicity leverages two decades of commercial experience to forge new partnerships for The Yield across the global supply chain.

Felicity is a director of PMA A-NZ.

Joe Way

Waterform Technologies

Joe has been inspecting and auditing sites throughout the horticultural industry for many years and over that time, has seen first-hand, the major impacts of drought in Australia. Water scarcity, rising costs and non-compliance are three key areas Joe and his team are continuously working to address for growers, producers and processors on a daily basis throughout Australia.

Some of the projects Joe has been involved in recently include potable water supplementation, ground/bore water treatment, nutrient/drain water recycling, wastewater reuse and effluent recycling.

Within the presentation, he will be able to share some key real-life experience around ‘rules-of-thumb’ for water & wastewater in different horticultural industries along with case studies and a framework for identifying and validating potential opportunities. A key message is that water security underpins business security.