Horticulture Australia Limited
Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL), a national research, development and marketing organisation, is overseeing the development of the Future Focus plan in conjunction with an Industry Leadership Group.
HAL is responsible for the day-to-day management of the plan.
Industry Leadership Group
An Industry Leadership Group has been formed to provide insight into the strategic issues confronting horticulture. The Leadership group will work with the entire industry to identify a way forward.
Mr David Trebeck, an economic advisor and company director with over 35 years experience in agriculture, has been nominated the chair of the Industry Leaders Group by Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke.
The members of the Leadership Group include key stakeholders from all parts of the industry’s value chain and include:
Chair - David Trebeck
David Trebeck is an economic adviser and company director. He established ACIL Consulting, now ACIL Tasman, in the early 1980s and between 1972 and 1983 was with the National Farmers Federation and its predecessors. He has degrees in economics and agricultural science and is a fellow of the Institute of Company Directors. He is a part-time Commissioner of the National Water Commission, a non executive director of GrainCorp Ltd, companies in the region associated with the Danish shipping company AP Møller-Maersk (the world’s largest shipping company), and a former director of Incitec Limited, Incitec Pivot Ltd and Pipers Brook Vineyard Ltd.
Apart from Pipers Brook Vineyard, his involvement with the horticultural industry has included reviewing problems confronting small and medium sized wineries (for the Agriculture Minister, 2002) and several assignments for the Australian Dried Fruits Association (focusing on enhancing productivity and competitiveness). He was also a member in 2005 of the Corish Committee that prepared a report (Creating our Future) into the long term future of the agriculture and food sectors.
Mano Babiolakis
Mano D. Babiolakis is the CEO of CostaExchange and was appointed to this role in January 2008. CostaExchange is one of the largest and most diverse fresh produce growing and marketing operations in the Southern Hemisphere.
Prior to this, he was the CEO of Chiquita Brands South Pacific. Mano is from Zimbabwe and before moving to settle in Australia in 2001, he worked at Interfresh, his family's business. Interfresh was listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 1997 and is the largest horticultural concern in the country - Mano took over as CEO in 1992.
Michael Batycki
Michael Batycki is the General Manager Fresh Foods, Supermarkets Buying & Marketing for Woolworths Limited (Australia). His responsibilities include, sourcing, buying, vendor relations, marketing, merchandising and liaison with the retail operations teams, logistics and other shared service teams. Michael's career with Woolworths has spanned in excess of 30 years with roles including store management and supervision prior to entering the Buying and Marketing department. Michael has over 23 years experience with Fresh Produce in the Australian industry with Woolworths. Woolworths Supermarkets operate over 760 supermarkets within Australia and employ some 170,000 employees with a significant presence in rural Australia. Michael is also a serving member of the Retail Board with the Produce Marketing Association (USA).
Kenneth Boundy
Kenneth Boundy is a Director of Horticulture Australia Limited. Kenneth is a company director and businessman with investments in primary production, information technology and tourism. He is a former Managing Director of Tourism Australia and has wide experience in marketing and research.
He brings to the Leadership Group over 25 years of leadership in public and private sector organizations. These roles spanned the wine, food, building materials and tourism industries. He spent his early career as a research scientist and regional director in the Victorian Department of Agriculture.
John Chapman
John Chapman is General Manager (Horticulture and Forestry Science), Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&). John has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Horticulture) and a Master of Business Administration. He has had a thirty plus year career in horticulture research and development (R&D) and administration. John is representing the National Horticulture Researchers Network (NHRN) on the HISP leadership group. The NHRN is the collective of State Government departments and CSIRO providing R&D to the Australian horticulture industries. He is currently on the Board of the Centre for Native Floriculture based at the University of Queensland. He is also on the Board of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Wood Innovation. He is the Queensland DPI&F representative on the participants committee for the CRC for Forestry Ltd and the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity. He is currently the President of the Australian Society for Horticultural Science and the Treasurer for the 2014 International Society for Horticultural Science world congress to be held in Brisbane.
Judith Damiani
Judith Damiani is Executive Director of Australian Citrus Growers Inc. Judith has science and business degrees and after six years experience within the Australian citrus industry was appointed Executive Director for ACG in 2000. This involved the relocation of the office from Adelaide to Mildura in 2001 whilst implementing changes arising from the new Constitution, including strategic and operational arrangements of a new Board.
A priority for the Australian citrus industry has been export market access and development and Judith has been involved with opening new markets such as South Korea and China and developing markets in the United States, Japan and Taiwan. Strategies are developed to address phytosanitary, non-phytosanitary and market development issues in each export destination, in partnership with Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL).
Judith currently is a member of the HAL’s Horticultural Market Access R&D Working Group, US importer selection committee, PHA’s National Fruit Fly Steering Committee and has had the pleasure of speaking at the Quarantine and Market Access Conference in Canberra in 2001 and 2003 and more recently at the ABARE Outlook Conference in 2007. Judith has recently completed a term as Director/Treasurer for the Sunraysia Mallee Economic Development Board and currently serves as Committee member/Secretary for her local water licence syndicate.
David De Paoli
David De Paoli is Managing Director of DTR Holdings P/L (Farm Properties) and Austchilli P/L (Processing Facilities). Austchilli is amongst the largest and most technologically advanced chilli, herb, vegetable and fruit processors in Australia.
This innovative company value adds chilli; herb and vegetable produce in a unique packaging technique. David works on the philosophy of “paddock to plate” eliminating unnecessary costs making Austchilli products more attractive to customers around Australia and around the world.
Austchilli provides preservative free long shelf life ingredients to all Australian multinational companies and exports to another eight countries, supplying food, sauce and beverage manufacturers. Austchilli also supplies the majority of Australia’s fresh chilli to major retailers and the fresh market system on a 52-week per year basis.
David continues to broaden Austchilli’s horizon with dedicated investment in global marketing strategies, domestic and international trade missions, constant customer consultation and product innovation and now is a successful new player in the global arena.
Representative Activities; Ausveg Product Group Member (Export) – Growcom Special Interest Group (Vegetables) – Chairman Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Co-op – Member of Export Network Group (National Level).
Jon Durham
Jon Durham has extensive experience across the pome fruit industry gained through his involvement as Managing Director and Partner of the family orchards since 1967 through to holding the Presidency of the Orchardists and Fruit Coolstores Association, the Victorian Apple and Pear Growers Council and the Australian Apple and Pear Growers Association (AAPGA). From July 1996 through to August 2002 Jon was the Chief Executive Officer of AAPGA and he now holds the office of Managing Director of Apple & Pear Australia Limited. In this capacity Jon has made a significant contribution to the development of the International Pink Lady apple brand.
Tony Ford
Tony Ford is a Director of McCain Foods (Aust) Pty Ltd, McCain Foods NZ Ltd and Safres PtyLtd, which produces frozen products including French Fries plus specialty potato products including hash browns, potato wedges plus vegetables including peas, beans, carrots, corn, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spinach and frozen meals and pizza products. Tony is responsible for all aspects of supply of raw vegetable materials to plants in Australia & New Zealand. He is presently is a director on McCain Foods Superannuation Committee, member AICD, on the board of McCain Foods Ltd Corporate Learning Centre and McCain Food’s International Agricultural Directors Council.
Working with McCain Foods for 25 years in positions including Manufacturing management and Agricultural management he has been involved internationally with McCain manufacturing developments in South Africa and recently the establishment of manufacturing facilities in China.
Craig Gordois
Craig Gordois has been a Director of Horticulture Australia Limited and has had 25 years experience working in industries such as forestry, paper and board, industrial cereals, meat and fruit. He previously held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Montague Fresh Australia, which is one of Australia’s largest marketers of apples, pears, and stonefruit. His primary focus was centred on strategic development, business growth and infrastructure management. His career has required extensive involvement with finance, marketing and supply chains, particularly in relation to agribusiness and food production
Julie Haslett
Julie Haslett is Chief Executive Officer of the Almond Board of Australia and the Australian Nut Industry Council. Julie was appointed in January 2006, following four years in the part-time role of Admin/Finance Manager. Qualifications include a Bachelor of Teaching, HACCP Practitioner, SQF Facilitator and university studies in Business Information Systems. Julie's previous employment includes teaching, management of a stonefruit marketing company, and contract employment as a bookkeeper and QA consultant.
Ian Hay
Ian Hay in Chairman of Cherry Growers of Australia Inc and has grown Cherries and stone fruit on his property near Young for 30 years. Ian is Managing Director of Cherry Capital Exports Pty Ltd, a company based in Young in New South Wales. Their main business area is fresh fruit production. Cherry Capital Exports Pty Ltd have 150 members of staff, and have achieved revenues of AU$1-3 mil of which export revenues have accounted for AU$1-3 mil.
David Holman
David Holman is Managing Director of John Holman & Company. For more than 30 years John Holman & Company has been a major fresh fruit and vegetable supplier to the retail sector, including Australia’s supermarket chains, and to export markets such as Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America and more recently directly into China. Holman's operate a Banana ripening and distribution facility in Melbourne and supply a full range of produce to retailers and the food service industry in Tasmania. Holman's represent exporters on the board of the Australian Horticultural Exporters Association and currently chair the Summerfruit IAC.
Henry Kwaczynski
Henry Kwaczynski is Chairman of Avocados Australia. Mr Kwaczynski is an avocado grower of 18 years from the Sunshine Coast and has been a member of the Board for 10 years. He is also Chair of the Sunshine Coast Avocado Growers’ Association and a Director of Sunfresh, a national grower marketing co-operative.
Cameron McKay
Cameron MacKay is from the MacKay family banana farm, based in Tully, Qld which is the largest in Australia and SQF compliant. The company aims to supply a product which consistently ranks in the top 20% of bananas on the market and is free from foods safety hazards to the consumer, producing 2Million, 13 Kilo cartons of bananas per year. The MacKay family comprises of seven-members. The family manages several farms across the Tully valley; including bananas, sugarcane and beef cattle. The Mackay family uses a wide range of technologies, from Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to reduce and optimize the use of agricultural chemicals to Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in the aerial application of fungicides, to achieve "best practice". The farm also uses "fertigation" through trickle irrigation, bunch weighing devices for monitoring crop yield, high humidity cool rooms for banana storage and banana boxes made from 100 percent recycled paper.
David Mathews
David Mathews is Managing Director and a partner in the family business ‘Proteaflora Nursery’. Proteaflora is the major Protea plant supplier to the retail nursery trade, landscapers and flower growers in Australia with developing business partnerships in Japan, USA, Italy and South Africa.
Proteaflora is certified to ISO9001, is accredited under the national nursery industry program, NIASA, is the National Winner - ‘Best Large Production Nursery’ - 2005, 2006 and 2007 Australian Garden Industry Awards and has been inducted into the industry’s Hall of Fame.
David is the Immediate Past President of Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria (NGIV) and a Board member of Nursery and Garden Industry Australia. He has professional qualifications in education and city and regional planning and is a graduate of Rabobank’s Executive Development Program for Primary Producers
Kris Newton
Kris Newton joined the Horticulture Australia Council as CEO in August 2005. Kris has a wide range of experience in a variety of backgrounds: as a small business owner for 15 years; in the public sector (policy, and program implementation); and in peak national representative associations.
Peter Pokorny
Peter Pokorny is General Manager Fresh Food, Coles Group Limited. Peter has more than 30 years experience in fresh produce and retail. Coles is a full service supermarket operating over 730 stores and 590 Coles Express Fuel outlets throughout Australia. Coles Group Limited is one of Australia's largest employers with more than 165,000 team members. Coles supports the 7-a-day program which is all about eating better and living better. Coles, in partnership with the Dieticians Association of Australia, has developed the 7-a-day program to encourage all Australians to eat 7 servces of fruit and vegetables a day.
Rob Robson
Rob Robson is the CEO of the OneHarvest group of companies. A third generation, 100% family owned organisation, OneHarvest is fully integrated across the supply chain – from farming to processing to marketing. This organisation is operated from nine sites strategically located around Australia, maximising the potential of high growth fresh fruit and vegetable products, meeting consumer demand in fresh and freshcut formats. OneHarvest leads the market in freshcut salads and fruit, contemporary salad meals, value added vegetables as well as a range of whole produce including seedless watermelon, Shepard avocados and Calypso mangoes. Rob is sits on the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Board and Executive, based in the USA and is a current Board member of the Australian Food and Grocery Council.
Nigel Steele Scott
Nigel Steele Scott is Chair of Horticulture Australia Limited and has been actively involved in plant science since he graduated with a PhD in Agricultural Science from the Waite Institute in 1965. His particular interests have been in Horticultural crops and genetics, both conventional and molecular and he was awarded a centenary medal in 2001. He retired from the position of Deputy Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry in 2003. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Science & Engineering
Stuart Swaddling
Stuart Swaddling is Chair of the Horticulture Australia Council. Stuart is currently the President of the National Board of Directors, the Nursery and Garden Industry of Australia and also a member of the Produce and Grocery Industry Code Administration Committee. Stuart is the founder and Managing Director of the National Interior Plantscape company Tropical Plant Rentals - Stuart has been involved in the indoor plant hire industry for over 37 years. Stuart was a foundation Director and past president of the National Interior Plantscaping Association.
Michael Worthington
Michael Worthington was until recently General Manager, New Business, Timbercorp Agribusiness Investment Managers. Timbercorp is Australia’s leading agribusiness investment manager.
Michael has over 25 years' senior management experience in large scale agribusiness and horticulture.
Andrew Young
Andrew Young is Chief Executive Officer of Brismark, and Chief Executive Officer of BML and has a history of employment in agriculture with extensive experience in policy formulation, service development and business management. His experience in the industry includes his involvement in communication with the relevant agencies within the State and Federal Government and addressing national issues through both the Australian Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries and the Central Markets Association of Australia. He has had extensive involvement in relation to the reviews of legislation impacting upon the operation of Market wholesalers, the Central Markets and the current proposal to regulate the industry. He has had an active involvement in addressing issues impacting on the marketing sector of the horticultural industry and has conducted extensive research on Central Markets in Australia, Asia, Europe and the USA.
Members who are also Secretariat / HAL Project Management Committee
John Webster
John Webster is Managing Director of Horticulture Australia Limited. His working life, since graduating with an economics degree in 1976, has been in agriculture, holding senior management positions in strategic planning, research, marketing and commercialisation of R&D across a range of industries. His skills are in developing strategic direction and building teams to deliver commercial results. John joined Horticulture Australia in May 2001 as the inaugural Managing Director. Since joining HAL he has focussed on improving the commercial return from industry investment in horticulture R&D and marketing levies, initiating key across-industry strategic initiatives whilst developing strong relationships with peak industry bodies and government.
Warwick Scherf
Warwick Scherf is General Manager Industry Services at Horticulture Australia Limited. Warwick has a demonstrated record of developing and managing strong and cohesive teams of professionals which is essential to the General Manager Industry Services role. Warwick was previously national industry development manager with Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (NGIA). At NGIA he has had a strong focus on strategic planning and managing industry accreditation programs, industry skills development and marketing programs. Prior to joining NGIA he was national business manager with Goodman Fielder, Australasia’s largest manufacturer and marketer of retail branded and industrial foods. This role focused on the management of Goodman Fielder’s business relationships with its customers (internal and external). The role required leadership of cross functional teams to provide improved customer service levels. He has a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Management and a Bachelor of Business (marketing).
David Chenu
David Chenu is Portfolio Manager and Team Leader Domestic Marketing at HAL. David is a strategic marketing manager with expertise in brand strategy and marketing communications. He offers in excess of 20 years marketing experience across a breadth of industries including retail, packaged goods, food, agri-business in both government and private sectors. During his career David has been responsible for strategic management of global and local brands at Lloyd Brooks, Tassal (Tasmania Salmon), MLA, CSR and Nestle. Within HAL, David is the Team Leader for the domestic marketing group as well as guiding the overall strategic direction of all industry domestic marketing programs including championing synergies between products. He also has responsibility for developing and maintaining relationships with commercial and other supply chain partners in relation to individual industry programs.
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