Additional members of the foodpro advisory committee are:
- Andy Schurger, Director, CBS Air
- Frank Allen, CEO (ANZ), Vemag Australia
- Rod Sammon, Managing Director, Thompson Meat Machinery
- Sophie Sumner, Marketing Communications Manager, Sealed Air
Advisory Committee
Learn more from the foodpro advisory group
Andrew Voke, Regional Sales Manager Oceania, Meat, Marel
Andrew has been working in the Meat industry since he was 17 years old, commencing his working life as an apprentice Butcher. A real interest for the food industry and in particular Meat, handed down by his family.
Andrew has been with Marel for over 10 years now. He manages the Sales activities for Oceania and gets great satisfaction from passing on his experience and knowledge to help customers transform the way food is processed. Oceania is a meat market that is always ready to listen to new ideas and challenge suppliers to help in the advancement of the industry as a whole.
Brittaniee-Jane Lawler, Technical Sales Representative, Gelita Australia
During Brittaniee-Jane's 8 years at Gelita, she has worked in Laboratory Technician and Food Technologist roles before her venture into her current role as Technical Sales Representative. She has obtained a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and a Graduate Certificate in Food Science and Technology.
"At Gelita, we believe in natural solutions, science and the power of creativity. Driven by innovation, our guiding principles are excellence, expertise and the highest service levels. Consumer trust and transparency are part of our corporate DNA, and we work hard to make our vision come true: Improving quality of life."
Celia McKeon, Technical & Development Manager, Hawkins Watts Australia
Celia is an experienced Food Technologist and Product Manager who has been working in the Australian Food Industry for over 36 years, starting her career in Product Development at Kraft Foods making cheese and Vegemite! After leaving Kraft, Celia moved into the world of food ingredients, and has remained there ever since, moving into more commercial roles, and now working at Hawkins Watts as Technical & Development Manager, where she has been for the past 11 years. She is a passionate foodie, and loves to both eat and cook food -her favourite cuisine is modern Asian (fusion). She always love to see what new items appear on the supermarket shelves especially when there is innovative packaging or application ideas.
For over 30 years, Hawkins Watts has been helping Australasian food, beverage and health businesses create exceptional products. We focus on finding ingredient solutions that help build great products through our innovative technical support, in-house application laboratories, customisation abilities and trend insights. Hawkins Watts supports businesses to create products that consumers come back for, time and time again.
Greg Bulluss, Regional Sales Director, Retail and Food Service Solutions - Asia and Oceania
Greg has been working in the Food Industry throughout his career. Commencing work as a Beef Boner at the age of 17, he worked his way into an Operational Management role, within the Meat and Ready Meal industry.
About ten years ago, he decided to venture into sales. He has held a variety of important roles with key food equipment companies. Prior to joining Marel, Greg was a Corporate Accounts and Business Development Manager at Bunzl Australia and New Zealand.
Greg loves sharing his experience and introducing new food processing technologies to his client’s business. He has been witnessing some great advancements in the industry and enjoys working with fantastic people in this field.
Lauren Robinson, Marketing Executive, Hawkins Watts Australia
Lauren has been with Hawkins Watts for 7 years, starting as a samples coordinator while finishing her studies, later transitioning into the marketing department. She's always been a foodie and loved nothing more than perusing the grocery store for interesting new products, so the food industry was a natural fit for her! She manages the Hawkins Watts brand, works alongside the Technical and Sales teams on proactive innovation concepts and assists with market research and content creation.
Hawkins Watts is well-known for their knowledge, creativity and collaborative approach to providing ingredient solutions. From over 30 years they've helped to create some of Australasia's most successful food, beverage and supplement products.
Lauren's favourite part about working in the food industry is being involved in the creation of exciting new products. "Helping customers ideate on potential NPD and conducting market research to help find white space in the market are my favourite parts of the role. And seeing products on the shelves that contain our ingredients and that we helped work on is always a thrill."
Pasquale Piscopo, General Manager, IMCD
Pasquale is a dynamic and highly experienced Food Industry executive with over 27 years' experience within the Australian Food Industry. His key competence lies in Sales and Business Development for Functional Food Ingredients and mentoring of high performing teams. Pasquale is the General Manager for IMCD Australia Pty Ltd, the leading organisation within Speciality Ingredients and Chemicals Distribution.
"IMCD is the bridge between ingredients technology and the food manufacturing market, we bring solutions, ideas and expertise to the industry to allow development of nutritious and great tasting food."