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).
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. He is a world leading scholar in the field of decision theory and has published seminal works on the use multi-objective decision support. 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. Stefan is widely published in the international research literature and his most recent book, Global Megatrends, is available through CSIRO Publishing.
Stefan has a doctorate in geography from the University of Queensland and postgraduate qualifications in economics from the University of New England. He is a current and recent member of the OECD and World Economic Forum global strategic foresight communities.
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.
Natural Evolution now produces a range of products from excess farm produce using their patented Nutro-Lock processing technology. Nutro-Lock has the ability to naturally preserve any fruit or vegetable in powder form within 10 minutes, proving to lock in valuable plant phytochemicals 20-50 times higher than conventional food processing techniques. The business has experienced remarkable growth, expanding into international markets and winning sustainability and innovation awards in Australia and overseas.
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. He currently runs six large-scale, long-term research programs in south-eastern Australia, primarily in reserves, national parks, wood production forests, plantations, and on farm land. He has published more 720 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 45 books on a wide range of topics associated with forestry, woodlands, wildlife and biodiversity conservation, and ecologically sustainable natural resource management.
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.
Senior Analyst Consumer Foods, RaboResearch
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.
Prior to joining Rabobank, Nick was a Senior Economist and Vice President of Sales, Research & Marketing, at LMC International, an independent economic and business consultancy for the agribusiness sector. Before LMC, Nick worked as a Senior Research Economist for The Natural Resources Institute in the U.K. Additionally he has worked as a freelance economic journalist, a Senior Economist with the Government of Papua New Guinea, as well as a lecturer/tutor in Applied Economics. Nick holds a M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from Reading University in the United Kingdom.
Artificial Intelligence Professor at the University of New South Wales and Data61
Professor 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 sought-after keynote speaker on how artificial intelligence influences business, education, warfare, personal development, and finance, among others. His talks have been featured at TED, Adobe Pacific Summit, Future Shapers Forum, CEBIT and Quest Future of AI. He has advised a number of leading organizations on their AI strategy, including McKinsey & Co, Bertlesmann, TATA Consulting, SeviceNow, Clayton Utz, the NSW Department of Education, and Penguin Random House.
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.
General Manager of Country Banking New Zealand
Hayley brings industry leadership, strong commercial acumen and deep strategic insight, key skills for the future development and direction of Rabobank’s rural banking business in New Zealand. Prior to taking up this role in July 2015, Hayley was Rabobank’s Director of Dairy Research, New Zealand and Asia, working within the Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory team. Hayley commenced with Rabobank in 2001 as a Senior Credit Analyst, leading the Food and Agribusiness Corporate Credit team in London, before returning to New Zealand in 2005. Hayley is a highly respected commentator on New Zealand’s agricultural sector and a sought after speaker at New Zealand and international conferences. In 2012 Hayley was recognised by Primary magazine as one of the top 10 New Zealand women in agriculture.
Prior to joining Rabobank, Hayley spent nine years working in agribusiness and finance roles for two New Zealand banks. Hayley has a Bachelor of Applied Economics (Agricultural Economics) from Massey University and has a Masters of Science (Agricultural Economics) from the University of London/Imperial College. She was brought up on a dairy farm on the West Coast of the South Island and now lives in Christchurch.
Humanitarian aid worker
Linda Cruse’s journey to becoming a humanitarian aid worker began after a terrifying episode of temporary blindness while driving along a motorway in the UK. She 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 has fused her passion for adventure with a deep desire to make a difference to remote communities. To enable her to do this she has developed and launched two unique leadership programmes: Be The Change and Race4Good. These programmes 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. She is a compelling and inspirational speaker with a unique understanding of motivation, global cultures, leadership and community building. In 2014, Linda was appointed a Senior Fellow in Residence in the College of Business and Law at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
Sustainable Materials as the Director of Sustainable Materials
Research & Technology (SMaRT@UNSW) at the University of New South Wales
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. In 2018 she was elected as Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. In 2017 Veena received PLuS Alliance Prize for Research Innovation and awarded the prestigious Jubilee Professorship by the Indian Academy of Sciences.
Veena is renowned for her internationally commercialised EAF ‘green’ steelmaking process that utilises millions of waste tyres otherwise destined for landfill as a partial replacement for coke. The conceptual and scientific breakthroughs that underpin ‘green steel’ have paved the way for an unparalleled portfolio of new ‘waste to value’ science, built over years of research at the SMaRT Centre, with valuable contributions from industry partners. This approach is enabling her to transform many of the world’s most challenging waste streams – such as e-waste, automotive waste and batteries – into value-added materials that can be redirected back into manufacturing.
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.
Lisa is passionate about delivering outcomes that not only future-proof the business with sustainable growth, but position Sanford to deliver its vision to become the best seafood company in the world. Lisa also leads the delivery of Sanford’s integrated Annual Reports, which have been recognised through international awards in the United States and Australasia.
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. Over the course of his almost 30-year career at Rabobank, he has gained extensive experience as a banker in both the Wholesale and Rural & Retail Banking business across the world. 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.
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.
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 carved out an enviable reputation across print, television and radio, working on The Australian, ABC’s Nationwide, 2UE, Channel 10 news and hosting ABC TV’s Compass program. She played a major role in ABC TV's coverage of the Gulf War in 1991 seeing her awarded two Penguin Awards and a United Nations Media Peace Prize. In 1992 Geraldine began presenting Life Matters, a new ABC Radio National program which set out to cover the full gamut of social issues in everyday life. For Geraldine, this has been the highlight of her career, providing new voices to the public conversation, those of the Australian public themselves. 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.
In recent years, Geraldine has taken an interest in the relationship between Islam and the Western world, co-producing Tomorrow's Islam in 2003 with Peter Kirkwood and in 2005 the pair co-authored a book Tomorrow's Islam: Uniting Age-old Beliefs and a Modern World. She has authored several other publications and in 2014 was editor of The Climb: Conversations with Australian Women in Power. In her ongoing role as presenter of the ABC Radio National program Saturday Extra and ABC TV's Compass, Geraldine continues to tackle a wide range of subjects with rigour, optimism, humour and warmth.