EXPERIENCE IN
AGRI-FOOD INNOVATION

Logo of the Australian Agritech Association featuring a stylized map of Australia in green and blue, with the words 'Australian Agritech Association' in green, blue, and gray text.

Committee Member

2024 - Present

I am a member of the six person Aus AgriTech committee, elected by its members to Connect, Promote and Advance the Australian AgriTech Industry.

Within AusAgriTech I lead the global growth pillar, to develop policy and inititiaives that support international market entry for Australian AgriTech companies.

AusAgritech is the peak national body for agritech in Australia and aims to lead the transformation of the Australian agritech sector, elevating its recognition both domestically and internationally.

By fostering strong connections among innovators, investors, regulators, researchers, and the wider public, we aim to overcome fragmentation within the sector and promote collaboration.

A graphical structure of the AusAgritech Committee for 2024/25 with headshots of six members. Rob Hulme is the President, Chris Wilkins is the Treasurer, Pip Grant is the Secretary, Tim Neale, Michael Macolino, and Britta Marsh are members of the General Committee.
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Managing Director APAC

SVG Ventures Thrive Logo

2022 - 2024

I became the Managing Director for the APAC operation of SVG Ventures Thrive following their partnership with the Victorian Government in 2022.

I led the establishment of the business in Australia which included launching the Thrive APAC Growth Accelerator to support scale up phase AgriFood tech companies who were planning international expansion.

We grew Thrive’s corporate eco-system in Australia, which included partnerships with Dairy Australia, LaTrobe University and Agriculture Victoria. Supporting corporate innovation and increasing engagement with AgriTech companies through events such as Demo Day.

Director for
AgriFood Tech

Black and blue text spelling "BDO" with red accents on a white background.

2018 - 2022

2019 - Present

I established the AgTech Advisory practice at BDO Australia, enabling the support of AgriFood Tech companies and increasing the understanding and awareness of AgriFood innovation with our Agribusiness clients.

This work included the development of the QLD Government AgTech roadmap, AgriFutures Australia Cyber Security report, and supporting AgriTech companies to raise more than $20 Million across seed to series A rounds.

This practice functioned across the Corporate Finance, R&D Grants and Business Services functions, with work delivered across the national BDO office network.

Agritech Meetup SA logo and text

Co-organiser

The South Australian AgriTech Meetup group is a community of more than 2000 people who meetup regularly to collaboratively look at opportunities and solutions for technology to help make agriculture more productive, profitable and sustainable.

The group brings together developers, farmers, and other stakeholders in the Ag industry to provide an open community, that is often an entry point for people new to the AgriTech eco-system to learn and connect.

Our meetups regularly travel to regional South Australia bringing AgriTech innovators to connect and learn from farmers and enable demonstration of AgriTech.

Steering Committee

Evoke AG logo with 'AgriFutures' and stylized 'evoke' text.

2021 - 2024

EvokeAg connects the agrifood innovation community across the Asia Pacific region, with the Steering Committee providing the industry voice to the team at AgriFutures EvokeAg.

As a committee we put forward the conversations and speakers who we believe are driving AgriFood innovation or have a perspective that deserves to be heard.

I was proud to have EvokeAg in my home state of South Australia in 2023, and facilitated a community round table event in the lead up to ensure that the voice of local farmers and grower groups was heard.

Two men smiling and standing with their arms around each other in front of a large sign that spells 'evoke' and has the words 'AgriFutures' above it. The man on the left is wearing glasses, a light blue shirt, and beige pants, while the man on the right is wearing a blue patterned shirt and beige pants. Both are wearing pink conference badges around their necks.
Group of people at a presentation or workshop, with a man presenting a diagram titled 'Value Proposition' and 'Customer Profile'. Some members are seated at a table with bottles and glasses, while two men stand near the presentation board smiling and engaging with the audience.

AgriTech
Expert in Residence

A group of six smiling people, wearing white T-shirts with the Agritech Meetup branding, celebrating with raised arms in front of a green green screen and screen displays at an Agritech Meetup event.

2019 - Present

2020 - 2022

As the Expert in Residence at ThincLab Waite I was a mentor and advocate for the AgriFood tech companies within the incubator. These companies were often connected to research at the University of Adelaide or new ventures launched by students.

During this time I was also involved in the development of the ThincLab Loxton site in the Riverland, which was part of the PIRSA AgTech demo farm.

Together these facilities provided early stage companies with the resources, community and mentor support needed to validate and commercialise their ideas.

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Lead Mentor

As the Lead Mentor at Sprout X I worked closely with the co-hort of startups throughout the accelerator program, providing business model and product development guidance, whilst also supporting their capital raising efforts.

Together with Julia Waite and Maxie Juang, we ran the program through the COVID disruptions and delivered an awesome online Demo Day, for Startups like Opt Omni, Grow Wave, Leaf Protein Co and Virtual Irrigation Academy.

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A man in a beige blazer and glasses giving a presentation on stage at The Star Gold Coast, with a large digital screen displaying bullet points on project objectives, and decorative illuminated letters spelling 'D' and 'N' behind him.