The Australian Assurance Summit 2023

Craig Reucassel is an Australian writer and comedian who is best known for his work with The Chaser and for going through your bins on The War on Waste (ABC).

Genevieve Jacobs AM, GAICD is a journalist working at the cutting edge of digital media. Her 30 year career includes a decade with ABC Radio Canberra as Mornings presenter and she is now group editor for Region Media, Australia’s fastest growing independent media platform.

Costa Georgiadis has been the Silver Logie awarded presenter of Australia’s much-loved and long-lasting show Gardening Australia. A landscape architect, environmental educator and television presenter, Costa has an absolute love for plants and people, which is evident in every project he touches and every presentation he makes.

Lucy Gregg comes with an extensive career in the primary industry, trade, and political sectors. Lucy is responsible for building strong relationships with government and industry, as well as building evidence-based cases that AUSVEG can use to advocate for growers on the issues that are impeding their growth and prosperity.

Joseph is the Chair of the AHEIA and Director of Imports and Exports for A.S. Barr, an international logistics and fresh produce service provider based in Brisbane, QLD. Joseph has extensive experience as a leading facilitator of fresh imports and exports, with A.S. Barr’s customer base spanning over 50 countries.

Yemee has held senior commercial roles in publicly listed companies such as Fairfax, Universal Music Australia and LexisNexis. Over 15 years Yemee has worked across maintaining and creating partnerships with a range of industries from FMCG to digital innovation, with past clients including American Express, McDonald’s, Unilever, Virgin Mobile and Coca-Cola.

Dr Alexandra Bratanova is a Senior Research Scientist within the CSIRO’s Data61 Humans and Machines team. She is actively involved in research projects with international collaborators, with recent work focused on the global trade megatrends, prioritisation of policy actions for Australia-Indonesia trade, and development of export trade opportunities for Tasmania.

Mardi began her career in the wine industry in the early 1990s helping to establish her family’s vineyards in Padthaway, SA. She has held technical and vineyard management positions spanning numerous Australian wine regions. Mardi now manages the wine industry’s sustainability program, ‘Sustainable Winegrowing Australia’, in her role at AWRI.

Dr Mila Bristow and her team at Hort Innovation lead the research and development to ensure the protection of Australia’s trade advantage through over $200M invested in biosecurity, market access and trade RD&E. Mila has more than 25 years’ experience as a plant scientist, with a passion for complex questions…

Belinda has worked in horticulture for over 35 years, a Board Director of Freshcare since 2003 and is the principal consultant at Optimum Standard. A grower herself based in Tasmania; Belinda also obtained an MBA in Agricultural Innovation in 2017. In 2022, Belinda was awarded an Order of Australia Medal…

Tim has worked in the Australian Public Service for over 13 years. He is currently a Senior Economist and Program Lead of the Agricultural Forecasting and Policy Program at ABARES, where he is responsible for advising the Government on the outlook for agricultural commodity production, prices, and exports.

Gillian is a brand strategy, marketing and communications leader with more than 20 years’ experience, gained in NZ, Australia and Europe. She’s built successful brands and new products, in local and global roles. At Hort Innovation, she delivers high-impact marketing campaigns across 23 different Hort industries, to drive consumer demand…

Andrew is focused on bringing a commercial and collaborative leadership style to deliver improved food safety and quality of fresh produce that exceed ever-increasing consumer expectations. Andrew also oversees the Sustainability program for the Perfection Fresh Group. In addition, Andrew is a board member of the Fresh Produce Safety Centre.

Jason leads the policy, sustainability and impact team at the ARA, working with members and key stakeholders to progress policy priorities important for Australian retailers. He has over 30 years experience in retail and hospitality sectors, working for small business owners, franchise operators and large national brands in diverse roles…

Dr Rogers has 30 years’ experience in research, development and extension in Australia and internationally, with expertise in soil health, sustainable production systems, protected cropping, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change physiology, phytonutrients in vegetable and fruit crops, and food production systems in developing countries.

Andy is Managing Director at AirborneLogic, an innovative remote sensing and data analytics company that uses the latest camera imaging and drone technology to convert big data into information and action on ground for growers and landholders. Andy has a career spanning natural resources, sustainability, forestry and water resource management…

Tristan is an ex-retailer, having previously held senior positions with Sainsbury’s (UK) and Coles supermarkets, and is now a management consultant providing advice and support along the grocery value chain. Tristan also manages and operates the Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme (HARPS) on behalf of the major grocery retailers in…

Melissa has over 20 years experience in Agriculture as a farmer and in industry policy and strategy. At Stop Food Waste Australia, she works with businesses that sign on to the Australian Food Pact, which is a commitment to reduce food waste in your operations and stand with other businesses…

Gigi Vita is the CEO of the SQFI, a GFSI-benchmarked food safety certification program founded in Australia in 1995. Prior to her work with SQFI, Gigi led strategic business development and innovation for the largest dairy cooperative in the US, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA). Gigi’s forward-thinking, innovative approach to…

A veteran of the non-profit and advocacy sector, Jane joined Freshcare as CEO in early 2021. Her extensive experience in IT Project Management has fostered a commitment to exploring emerging technologies that will help all Australian producers achieve Freshcare certification. Through Jane’s leadership, Freshcare Standards are now globally recognised.

Allan is Chair of the Freshcare Board and Executive Director at The Glue. With two decades of experience in commercial, technical, and finance roles, Allan has a unique and unparalleled understanding of the challenges and requirements of the agribusiness sector. His specialties include IT infrastructure architecture and implementation, accounting and…

Richard is a passionate agriculture advocate. Before joining the advocacy ranks within an industry body, Richard had grown up on the family farm on the northern Darling Downs before over a decade as a public policy professional, working across agriculture, trade, renewable energy, healthcare innovation and Indigenous education with QLD,…

A food scientist born in South Africa, Shannon travelled to Aus to work as a Quality and Compliance officer at Oz Group Co-op, a blueberry packhouse in Coffs Harbour NSW. She provides Freshcare and food safety technical support for all 145 Co-op members and is Oz Group’s head practitioner for…

As Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Regional Development Ms Moriarty oversees the management of NSW’s primary industries, and the co-ordination of issues affecting rural and regional communities across the state. Ms Moriarty is a member of the ALP’s National Executive and Senior Vice President of the NSW Labor Party.

Katherine is the Chief Commercial Officer for Source Certain, an Australian-founded and owned forensic laboratory based in Perth, WA. With over 15 years of experience as a senior leader in the biotechnology sector, Katherine has worked across various primary industries and their associated domestic and global supply chains and she…

Tracy leads the section that includes the international, dietary exposure assessment and maximum residue limit (MRL) teams at FSANZ. Tracy has many years of experience at FSANZ in food regulatory risk assessments, primarily in dietary exposure assessments for a range of chemicals in foods including agvet chemicals.

James has over 15 years of experience in pesticide regulation and risk assessment. He currently oversees a team of regulatory scientists tasked with assessing residue data for pesticides and veterinary medicines proposed for use in Australia and making recommendations regarding Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), consumer safety and trade risks.

76% of Australians want to live a sustainable lifestyle, yet only 22% say they are changing their behaviour. Carolyn Reid, Kantar’s Executive Director of Qualitative Insights, will help you understand why sustainability matters and why helping people close the gap between their aspirations and actions can help grow the value of…

Anne Maree has consulted to the Australian agrifood sector for over 20 years in strategy, investment evaluation and capital raising.  From 2017 – 2023, she led the global agribusiness and food team at Austrade, promoting the industry to attract foreign investment and grow agrifood exports.  More recently, Anne Maree returned…

Graeme is responsible for the design and implementation of the company’s National compliance programs. With over 20 years’ experience in horticultural compliance people and food safety programs, Graeme has worked across various commodities and has gained a wealth of knowledge – completing over 50 third-party audits across various standards, there…

Liz is an independent viticultural consultant and trainer based in the Hunter Valley. She has over 25 years of experience and is well-versed in the whole of value chain in the wine industry. Liz is a Roseworthy graduate, Australian Nuffield Farming Scholar and a GAICD. She is a non-executive director…

Jane has a background and experience in government relations, advocacy, communications, business development, systems development and cross-functional team leadership. Her industry experience is diverse, with a natural affinity for regional Australia and agriculture, fisheries and forestry. She is passionate about food security, consulting and volunteering both domestically and internationally in…

Gail has worked on behalf of the wholesalers for close to a decade, as General Manager for Brismark and now General Manager of Fresh Markets Australia. As Freshcare Director and Chair of the Freshcare Finance Risk and Audit Committee, Gail is a CPA with over 30 years of experience operating…

Andrew is the Managing Director of Regen Farmers Mutual (RFM) Limited a member-owned organisation that assists farmers at the point of convergence between Agriculture and Climate markets.  RFM provides facilitation to groups of farmers in the form of a Landscape Impact Program.  Each Landscape Impact Program helps the group of farmers…

Graham has worked in the agriculture food supply chain since 1980 and was instrumental in developing systems and education packages for producers and supply chain partners as a horticulture technical officer for the WA Department of Agriculture. Graham has delivered training for Freshcare programs since their inception and is a…

With over 30 years’ experience in the agriculture food supply chain, Bruce started with AUS-MEAT in 2002 managing several of the livestock industry programs, including Australia’s first on-farm quality assurance program initiated by the feedlot sector. His initial exposure to horticulture programs commenced 15 years ago and has evolved through…