2035 Agri-Food-Tech Oceania Summit

Roger is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Plant & Food Research.

Roger has extensive experience of leading science aimed at enabling more sustainable horticulture and arable farming. Roger is hopeful about humanity’s capacity to create food systems that will deliver great nutrition while restoring the world’s life-sustaining natural systems to within safe limits. Our capacity to work collaboratively and respect different knowledge systems will determine whether we achieve this ambition.

Alice Beilby is a First Nations women of Gunggari and Kamilaori descent and is the Managing Director of her own consultancy company.  Her science background and indigenous heritage gives her a two ways perspective around land management and sustainable practices.  She is an Alumni of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Murra Indigenous Business Program, Melbourne Business School.

Belinda Allitt is the General Manager of Communications and Capacity Building at AgriFutures Australia.  AgriFutures Australia is a research and development corporation that aims to grow the long-term prosperity of Australian rural industries. With twenty years’ experience in marketing, communications, events, public relations, brand, project management and community engagement, Belinda connects her knowledge and experience to AgriFutures programs such as AgriFutures grow^AG. and evoke^AG., AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award and Horizons Scholarship – just to name a few.

Belinda grew up on a property in Deniliquin, NSW and manages a small sheep and cropping farm in Wagga Wagga, NSW with her husband.  Belinda is passionate about the local and global innovation system and the important role innovation plays in Australian agriculture, climate, global food security and farm productivity. Belinda aims to attract capable people into careers in agriculture, building the capability of future rural leaders, supporting change makers, and driving thought leadership through the exciting brands and programs under her direction.

Deb Barwick is the CEO of the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce and Chairperson of the First Australians Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Deb is also an national and international award-winning Aboriginal Entrepreneur and Business Owner who believes that Aboriginal people themselves are the solution to social and economic parity and that “enabling Aboriginal leadership regionally, nationally and globally is a strategic and wise investment toward a stronger Australian Economy and Nation.”

Dr Anna Okello manages the Livestock Systems Program at the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, part of the Australian government’s foreign aid portfolio. Anna has almost 20 years’ experience in livestock development and public health programs for a range of international and academic organisations. Since completing a PhD in political science at the University of Edinburgh in 2012, Anna maintains a keen interest in understanding the interface between agricultural research, technology development and global policy.

Ethy is the Founder of Impact Innovation Israel, a strategic consultancy firm focusing on tech and innovation in sectors where there is a substantial impact on society and the environment. Ethy is also a co-Founder and Israel CEO of the Bridge Hub, a global Agrifood tech innovation hub based in Australia & Israel. Ethy works across multiple technology sectors and provides tech and innovation adoption advisory to multi-national corporations as well as to academia and government.

After a long legal career advising on investment in Hong Kong, Vietnam and the UK, Guy now specialises in the Māori commercial sector in NZ. He currently sits on boards in venture capital, climate tech, fishing, Iwi investment and retail. His passion is working with Māori primary sector to produce a better standard of living for Aotearoa particularly through innovation and climate-change technologies applied to Māori primary sector assets.

Professor Owen Atkin is the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT). Launched in August 2018, as a collaboration between the Australia National University, CSIRO and the ACT Government, CEAT’s goal is to build an agri-tech innovation ecosystem where world-class research and technology are applied to address complex agricultural challenges. Owen is also a faculty member in the ANU Research School of Biology where his research focuses on the impacts of climate change on plant metabolism.

Peter was the founding Executive Director of Agritech New Zealand and co-founder of the Australia New Zealand Agritech Council. 

Peter’s consultancy, Wharf42, is hosting the 2035 Oceania Summit. By bringing together key stakeholders from across the region, Peter is developing a culture of cross border collaboration to ensure AgriFoodTech can address some of the world’s most significant long-term challenges.

Pip is a community engagement specialist with a focus on innovation systems and global collaboration – working largely with tech developers and corporate innovators to drive investment in agrifood innovation and adoption. With a background in not-for-profit, social impact, and research extension, Pip engages community mobilisation and marketing strategies to increase awareness of innovation, and opportunities to collaborate and invest, locally and globally.

Passionate about building sustainable global supply-chains, through Agriculture Innovation Australia (AIA), Pip supports the development and investment in strategies that address shared challenges and opportunities to deliver transformative outcomes that drive sustainability, productivity and profitability across agricultural, fishery and forestry value chains. Agricultural Innovation Australia (AIA) is a not-for-profit, public company established to facilitate joint investment and collaboration in cross-industry agricultural issues of national importance.

Rahul is a Sustainability and Climate Change Consultant to the public and private sectors including agriculture, dairy, electricity, ports and local councils. Rahul has worked with the NZ Parliamentary Services and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and is an active member contributing to Society 5.0. He holds a Masters in Climate Policy, is a certified Project Manager and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) certified professional.

Sarah is an internationally recognized agriculture innovation expert and a co-founder of the Agthentic Group, including Agthentic Advisory and Tenacious Ventures, Australia’s only specialist agrifood tech VC firm. Sarah is also the host of the AgTech...So What? podcast, and co-founder of Farmers2Founders, a national innovation program that supports Australian primary producers to commercialize inventions and new businesses, as well as gain early access to emerging technologies.

Victoria is Director of the Sustainability & Climate Change practice at PwC and brings over a decade of experience in climate change adaptation and mitigation, both in NZ and globally. Victoria is a systems thinker who has demonstrated success in driving ambitious climate change action working with governments and business leading initiatives on sustainable finance, nature-based solutions, and clean technology. Victoria was instrumental at negotiating the Koronivia outcome in the UN climate change negotiations.

Traci Houpapa MNZM JP is an award-winning company director and is recognised nationally and internationally for her business and industry leadership. She is also trusted advisor to Māori, government, the public and private sectors on strategic and economic development. She has been named as one of the top ten most influential women in New Zealand agribusiness and the Listener’s top ten influencers in New Zealand.

Traci won the Westpac Fairfax Media Women of Influence Board and Management award and has been named on Westpac’s New Zealand Women Powerbrokers list. She has been awarded the Massey University Distinguished Alumni Service Award for services to New Zealand agribusiness and Māori, and has been named amongst the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women in the World.  Traci has an MBA (Massey University) and is a Member of the NZ Order of Merit and a marriage celebrant.

Michelle is the Strategic Alliance Lead at Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) who's mission, and its many Fellows who are committed to partner with Aotearoa NZ, is to find and build solutions to NZ's toughest challenges. This is so Aotearoa NZ inspires global leadership and solutions for future generations while committing to recognise and honour its responsibility as Tangata Tiriti (People of Treaty) and to nurture the pioneering spirit and values of Sir Edmund Hillary in us all.

With 25 years experience in international marketing and over a decade in the investment ecosystem working with NZ's startup and growth technology companies including agritech, Fintech and F&B sectors. Her passion is in reshaping impact investment and rethinking ownership models.