SPEAKERS
The Hon Adam Marshall, MP
Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW &
The Minister for the NSW Department of Primary Industries
Adam Marshall is the Member for Northern Tablelands in the NSW Parliament, Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Western New South Wales.
Having grown up on a farming property near Gunnedah, in the state’s North West, Adam is proud to have always lived and worked in country NSW.
Adam was elected to Gunnedah Shire Council aged 19 in 2004, then Deputy Mayor in 2007 and then, at the age of 23, Mayor in 2008, a position he held until he stepped down from local government in 2012 to move to Armidale to study at the University of New England. During his time in local government, Adam also served as Chairman of the Namoi Regional Organisation of Councils (NamoiROC), Chairman of the NSW Country Mayors Association and Senior Vice President of Local Government NSW.
At a by-election in May 2013 Adam was elected to the NSW Parliament to represent the third largest seat in the State – Northern Tablelands. During his time in Parliament, Adam has chaired several committees and inquires and served as a Temporary Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Adam was returned at the March 2015 election and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Northern NSW and Renewable Energy in 2016, and was promoted to his role as Minister for Tourism and Major Events, and Assistant Minister for Skills in 2017. Adam was re-elected in the March 2019 state election and was given the role as Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Western New South Wales.
Scott Hansen
Director General, NSW Department of Primary Industries
Scott Hansen joined NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) as Director General on 17 March 2014. Before joining the Department he held senior management positions in both the public and private sectors with a defined interest in the areas of agriculture, innovation and productivity. Immediately prior to joining the Department of Primary Industries, Scott was Managing Director of Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) responsible for the overall operations of the business and a $170 million industry-funded budget for research and development and marketing. He has also served in leadership roles as the Executive Director of Sheepmeat Council of Australia, Executive Director of Victorian Farmers Federation Pastoral Group, and previously worked with the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
HOST& FACILITATORS
BRUCE FINNEY
Group Director, Business Development and Innovation,
NSW Department of Primary Industries
Bruce Finney is the Group Director for the Business Development & Innovation team with NSW DPI who have goals for improved innovation, digital transformation and increased commercialisation. He is an experienced leader in Australian agriculture and rural research having previously held roles with one of Australia’s largest pastoral companies and was the Executive Director for the Cotton RDC for over 14 years. Having contributed to building a vision for the future of rural innovation in Australia he is now working to create greater R&D impact through synergies between the public and private sectors.
KRISTA MENTJOX
Principal Project Officer & GATE Program Lead, Business Development and Innovation, NSW Department of Primary Industries
Krista Mentjox leads the DPI Commercialisation and GATE programs for over 4 years. She has previous experience in the private sector varying from corporate legal, business programs and events and film production.
CAROLYNNE JAMES
Manager GATE, Business Development and Innovation,
NSW Department of Primary Industries
Carolynne has over 20 years experience in strategic and policy advice to state and local
government with management roles in the NSW Cabinet Office, the NSW and Northern
Territory Parliaments, and the City of Sydney Council. She has been the leader of the
GATE Project – Global Ag-tech Ecosystem, launched in March 2018 in Orange.