28 - 30 October 2008
Convention Centre
Christchurch
New Zealand
HORIZONS IN LIVESTOCK SCIENCES - SPEAKER PROFILES
Rod Oram has more than 30 years' experience as an international financial journalist. He has worked in Europe and North America for leading publications such as the Financial Times of London. His FT career spanned 18 years (1979-1997) as an editor and writer based in London and New York. Rod has also traveled extensively in North America, Europe and Asia. Rod and his family emigrated from the UK to New Zealand in 1997. He is currently a columnist for the Sunday Star-Times; a regular broadcaster on radio and television; a frequent public speaker on business and economic issues; and an occasional correspondent for the Financial Times. He was Editor of the Business Herald section of the New Zealand Herald, 1997-2000
Lindsay H. Allen, PhD, is Director of the USDA-Western Human Nutrition Research Center, and Research Professor, University of California, Davis. Her personal research is on the prevalence, causes and consequences of micronutrient deficiencies, primarily in developing countries. She evaluates interventions with micronutrient supplements and food-based approaches to improve nutritional status, pregnancy outcome and child development, resulting in over 200 publications. Dr. Allen served on the Food and Nutrition Board and the Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes, National Academy of Sciences. She has advised WHO, UNICEF, Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, PAHO and FAO and is principal author of WHO's Guidelines on Food Fortification with Micronutrients.
Dr Noakes is a Senior Research Dietitian at CSIRO Human Nutrition in Adelaide, South Australia, where she leads the Clinical Research Unit. Dr Noakes joined CSIRO in 1991 and is a key member of CSIRO's research team looking at diet, nutrition and health. Manny obtained her PhD at Flinders University having qualified and practised as a dietitian since the mid seventies. She has published over 100 scientific papers on nutrition. Her key area of interest is in diet and exercise strategies for weight loss which maximise health and wellbeing and the role of protein in satiety and body composition. This research has led to the development of the highly topical CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet. To date these books have sold over 1 million copies worldwide. In recognition of both the commercial success and the science which underpins the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, Manny was awarded 2 CSIRO medals for both Business Excellence and Research Excellence in 2005.
Dr. Clint Laurent is the Founder and Managing Director of Global Demographics Ltd. (Formerly Asian Demographics Ltd) He has considerable experience in the Consumer Markets of Asia. Asian Demographics developed substantial historical databases of the demographic and socio-economic profile of the countries of Asia, including China down to Prefecture level, and uses modelling techniques to provide forecasts of the changing nature of populations (age, gender, births, etc), labour force, households, and their income and expenditure patterns to 2024. These forecasts provide unique insights to the new opportunities that are emerging in Asia as a result of demographic and socio-economic change. In 2006 the databases and models were expanded to cover 54 countries in total including countries in South and North America, Eastern and Western Europe and the Middle East. The countries covered in the total database represent 91% of the world's population and 84% of its GDP.
David Blandford is a professor, and former department head, in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the Pennsylvania State University. Born and educated in the United Kingdom, he was formerly a division director at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris and a professor at Cornell University. He has twice served as chair of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium - an organization composed of researchers from government, academia and industry. He teaches courses in agribusiness at Penn State and conducts research into food, agricultural and environmental policy, and international trade.
Agronomic Engineer by "Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz" - University of São Paulo in 1991, Master of Science (1995) and PHD (1999) in Business Management by FEA/University of São Paulo; thesis "Planning of International Distribution Channels"; Post-graduated in European Agribusiness & Marketing in France (1995), and in Marketing Channels and Networks in the Netherlands (1998/1999). Faculty Member by University of São Paulo (2004), with thesis on "Demand-Driven Marketing Planning and Management. PENSA's Coordinator - Agribusiness Program - specialized in strategic planning processes for companies and productive chains. Since 1995 is Professor of Marketing & Strategy at the Business Department of FEA/University of São Paulo, Campus of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
Professorial Fellow in Animal Genetics, University of Melbourne and Victorian DPI, Attwood and Chief Scientist, CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies.
Since completing his PhD on genetics of guide -dogs for the blind (1973-77), Mike has worked on research into the genetic improvement of livestock. This concentrates on the utilisation of molecular genetics in livestock improvement. For instance, he helped develop the concept of "genomic selection" and is now applying this to dairy and beef cattle.
Dr. Plaut is Chair of the Department of Animal Science at UVM. Dr. Plaut has an active research program in mammary gland biology. Presently her lab focuses on two main areas: understanding the role of epithelial and stromal interactions in mammary development and neoplasia and understanding how homeorhetic changes are coordinated among adipose, liver and mammary metabolism to prepare for and maintain lactation. She uses a variety of animal models including mice, rats, goats, cows, pigs and humans. She has published extensively and has obtained approximately $4 M in funding from USDA, NSF, NASA, American Cancer Society of Vermont, and the Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center. She has served on peer review panels for USDA, Department of Defense, the California Breast Cancer Research Panel, National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences and the NIH and has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Dairy Science and the Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia.
Jeremy Absolom was a founding shareholder and has been the Chief Executive of Rissington Breedline since the establishment of the company in 2001. The company was a merger of three leading breeding and genetics businesses in the NZ sheep and beef cattle industry. One of those companies was the Absolom family business called Rissington Cattle Company which Jeremy came home to run in 1995 after completing a Bachelor of Commerce at Otago University in 1994. He has held and continues to hold varying directorships in associated companies in NZ and overseas. See www.rissington.com for any further information or email any further questions.
Dr Jolon Dyer is Team Leader of the Protein and Structure Team, within the Growth and Development Section of AgResearch. Dr Dyer's team specialises in fibrous protein biochemistry, proteomics and structural biology. Recent advances in understanding the process underlying the photoyellowing and photobleaching of wool led to Dr Dyer's receipt of the AWI-DWI Excellence in Wool Science personal award. Concurrent research by the team into the novel modification of fibrous protein surfaces also resulted in the AWI Award for Scientific Achievement at the 2005 Wool Research Conference, held at Leeds University. As well as continued investigation of the mechanisms behind protein photodamage, current research includes the development of protocols to characterise and track fibrous protein damage and the genomic and proteomic characterisation of wool quality traits.
Dr Tim Doran has worked for his entire career in the field of animal health. He completed his PhD in 1993 at CSIRO Division of Animal Health working on the eradication of bovine tuberculosis in Australia. He then took on a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at St. George's Hospital Medical School in London, where he was awarded the Richard Merkal Fellowship for his outstanding research on paratuberculosis and Johne's disease. In 1996 Tim returned to CSIRO Livestock Industries and was the inaugural winner of the 2001 AFFA Science Award for Young People. He is currently project leader of RNAi Technologies at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory. His research team is applying RNAi gene silencing technology to control viral infection in livestock.
Dr Nigel Johnson has been Chief of CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology (CTFT) in Geelong, Australia, since 1 November 2005. CSIRO is Australia's national research organisation and CTFT conducts fibre and textile research in support of the country's wool, cotton and textile industries, and also develops fibre-based solutions to other sectors. A graduate in Textile Physics from the University of New South Wales, Dr Johnson completed a PhD in yarn spinning research at Leeds University, UK. With a background in innovation and development related to fibre processing and textile product development, Nigel's current focus is on leadership in strategy development, research and innovation based on fibres. He is a Fellow of the Textile Institute; Associate Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management; Graduate of the Australian Institute of Physics; and a member of Australian Institute of Company Directors.
As Director of Fonterra's Milk Supply division, Barry Harris oversees Fonterra's relationship with shareholders and the efficient collection of over 14 billion litres of milk from around New Zealand every year. He also ensures Fonterra's milk growth goals are achieved in a way that is profitable for farmers and sustainable for the environment. Mr Harris has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and Masters of Natural Resource Economics from Massey University and has completed the Stanford University Executive Management Programme. He was formerly Chief Executive of Greater Wellington Regional Council and Environment Waikato, General Manager of South Waikato District Council and Economic Advisor to the Republic of Kiribati.
David Foote is Chief Executive Officer of Australian Country Choice in Brisbane. Following completion of schooling in Adelaide, David joined the South Australian Department of Agriculture (Struan Beef Research Centre) before pursuing a career in corporate agribusiness that has now spanned more than 30 years in all mainland states. He has held executive and senior management positions in areas of rural property management, meat retailing, meat processing and exporting , grain and fodder production, processing & exporting, sheep and cattle seedstock production, with companies such as AJ & PA McBride, Kilcoy Pastoral Company, The Myer Family Group and AMP's ; Stanbroke Pastoral Company. During his time at Stanbroke, David developed and launched the Diamantina beef brand and the expansion of their live cattle trade direct to south Asian markets. David joined Australian Country Choice (ACC) in 1999 as general manager Properties & Livestock before being appointed to his current CEO role in 2002.
Peri Drysdale founded Snowy Peak Ltd in 1981, manufacturing high quality luxury natural fibre knitwear. The company pioneered the use of Brushtail possum fur blended with wool in 1992 and launched Merinomink, a blend of fine merino and possum fibre in 1996. Untouched World, a lifestyle concept combining style, performance and simplicity, followed in 1998. The Untouched World Charitable Trust, which focuses on environmental and social projects, was established in 2000. Under Peri's leadership, Snowy Peak has received, among others, the Business Excellence Award, an Export Commendation, New Zealand Sustainable Business Award, and the New Zealand Way award. In 1992 Peri was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to New Zealand (Manufacturing and Export). In April 2007 Peri was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Commerce with the citation making special mention of her achievements in sustainable business. In May 2007 Peri was invited to present with eleven other companies from around the world at a UNESCO workshop in Bonn, Germany, on Education for Sustainable Development in commerce.