Presenters

Ian joined KPMG in London in 1992, moving to Auckland in 1996. Ian was admitted to partnership in 2004 and appointed Global Head of Agribusiness in 2013, leading a network of professionals in over 50 countries. Ian has a BSc (Hons) Industrial Economics (University of Warwick, UK). Ian is a licensed auditor, working with food and fibre clients in the dairy, red meat, fishing, horticulture and viticulture sectors. A leading strategic thinker on Agribusiness in NZ, he presents around the world on the future of food production, processing and consumption articulating a vision for a food system that delivers sufficient nutrition to the world in a sustainable manner through the utilisation of disruptive innovations and new business models.

Chris is CEO of New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust, which runs strategic leader programmes for primary industries. Chris is a shareholding director of Hard Hill Country Genetics a 600-hectare sheep and beef genetics operation located in Northland. Chris served New Zealand as Head of Defence Staff in the UK and Europe and prior to that as Deputy Chief of the Army.  A decorated special forces officer, he has served in multiple areas of operations, including as the commander of the New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan. Chris holds master’s degrees in management and in strategy and is a Chartered Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. 

Initially employed in the seafood industry in a range of roles, Craig has been working in education for the past 20 years and has an MA in Applied Linguistics and MEd in E-Learning. He has worked in tertiary institutions in New Zealand, South Korea and Japan. Craig’s current role is GM Qualifications & Standards at Muka Tangata – People, Food and Fibre Workforce Development Council (WDC). 

Dr Ellen Joan Nelson is an ex-army academic business mum, with deep expertise and practical experience in leadership, gender, well-being and the future of work. As a speaker (including TEDx), published writer, facilitator and consultant, Ellen has helped many organisations, including the NZ Army, to improve leadership in the workforce. She is involved in the Food and Fibre leadership development project, her volunteer team evacuated 563 people from Afghanistan to New Zealand (Ellen is a semi-finalist (top 10) for the New Zealander of the Year ‘Local Hero’ category) and she started the #workschoolhours movement. www.ellenjoannelson.com

As an eLearning Consultant, Jacinta quickly developed a niche business providing affordable interactive elearning to large organisations including: custom elearning courses, learning strategy advice, LMS support and Articulate Storyline training workshops. Developing some of the first NZ Virtual Reality, Interactive 360 video and Augmented Reality in training and performance support solutions, she is committed to continuous learning, best practice and studying research to find innovative solutions for clients and share knowledge with industry

Josh has been at the leading edge of critical developments in the NZ education system over the last 20+ years. He brings fresh thinking and real solutions to school-to-work transitions, curriculum, qualifications, assessment and quality assurance issues.  A former CE of the Industry Training Federation, Josh was also a senior policy manager at the NZ Ministry of Education, where he led policy for foundational and vocational education.  Josh was one of the architects of New Zealand’s system of Vocational Pathways. Principal Consultant for Skills Consulting Group, Josh has a keen desire to work with organisations globally to improve vocational outcomes.

Michelle is the Capability Development Pou Lead, Joint Work Program, which is the operational body to enact the Te Hiku Iwi and Crown Social and Wellbeing Accord. Michelle leads the Stakeholder Governance Group responsible for the establishment, monitoring and evaluation of the TUPU Horticulture Program. Michelle has a background in tertiary education & training including vocational training & assessment, organisational learning & development, international economic development, climate change adaptation & Māori economic development. Michelle worked in Kuwait for ten years & four years in South Korea returning to her ancestral home in Te Hiku early 2022.

Vaughan is a research manager with Scarlatti, a research and evaluation firm supporting organisations to drive practice change through evaluation and analytics. He is passionate about working to address the challenges facing New Zealand’s food and fibre sector with like-minded people and exploring opportunities to overcome them. Vaughan’s work with the FFCoVE has involved managing activities for the Taking Stock and Attraction and Retention projects. Vaughan earned his Masters in AgriCommerce (with Distinction) from Massey University in 2019. Since then, he has managed several projects across New Zealand’s food and fibre, and construction and infrastructure sectors.