Are we behind the curve?

Invite-Only VIP Breakfast Event @ foodpro 2021

Technology is transforming every industry, some more rapidly than others. The local food & beverage manufacturing sector, in general, has been slower to embrace digital transformation than many others.

This VIP leadership breakfast will look at how food industry leaders can better navigate their digital transformation journey, by focusing on innovation, technology and revenue growth outcomes. Our expert panel of industry leaders will share their first-hand experience of digitalisation at work.

This invitation-only event will take place at Australia’s premier food & beverage processing industry event, foodpro, at the Sydney Showgrounds, Homebush on October – and will be followed by a VIP tour of the exhibition, for those able to stay on.

What we will cover

• Digital transformation – the key to improving customer experience, growing revenue and market leader positioning
• Innovation – as an enabler to fast-track digitalisation
• Streamlining internal systems to add to your bottom line profit
• Technology – finding the right partner(s) for your transformation journey

Meet our Panellists

Our expert panellists will share local and global insights from industry, consulting and technology supplier perspectives.

Dr Mirjana Prica is Managing Director of Food Innovation Australia Ltd. Mirjana is an enthusiastic visionary who focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation to deliver commercial value. Mirjana sits on boards and advisory groups for cooperative research centres, universities, research and industry organisations and businesses, where she leverages her 20+ years of research and commercial experience in food and agribusiness. Currently, Mirjana is leading FIAL, a national and industry-led organisation, established by the Department of Industry to drive innovation and business growth for the ~180,000 firms in the food and agribusiness sector.

Andy Buckle is Director, Consumer Industries, F&B at Infor. Andy is an experienced food & beverage, retail and supply chain professional with over 30 years’ working in global companies and international consulting and solution providers. He has extensive global experience in business transformation programs and process change programs for both food & beverage and retailers to deliver clear business benefits. Andy has direct experience in working with the key technology vendors and managing global accounts with most of the world’s leading IT suppliers. He has developed a proven track record in delivering cost effective, high performance and scalable systems to the business and establishing and running a global IT operation across multiple brands, countries and cultures. He recently joined Infor as Industry lead for Food and Beverage.

Dr Ingrid Appelqvist is Group Leader of the Food Innovation Centre in CSIRO Agriculture & Food.  The group’s research involves developing healthier foods that retain functionality and palatability and designing food breakdown in the body to control sensory perception and bioaccessibility (bioavailability) of nutrients.

Ingrid is also the R&D policy leader for food and nutrition within the unit. She is responsible for negotiating collaborative agreements with federal and state governments in strategic food research and for leading the secretariat and the implementation of the national food and nutrition R&D and technology transfer strategy.

Jason Carley is a Partner in Simon-Kucher & Partners’ Sydney office. Prior to establishing the Sydney office in 2011, Jason led client engagements in Simon-Kucher’s London and Boston offices in his 12+ years with the strategy and marketing consultancy. Jason leads B2B engagements in ANZ, and has consulting experience across a broad range of sectors, including: Agriculture, Ingredients, Commercial Services, Distribution, Logistics, and Manufacturing .

Jason has supported clients in the design and implementation of new pricing systems, service models and go-to-market approaches. He is also a visiting lecturer on Pricing and Revenue Management for a number of industry groups and universities, and has had multiple articles published on these topics

Meet our MC

Geoff Hird is Publisher and Managing Director at WF Media. He has over 30 years’ experience in technology and industrial business-to-business media. From his senior position at one of Australia’s premier specialist media companies, Geoff keeps a close eye on industry trends and developments, especially in terms of technology disruption.

Who should attend?

This is an invitation-only VIP breakfast event for senior managers, directors and owners of food & beverage manufacturing businesses. After receiving your invitation, please complete the form below to confirm your attendance. Numbers are strictly limited.

The Agenda

7.45am          Registration, coffee and networking

8.00am          Seated for hot breakfast

8.20am          MC welcome and intro panellists

8.25am          Panellist presentations

9.15am          Q+A interactive session

9.30am          Event concludes – VIP tour of foodpro exhibition

Register