Trade Zone

David Gudgin is the Director of Australasia at Euromonitor International has been with the company for 25 years. In his role, he currently oversees all Euromonitor ANZ operations. He was previously a Marketing Director at Euromonitor in London and responsible for marketing, promotions and sales globally. He has extensive experience working on food trends, government, banking, advertising and consulting research projects. Gudgin holds a BSc (Hons), University of Nottingham and a postgraduate diploma in marketing from London Metropolitan University.

Bazil Stander’s vast knowledge of international food trends is without parallel. His endless pursuit of finding new flavours has taken him around the globe, from humble beginnings in a kitchen at a London bistro to now heading a multimillion-dollar development kitchen in Sydney at Woolworths, where he inspires product development teams with ideas for fresh food concepts. With more than 22 years in the industry to his credit, Bazil has worked in restaurants, foodservice menu development, food retail and food manufacturing in the United Kingdom, South Africa & Australia. Bazil founded the Food Innovator brand at Woolworths in 2014.

Al Overton qualified as a medical herbalist in 1999 and has been involved in natural health retail ever since. During 18 years at Planet Organic, he has done every job imaginable and is now Buying Director, managing the company’s buying, marketing, brand and e-commerce functions. Planet Organic is a speciality health food store with eight shops in London.

In 2003, Didi Lo had a vision to bring the natural and organic foods made in the Byron Bay area to a wider audience. This was a time when swapping traditional soft drinks for kombucha was a hard sell. Regardless, Lo set off for Melbourne with nothing but a refrigerated van, a map and a pallet of his favourite Byron Bay products.

Soulfresh has since expanded from one man in a van to a leading Australian food and beverage company offering people healthier options. Along the way, he’s launched and grown many brands, from kombucha and plant-based milks to kefir and vegan chocolate. Lo is currently working on the launch of Eaty, a plant-based meat range, which looks, tastes and sizzles exactly like meat. Soulfresh today operates in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe, with more regions in sight.

Sharon Natoli is founding director of Food & Nutrition Australia, a speaker and an author with 25 years of experience in assisting businesses to adapt to consumer needs. She is passionate about food businesses leading change across the food system in a way that improves the future health of people and the planet. Food & Nutrition Australia provides strategic research, and regulatory and nutrition advisory services to businesses and organisations in the food sector, assisting them to expand their share of voice in the market, grow sales and shareholder return, and re-build consumer trust and loyalty.

Natoli is author of Food for a Better Future, writes a regular blog called Perspectives on the Future of Food, and speaks at conferences and events about what food businesses can do to prepare for a healthier and more sustainable future.

Barry is an innovation manager with 30yrs in food manufacturing. He has held senior technical, innovation and commercial leadership roles in large FMCG organisations
With product launches in domestic retail, export, foodservice and QSR, one of Barry’s great joys is working with many innovative small companies across Australia
Barry is a member of national advisory boards for supply chain improvement, fruit and vegetable value addition and dairy innovation
Currently General Manager Innovation, Capabilities and Skills with Food Innovation Australia, as a passionate connector, for the last 5 yrs Barry has been leading initiatives across the whole Australian Agri-Food business value chain to strengthen innovation, build company capabilities and connect businesses to solutions that deliver sustainability and market opportunities

Brooke Donnelly is a senior strategic and commercial executive specialising in product stewardship, recycling and sustainability. She has proven strengths in leading the successful operational and commercial implementation of best-practice national product stewardship and recycling programs for industry, government and consumers.

In her current role of CEO at the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) Donnelly develops and leads APCO’s strategic direction and vision. APCO enables businesses, government and industry to design and utilise more sustainable packaging throughout the supply chain to reduce environmental impact.

Donnelly is the co-founder and facilitator of the Product Stewardship Cluster (PSC), an organisation working to accelerate Australia’s journey to a circular economy through product stewardship.

Over the course of her career, Donnelly has worked in alignment with a broad range of regulatory authorities, industry groups and product stewardship organisations such as the DrumMuster, AIP Oil Container Collection and the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme. She has also held numerous senior leadership titles including Chief Operating Officer for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, NSW Sustainability Manager for Visy Industrial Packaging and CEO at Catalyst Development Group.

Prior to this, Donnelly spent her formative years managing her third-generation family business, specialising in the recycling of industrial packaging.

Richard Fine is a second-generation packaging professional. After reading the book Cradle to Cradle - remaking the way we make things, Fine decided to use his knowledge of the plastics industry to address the growing problem of plastic pollution and in 2006 he founded BioPak, a company with a mission to replace single-use plastic disposable packaging with more sustainable alternatives. Today BioPak is the leading supplier in Australia and New Zealand of compostable single use disposable packaging, and the business is currently expanding operations into Europe, the UK and Singapore.

Fine was a founding member of the Australasian Bioplastics Association and is currently a member of the Association’s marketing committee. He is also actively involved in a number of industry working groups focused on developing policy and promoting compostable packaging as one of the solutions for a circular economy.

Andrew Pooch is Managing Director for Tetra Pak Oceania and sits on the senior leadership team of the company’s business in the Asia-Pacific region. Tetra Pak is the world’s leading food processing and packaging solutions company working closely with millions of customers and suppliers in more than 160 countries to provide safe food. In his role, Pooch is responsible for the refinement and implementation of the company’s strategy in Australia and New Zealand focusing on the dairy, beverage and food categories. He is also responsible for all aspects of packaging, processing and services within the business.

Pooch has more than 30 years’ experience in the packaging industry, spanning the region in markets such as China and South-East Asia, in addition to Australia and New Zealand. He also has significant experience in sustainability, whether in terms of product development, the assessment of recycling solutions and driving community awareness of post-consumer waste, in partnership with NGOs.

Tom Lunn is responsible for developing the Detmold Group brands and leading product innovation and industry partnerships to create customer value. Regularly working with brands like McDonalds in the US, Starbucks in China, Jollibee in the Philippines, Warner Brothers in the Middle East and KFC in Australia keeps Lunn at the forefront of global packaging and foodservice trends. He is focused on sustainability in packaging and is the driving force behind Recycle Me™, Australia’s first commercially recyclable takeaway coffee cup. He is proud to have helped customers reduce the environmental footprint of hundreds of products, saving thousands of tonnes of raw materials and diverting millions of used items from landfill every year.

Lis Mannes is a highly experienced executive with an international career that has spanned both the fast-moving consumer and industrial goods industries. She has extensive international and domestic supply chain experience including management of the largest bakery supply chain network in Australia. She is currently the Executive General Manager of CHEP Australia Limited, which is a subsidiary of Brambles Limited, a global pioneer of the circular and sharing economy.

From its origins here in Australia in 1946, CHEP has played a crucial role as a global supply chain solutions partner, allowing retailers, manufacturers and transporters to move and handle goods both cost-effectively and sustainably. Brambles holds the world’s largest pool of reusable pallets and containers and is a leader in some of the most recognised sustainability investor ratings, including Dow Jones Sustainability Index, MSCI, Sustainalytics and CDP.

Retail Global is known as the conference for retailers, by retailers. Founder Philip Leahy successfully launched and built one of the largest eBay businesses retailing CDs and DVDs, achieving Australia’s top volume of sales in all seller categories for a number of years. He then decided to launch a conference to help others who were tackling marketplaces and cross-border sales.

Fourteen years on, Retail Global takes place annually, with events in Australia and the United States that highlight the biggest trends and challenges in retail and ecommerce. Sourcing more than 100 speakers for these events each year gives Leahy a breadth of knowledge of the people and ideas who are leading the future of retail.

Samantha Blake is Director of Industry Affairs at the Australian Food and Grocery Council. She works with members on a wide range of commercial, supply chain and retail trade issues impacting the Australian market. Some of the ways Blake helps members and the industry is by working on the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, end-to-end value chain opportunities, commercial and sales capabilities, and enhancing the financial competitiveness of the FMCG industry. Members draw on Blake’s insights from her 18 years of experience working in the industry in Australia and United Kingdom. This work encompasses all areas of food operations including executive management roles in the manufacturing, technical and supply chain divisions of FMCG organisations.

A passion for stalking supermarket aisles and all things food and wine saw Denise Hamblin trade in neuroscience for consumer science, where she now leads the Consumer Goods division of Colmar Brunton, one of Australia’s largest market research agencies. In her role as the National Sector Head of Consumer Goods, Hamblin leads a large variety of research programs both locally and globally, informed by sensory science, marketing science and qualitative and quantitative techniques and analyses. Hamblin is particularly interested in research that tunes into the evolving preferences of Australian consumers, strongly aligned with Colmar Brunton’s resolve to make a difference.

Al Overton qualified as a medical herbalist in 1999 and has been involved in natural health retail ever since. During 18 years at Planet Organic, he has done every job imaginable and is now Buying Director, managing the company’s buying, marketing, brand and e-commerce functions. Planet Organic is a speciality health food store with eight shops in London.

Mark Tanner is managing director of Shanghai-based China Skinny. He has provided China-market growth strategies and research to over 150 brands including such Australian household names as Coles, Woolworths, Tourism Australia, ANZ and Westpac, as well as Colgate, Fonterra, Reckitt Benckiser, IKEA, SAIC Motors, IHG, Sun-Maid Raisins, Business Finland and McCain. His views on China have been quoted in more than 200 international media outlets including Bloomberg, Reuters, FT and Forbes, where he is a columnist. Tanner authors the most-read newsletter about marketing to China, and is a regular keynote speaker addressing audiences around the globe.

Tim Carroll is the Director of Technology for the Australia China Health Accelerator (ACHA) and Asia-ready Programme Director of UprAsia. He is also the Director of Start Global Pty Ltd, which delivers the innovative “glo project”, placing international students in Australian startups to build global thinking and global connections.

Carroll is the former Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) State Director Victoria and senior representative for Austrade in Victoria with global responsibilities across all industry sectors and a lead strategic role in Health sciences and technology. He has deep experience living and working in global markets with a passion for Asia and the amazing opportunities available in these high-growth areas. He has been working with an all-of-Asia focus for the last four years. Caroll has a wealth of experience in executive management in the medical and health sciences, international market development work in Asia, and innovation and commercialisation support.

Hollis Ashman is Enterprise Director at The University of Melbourne, where she focuses on projects including The Food Value Chain (premium products for export to Asia), Smart Packaging, Future Food Hallmark Initiative and Sustainable Indigenous Agriculture. Ashman was earlier at Mondelez ANZ as Innovation Best Practices Manager and has also led an innovation company, MUSE, where she had multiple clients in the Fortune 500 and helped deliver many innovative new products and opportunities to the marketplace around the world.

Ashman has worked in the electronics industry, the metals industry creating new technology-based opportunities and joint ventures, the appliance industry implementing global strategies, and the food industry, where she led the development of new platforms and opportunities.

Skye Reeve is an Assistant Director in the International Policy and Cooperation section at IP Australia. She has worked in policy at IP Australia since 2015 and was previously a senior trade marks examiner there.

Reeve is a qualified lawyer who worked in the private legal sector prior to commencing with IP Australia. Her work has included contributing to the development of domestic legislation across all IP rights, and currently includes policy considerations and representation for the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) and the Lisbon Working Group at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). She also provides support for the China IP Counsellor, specifically in the area of trademarks, the Madrid system, designs, domain names and geographical indications.

Reeve is a dual citizen of Australia and Canada, with a Bachelor of Laws from the Queensland University of Technology and is currently undertaking her Master of Laws at The University of Melbourne.

Anna Gibson is the Global Director of Intellectual Property at Treasury Wine Estates – one of the world’s largest wine companies, listed on the Australia Securities Exchange. Ms Gibson leads the company’s global IP group and is responsible for the development and implementation of its IP policies and procedures, and the protection and enforcement of its wine brands in over 150 countries worldwide – which include Penfolds, Wolf Blass, 19 Crimes, Lindemans, Matua, Seppelt, Beringer and Beaulieu Vineyards. Anna has also been responsible for the roll-out of a proactive and comprehensive brand protection program across Asia to monitor and enforce against copycat and counterfeit operators in the online and offline space.

Before joining Treasury Wine Estates, Gibson worked in the IP corporate and litigation teams of top-tier firms in Europe, New Zealand and Australia, for a range of leading brands in the fast-moving consumer goods, healthcare and fashion industries. Her formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of Auckland.

Andrew Kuiler is the founder and CEO of The Silk Initiative, China’s only specialised food and beverage insights-driven brand consultancy. Kuiler managed a global career in leadership positions at multinational agencies in Shanghai, New York and Sydney before carving his own path with the launch of TSI.

With nearly 20 years’ experience working with major brands including Campbell’s, PepsiCo, Arla, VitaCoco, Goodman Fielder, Pizza Hut, Unilever, US Dairy, and Mars Wrigley, Andrew has a keen understanding of the strategic approach brands need to thrive. His expertise has also led to him being featured in major publications including Entrepreneur magazine and Smart Insights. He is often sought by think-tanks, financial institutions, and government organisations for his insights on the Chinese consumer market and branding.

Nicholas Simms is a consumer goods specialist with a record of strategically applying key insights, consumer technology, experience and innovative thinking to challenge legacy and deliver greater shareholder value. His track record includes time as General Manager of five:am organics, which went from startup to $86-million exit in under four years, and CEO of Bubs Australia, transitioning it from a small private entity to an ASX Top 500 company with a market cap of more than $500 million. NCES Enterprises is a boutique strategic advisory and investment company focused on consumer goods. Simms is passionate about building businesses and brands that are truly better.

Nick Henderson has more than 20 years experience in business development and operations in China. He began his career with Ikea and was instrumental in establishing the company’s first stores in Shanghai and Beijing. He was also General Manager of the market entry and business development boutique advisory firm, Intralink. Before joining Asialink Business, Nick was the China General Manager for the brand strategy firm FutureBrand, a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group. He has worked on projects for Alibaba Group, Bank of Shanghai, Daimler Benz, CITIC Private Equity, Mengniu, Yintai Group, Changhong and the Shanghai Government (Lujiazui Group).

Henderson has assisted more than 100 companies with their business growth in complex Chinese markets focusing on sectors including industrial, food and consumer, telecommunications, life sciences, environmental technologies and software.

Brent Moore is a Trade Commissioner based in Shanghai with more than 15 years’ experience in public- and private-sector international trade.

Moore was posted to Shanghai in February 2014, where he has led Austrade’s food, beverage, e-commerce and consumer team in Shanghai. He leads trade missions to China and advises Australian companies on market entry strategy, including the publication of e-commerce in China, a Guide for Australian Business and Exporting Food and Beverage to China, a Guide for Australian Business.

Prior to coming to Shanghai, Moore spent two years as the Executive Officer for East Asian Growth Markets in Austrade’s Sydney headquarters. Moore previously worked in the office of the federal agriculture minister and as a policy officer in the Department of Agriculture covering multilateral and trade negotiation, including the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee. Moore has also worked in private consulting on trade sustainability impacts in Latin America on behalf of the European Commission.

Moore comes from Bright in north-east Victoria and has lived across Asia for more than nine years. He’ll commence his next assignment, as Senior Trade Commissioner to Taipei, from December 2019.

Matthew McKenzie has led the market development in China for a number of iconic Australian and international food and beverage brands over the past 20 years. He moved to China in early 2015 and led the development of The Export Group, an in-market business development and sales organisation. He now resides in Hong Kong and works as the General Manager of Marketing for Bright Food Asia, which has one of the largest distribution networks across Greater China. Bright Food Asia owns and operates a number of import, distribution, manufacturing and marketing organisations across China, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong SAR and Macau.

Najib Lawand has 25 years’ experience leading Australian food-export businesses and agri-food industry development teams. He is well known for his capabilities in opening up new export markets and has worked extensively in the Middle East, North- and South-East Asia. Since 2010, Lawand has worked for NSW Trade and Investment, advising businesses and government on growth in the agri-food industry. In his most recent role as General Manager Market Development with Food Innovation Australia Ltd (FIAL), Lawand has collaborated with individual businesses, governments and industry groups to deliver projects that have resulted in new export market opportunities.

In June 2017, Lawand founded Export Connect, which uses the skills, connections and expertise he has acquired over the past 25 years to help companies select the right market, connect to the right buyers, and grow. Since June 2017, Lawand has delivered over 120 market reports and assessments, covering more than 20 export markets, working with clients including Chobani, Masterfoods, Woolworths, Robert Timms and Birch & Waite.

Chantimaporn Mekdhanasarn has been with Austrade Bangkok since 1992. She has 27 years’ experience working in various sectors such as medical and health, information technology and telecoms services, and has spent the last five years as the leader of Austrade’s food and agribusiness team. Her knowledge of local industry is substantial and she is well connected with the food and agribusiness sector of Thailand. Prior to joining Austrade, Mekdhanasarn was a Brand Manager at Unilever Thailand and had spent two years on secondment to the Unilever Research Centre at Port Sunlight, UK.

She is a UK graduate, with a Bachelor of Science specialising in Nutrition and Dietetics, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Studies from Aberdeen University and a Master of Business Administration from Aberystwyth University.

Nick Micalos is a career public servant with close to ten years experience at the Department of Agriculture. Micalos currently works in the South East Asia section of the Department’s Trade and Market Access Division. Micalos holds a degree in Commerce from the Australian National University, majoring in Management and Corporate Sustainability.

Kassem Younes is the Regional Director - Trade for the Victorian Government Trade and Investment Office (VGTI) covering the Middle East and Africa, in addition to Russia and CIS countries. Younes has been promoting Victorian industry capabilities across various sectors, including food and beverages, professional services and mining, to export to the Middle East, Africa and CIS countries. His primary role is guiding Victorian businesses in building and growing their export efforts in the region to ensure firms have access to world-class export assistance; market intelligence and strategies for market entry. Younes speaks fluent Arabic, English and Russian in addition to French, and has been living in the United Arab Emirates for more than 17 years.

Heath Baker has been acting CEO of Export Council of Australia (ECA) since March 2019, with a focus on improving value to ECA members and making its training courses more accessible. Baker started with ECA in early 2017 as Head of Policy. His priority was to make it simpler and cheaper for SMEs to do business internationally. Before this, he spent four years at Austrade in roles including Manager of Trade Policy, State Director for NSW and the ACT, and Trade Commissioner in Seoul.

Prior to Austrade, Baker spent four years in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Most of this time was in the international policy division, where his focus was medium- to long-term strategic policy advice. He also spent 18 months as an intelligence analyst.

Before joining government, Baker spent five years in investment banking, working with Macquarie, JP Morgan Chase and Credit Suisse First Boston. He holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of International Studies, both from The University of Sydney.

Barry is an innovation manager with 30yrs in food manufacturing. He has held senior technical, innovation and commercial leadership roles in large FMCG organisations
With product launches in domestic retail, export, foodservice and QSR, one of Barry’s great joys is working with many innovative small companies across Australia
Barry is a member of national advisory boards for supply chain improvement, fruit and vegetable value addition and dairy innovation
Currently General Manager Innovation, Capabilities and Skills with Food Innovation Australia, as a passionate connector, for the last 5 yrs Barry has been leading initiatives across the whole Australian Agri-Food business value chain to strengthen innovation, build company capabilities and connect businesses to solutions that deliver sustainability and market opportunities

Dalene Wray’s visionary leadership of a farmer-owned organic beef company has seen OBE Organic emerge as an exemplar of innovation in the broader red meat industry. She is a major force for improving the sustainability and diversity of the Australian beef industry by driving change, innovation and digital adoption at OBE Organic.

Wray has worked in the organic food industry for over a decade, and for six of those years was based in Hong Kong. In Australia, Wray continues to wear many hats, investing her time on the Telstra Queensland Regional Advisory Committee, of which she is a Member, a Board Member of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Trade Council for Australian Arab Relations, as well as other industry groups. Wray is an in-demand speaker, with addresses in Australia, Mongolia, Qatar, Hong Kong and Mexico.

As Assistant Secretary, Agriculture and Food Trade in the Office of Trade Negotiations, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Guihot is Australia’s lead Agriculture negotiator in the World Trade Organization Committee on Agriculture and leads a whole government effort to address non-tariff barriers. Guihot was Australia’s Agriculture Counsellor to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (2016-2019) and China (2009-2011), responsible for facilitating trade in agricultural products, providing advice on market access and opportunities, building relationships with government and industry groups. Guihot previously worked in a number of roles in the Department of Agriculture including agriculture negotiator for Australia’s Free Trade Agreements with Japan, China and India; managing trade relationships with key markets in ASEAN, South Asia and North Asia; and as a manager in biosecurity and agricultural policy areas.

Martin currently heads the Trade and International Branch within the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science which provides support for the internationalisation of Australian industry, encourages Australia’s multilateral and bilateral industry and trade cooperation, and manages the Commonwealth’s relationships with standards and conformity assessment bodies.

Squire previously held positions within the Resources and Energy Divisions of the department including General Manager of Offshore Resources branch and General Manager of Low Emissions Coal and CO2 Storage branch, and an 18-month secondment to Perth to work with Australia’s national oil and gas regulator. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and completed postgraduate studies in public policy at the Australian National University. He also studied at the University of Edinburgh as a Chevening Scholarship recipient.

Krantz is the Export Council of Australia’s State Manager for Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. Before the ECA, Krantz worked with multinational companies, SMEs and international organisations. In Australia she was responsible for BlueScope’s trade and investment strategy across the company’s international footprint. Before this, she was in Switzerland, at Swiss Re and the International Trade Centre (the joint agency of UNCTAD and the WTO).

Ben Lazzaro was recently appointed as Chief Executive of Australian Made Campaign Ltd, the not-for-profit organisation responsible for promoting and administering the nation’s iconic green-and-gold Australian Made, Australian Grown logo. Lazzaro has been a key contributor to the success of the organisation and the Australian Made logo for many years, joining in 2011 as Marketing and Communications Manager. In 2016 he took on the role of Deputy Chief Executive. Appointed Chief Executive in 2018, Lazzaro oversees the administration and promotion of one of Australia’s most recognised and trusted brands.

He has an engineering and communications background with more than 15 years’ experience across a variety of management, sales, marketing and communications roles in consultancy, agency and in-house capacities. His experience includes integrated strategic marketing communications programs and full-spectrum branding campaigns optimised to deliver successful business outcomes.

Stuart Rees was appointed Trade Commissioner and Counsellor (Commercial) to Thailand in July 2016 and has just returned to Australia , where he is preparing to move to India to establish a new Austrade post in Bangalore. In Thailand, his responsibilities included oversight of Austrade’s work in food and beverage, infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, resources and energy and digital sectors.

Originally from near Cavendish in Victoria, Rees joined the Australian Public Service in 2005 following a professional career in finance and agribusiness. He is a graduate of Marcus Oldham College.

Rees has extensive experience supporting exporters from Australia across a diverse range of sectors and countries, with deep experience in ASEAN.

Fetterplace is an experienced Managing Director in the Food & Beverage industry. He is currently Managing Director and shareholder of privately owned Australian food group ANNEX Foods Pty Ltd. He founded Red Tractor Foods while at Annex - with the brand now available in 11 countries led by Australia, China, Singapore and the USA selling a range of healthy Australian made cereals, snacks and cooking ingredients. Fetterplace’s prior experience includes a Director role at Swisse Wellness, and leadership roles at Coles Supermarkets, Carlton & United and Foster’s Group beer and wine divisions. He is married with 4 children and lives in Melbourne, Australia.