Wiebe Draijer

Chairman of the Managing Board Rabobank

Wiebe Draijer took over as Chairman of the Rabobank Managing Board in October 2014. He studied mechanical engineering in Delft and in 1992 received an MBA from the Insead Business School. From 1990 to 2003, he worked as a consultant at the McKinsey consultancy firm. In 2004, he was appointed the company's managing partner for The Netherlands and in 2006 for the Benelux countries. From September 2012, he was the President of the Social and Economic Council of The Netherlands.

Wiebe is a Member of the Board of the Dutch Banking Association, the Board of the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB), the Supervisory Board Kröller Müller Museum and the Supervisory Board of Staatsbosbeheer (State Forest).

Dr Stefan Hajkowicz

Senior Principal Scientist for Strategic Foresight, CSIRO

Dr Stefan Hajkowicz is a senior principal scientist working in the field of strategic foresight at CSIRO. He spends his time thinking about the future and about practical ways to help people make wiser choices. He leads the Data61 Insight Team, a group of researchers and consultants helping organizations navigate digital disruption. Stefan’s research and consulting work helps companies, governments and communities explore plausible futures and make wise strategic choices. His research has contrasted structured versus intuitive approaches to decision making. His decision models have guided investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars and have been used by Australia’s State and Federal Governments to make critical policy choices.

Krista Watkins

Managing Director of Natural Evolution

Krista Watkins is a leader in agricultural innovation and the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Natural Evolution, a company specializing in green banana and other waste produce products. She is an advocate for innovation and disruption, and passionate about reinvigorating the Australian Food manufacturing industry. Krista’s interest in reducing waste and finding uses for unsaleable produce led to the development of Natural Evolution in 2015. Following tireless work and research, she and her husband Rob built the world’s first, and still the only, pharmaceutical-grade green banana processing facility. This facility pioneered the process of turning produce into functional foods and cosmetics.

Professor David Lindenmayer, OA

Research Professor at The Australian National University

Professor David Lindenmayer is an Australian scientist and academic with expertise in landscape ecology, conservation and biodiversity. His research focuses on the adoption of nature conservation practices in agricultural production areas, developing ways to improve integration of native forest harvesting and biodiversity conservation, new approaches to enhance biodiversity conservation in plantations, and improved fire management practices in reserves.

David's conservation and biodiversity research has been recognised through many awards, including the Eureka Science Prize (twice), Whitley Award (10 times), the Serventy Medal for Ornithology, and the Australian Natural History Medallion. In 2018, he was awarded the Whittaker Distinguished Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America. He is a member of the Australian Academy of Science and has been appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to conservation and the environment.

Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon

Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Shadow Minister for Rural & Regional Australia

Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon is the Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Shadow Minister for Rural and Regional Australia. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, he has held a number of shadow ministerial positions including Mining, Energy & Forestry, Defence, Assistant Treasurer, Banking and Financial Services, Small Business and Competition, and Tourism.

In Government, Mr Fitzgibbon served as Minister for Defence and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. He also served as Chief Government Whip and chaired the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

Nick Fereday

Executive Director, RaboResearch, Rabobank

Nick Fereday works in the RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness team covering research on the North American value added processing sector. Nick specializes in food and consumer trends. In addition to Talking Points, a monthly commentary on developments in the food industry, his recent papers include Dude, Where’s My Consumer?, Breaking Bread: Cooking Up Success in US Bakery, The Return of the Twinkie: Naughty but Nice? and The Cereal Killers: Five Trends Revolutionizing the American Breakfast. Nick has been quoted widely in the media including CBS, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Financial Times.

Professor Toby Walsh

Artificial Intelligence Professor at the University of New South Wales and Data61

Toby Walsh is a world-renowned professor on artificial intelligence (AI) at the University of South Wales and Data61. He was named by the media as a "rock star" of the digital revolution and included on the list of the 100 most important digital innovators in Australia. Toby is the author of the books It’s Alive!, Android Dreams, Machines That Think and 2062: The Year that AI Made.

Toby is a passionate advocate for limits to AI to ensure it is used to improve, not hurt, our lives. Together with Pope Francis, Toby was voted runner up in the Person of the Year Award by the Arm Control Association, recognizing his work in ensuring safe use of AI in warfare.

Linda Cruse

Humanitarian aid worker

Linda Cruse has spent over 18 years working on the front lines of catastrophic natural disasters, traveling the world to help with the Asian tsunami, Pakistani earthquake and two super-typhoons in the Philippines. She is currently helping with the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Her book Marmalade and Machine Guns details her outstanding work and numerous adventures, and Sir Richard Branson has noted that she “makes the impossible, possible.”

Linda’s experiences have led her to develop and launch two leadership programmes: Be The Change and Race4Good, that deliver tailored, deep immersion experiences wrapped around critical, emotionally engaging, real-life content; they provide highly accelerated leadership development for employers, employees and students. Linda lectures and teaches worldwide.

Professor Veena Sahajwalla

Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Professor and Director of Centre for Sustainable
Materials Research & Technology (SMaRT), UNSW Sydney

Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Professor Veena Sahajwalla is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer and inventor revolutionising recycling science. She is renowned for pioneering the high temperature transformation of waste in the production of a new generation of ‘green materials.’ Veena recently launched the world's first e-waste microfactory.

As the founding Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) at the University of New South Wales, she is producing a new generation of green materials and products made primarily from waste. Veena also heads the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for ‘green manufacturing’, a leading national research centre that works in collaboration with industry to ensure new recycling science is translated into real world environmental and economic benefits.

Hon. Nathan Guy

New Zealand Opposition Spokesperson for Agriculture, Biosecurity and Food Safety

Hon. Nathan Guy was New Zealand’s Minister for Primary Industries from 2012 to 2017. He also held other Ministerial positions during his nearly nine years in office, including Minister of Civil Defence, Internal Affairs, Immigration, Veteran Affairs and Racing as well as the Associate Minister for Economic Development, of Justice, and Transport.

Mr Guy has a background in agriculture, having managed the family dairy and beef farm and receiving a Winston Churchill Fellowship to study beef exports to the United States.

Lisa Martin

General Manager for Sustainability, Sanford Group

Lisa Martin is the General Manager of Sustainability for the Sanford Group, New Zealand’s largest and most diverse seafood business. For Sanford, sustainability sits at the core of the business; fundamental to the company’s survival, and the foundation for its growth. Lisa is responsible for developing, implementing, communicating and integrating sustainability into the mainstream Sanford business, with strategy, initiatives and reporting focused on the material issues. Her key areas of focus include governance and risk, marine plastics, ecosystem health, climate issues, partnerships and engagement.

Hon. David Littleproud

Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Drought Preparation and Response

Nationals Minister David Littleproud was elected to Parliament in 2016 and appointed Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources in December 2017. He negotiated the Regional Investment Corporation through the Senate in his first week in Parliament as a Minister and has since successfully overseen the passage of the Murray-Darling Basin Plans through Parliament, delivered more support to farmers in drought, won concession from big banks on farm loans and has taken substantial steps to clean up the live export trade.

Minister Littleproud was raised on a mixed farming property near Chinchilla. After finishing school he spent a year working on a cotton farm before working as a rural lender and bank manager in South West Queensland.

Berry Marttin

Member of the Managing Board of Rabobank Group

As a member of the Rabobank Managing Board, Berry Marttin is responsible for International Rural & Retail Banking, Leasing, Sustainability, Rabobank Foundation and Banking for Food Inspiration Center. Before joining the Managing Board in 2009, Berry Marttin moved to the Netherlands in 2004 to become Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rabobank Amsterdam.

As he is responsible for the International Rural and Retail portfolio for Rabobank's Board, Berry meets farmers, farm inputs suppliers, food producers, retailers and many other agribusiness stakeholders all around the world. Berry, a farmer in Brazil himself, is very in touch with the world of primary production and his insights and passion for food and agriculture have been instrumental in designing the global Banking for Food strategy for Rabobank.

Peter Knoblanche

CEO of Rabobank Australia and Managing Director of Rabobank Australia and New Zealand

Peter Knoblanche is a member of Rabobank’s global Management Team for Wholesale, Rural and Retail Banking and is responsible for the Rabobank Australia and New Zealand Group in his capacity of Regional Managing Director and CEO Rabobank Australia.

He joined Rabobank in 1996 and has held several management roles within Rabobank Australia and New Zealand Group. Prior to his current role, he was Deputy CEO of Rabobank Australia and the Deputy Managing Director of Rabobank Australia and New Zealand Group and had led Rabobank’s Australian rural banking operations for the past 10 years.

Peter is also a director of Rabobank New Zealand Limited, Rabo Australia Limited, Graincorp Pools Pty Limited, Rabo Equipment Finance Limited and Soft Commodity Trading Pty Limited. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Wollongong University and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ticky Fullerton

Master of Ceremonies, Main Stage Session 1

Ticky Fullerton is a household name in Australian business circles. With over twenty years in television at Your Money, Sky News and the ABC, she’s an award-winning journalist. Ticky is the presenter and executive producer of Your Money’s flagship nightly business show featuring politicians, business leaders, economists and regulators. The show has won two prestigious News Corp awards, for ‘Best Business Coverage’ and ‘Best Scoop.’

Prior to journalism, Ticky spent ten years with investment bank CS First Boston in Britain and Australia. She’s a director of the Australia British Chamber of Commerce and a former director of the CRC for Irrigation Futures. She has a law degree from Oxford.

Geraldine Doogue (AO)

Master of Ceremonies, Main Stage Session 2

Geraldine Doogue AO is a renowned Australian journalist and broadcaster much loved for her work reporting on religious and social affairs. Geraldine has worked at The Australian, ABC’s Nationwide, 2UE, Channel 10 news and ABC TV’s Compass program. She played a major role in ABC TV's coverage of the Gulf War in 1991, which saw her awarded two Penguin Awards and a United Nations Media Peace Prize.

In 2000, she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship for social and cultural reporting, and in 2003 she was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the community and to the media on issues involving ethics, values, religion and social change.

Frank Wooten

CEO of Vence

Frank Wooten is the CEO and founder of Vence Corp, a company that is reinventing the way livestock is managed by removing the need for fences and reducing labor needs on farms. The company was founded in 2016 and has won a number of innovation awards and competitions. Vence was the first investment of the Rabobank’s Food & Ag Innovation Fund.

Dave Maslen

General Manager of Markets and Sustainability, New Zealand Merino Company

Dave is General Manager for Markets and Sustainability at NZ Merino. He is an advocate for sustainability in the wool industry, and has been instrumental in bringing the largest supply of ethically sourced wool to the world.

Rory Lonergan

Executive Director, Clean Energy Finance Corporation

Rory Lonergan has responsibility for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s investment funds/mandates platform, working with a range of third party fund managers across multiple sectors. The CEFC is responsible for investing $10 billion in clean energy projects on behalf of the Australian Government. Their goal is to help lower Australia's carbon emissions by investing in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low emissions technologies.

Emma Higgins

RaboResearch NZ, Rabobank

Emma Higgins is the Dairy Analyst of Rabobank’s RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness division based in New Zealand. Rabobank’s local research division is comprised of 12 analysts, who are charged with analysing developments in food and agricultural markets and industries, and advising the bank and its clients on strategic implications for their businesses.

Steven Bierema

Director of Somerton Station Farm

Steven Bierema started his farming career in 1985 on the family farm in the Netherlands, before migrating to New Zealand with his family in 2004. They own and operate a 500 ha irrigated farm, growing cereals and fine seeds and fattening 5000 store lambs over the winter.

Steven is a client council member of Rabobank, and a board member of the Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Scheme as well as the New Zealand Foundation for Arable Research and its Australian subsidiary.

Ian Stanley

Director of Stanley Farms

Ian Stanley is a third generation farmer who currently owns and operates a 25,000 ha wheat and sheep farm in Kalannie in the Central Wheatbelt of Western Australia. Ian is passionate about growing small rural communities through new industry and farming enterprises. He has been awarded both the State and National Landcare Awards for Individuals.

Edwina Beveridge

Owner, Blantyre Farms

Edwina Beveridge and her husband own and operate Blantyre Farms, a 2,200 sow pig farm and a mixed farm of sheep, cattle and crops, near Young NSW. Blantyre uses a methane digestion system to capture methane gas from pig manure and convert it into electricity. Blantyre also utilises food waste products for pig feed and saves 13,500 of tonnes of landfill each year. The NSW EPA recently awarded Blantyre with a Green Globe Award for Resource Efficiency.

Danielle Statham

Company Founder, FibreTrace

Danielle Statham’s over 25 years’ experience in the fashion industry led to a deep passion to close the loop between the fashion world, its raw fibres and future generations of consumers. Her entrepreneurial vision behind the FibreTrace technology has led the charge of tracing the supply chain from the point of manufacture to recycling.

David Statham

Director, Sundown Pastoral Company

David Statham’s vision of innovation and progressive farming techniques have enabled him and his team to acquire bragging rights of the world’s first carbon positive cotton farming operation. The 25,000 ha contiguous farming operation west on Moree NSW has created a world-leading team with over 35 years in the agriculture industry.