Secretariat

Kate Carnell AO
Chief Executive Officer

Kate Carnell commenced as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Food and Grocery Council in July 2008.

Kate, former Chief Executive Officer of Australian General Practice Network is a pharmacist by profession and was the first female to become the National Vice-President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.

She was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly in 1992, and became leader of the ACT Liberal Party in 1993. She was elected Chief Minister in March 1995, and re-elected in 1998 becoming the first Liberal woman to be elected as Chief Minister or Premier in Australian political history.

Following her political career, Kate became a serious driving force behind Transact Communications' innovative broadband communications network, and also spent three years as Executive Director of the National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI). Kate was honoured on Australia Day 2006 with an Officer of the Order of Australia for her services to community through contributions to economic development and support for the business sector, knowledge industries, the medical sector and medical technology advances.

Dr Geoffrey Annison
Deputy Chief Executive
Director, Health, Nutrition and Scientific Affairs

Dr Geoffrey Annison joined the AFGC in October 2007. He has wide experience in food regulation and innovation, having held a number of senior technical and management roles in industry in Australia and overseas, in academia, and in public policy.

His career has spanned a number of sectors including the FMCG sector with Goodman Fielder and the AFGC, the rural sector with organisations such as Australian Pork Ltd and AWB Ltd. and research providers such as Massey University in New Zealand and the CSIRO, providing him with an extensive knowledge of current industry issues, particularly in the technical arena. Dr Annison has a Bachelor of Science in Food Technology and a PhD in Microbiology from the University of New South Wales.

MEDIA & CORPORATE AFFAIRS

Brad Watts
Director Media Corporate Affairs

As a former federal politics reporter in Canberra’s Press Gallery with The Daily Telegraph, Brad Watts joined AFGC as Media Adviser in early 2009.  With more than 12 years journalism experience, Brad brings a significant media background to the organisation after working in radio, television, newswires and newspapers. Brad possesses a comprehensive understanding of the federal parliamentary and Senate processes as has a wide network of contacts and dealings with the Federal Press Gallery, Australia’s wider media and the public and private sectors. 

HEALTH NUTRITION & SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS

Kim Leighton
Director, Food Policy and Regulation

Kim Leighton joined the AFGC in February 2005 and brought with him extensive knowledge of the food regulatory system from his previous position of Principal Food Scientist at the Department of Health in Western Australia.  Kim has worked in the food regulation environment since 1990 and has an extensive knowledge of the Food Standards Code, as well as the interaction of State/Territory and Local Government jurisdictions within the Commonwealth and New Zealand Governments. Kim has a Bachelors Degree in Medical Science, with postgraduate qualifications in microbiology and immunology, and a Masters Degree in Public Health.

Peta Craig
Manager, Nutrition, Policy and Codes

Peta Craig joined AFGC in February 2010, bringing with her experience in food regulation and food and nutrition monitoring. During her time at Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Peta worked on risk management aspects of nutrition-related food standards and also in the risk assessment area, undertaking dietary exposure assessments. At the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Peta worked on food and nutrition monitoring systems, with a particular focus on mandatory food fortification. Peta was also involved in the reporting of nutrition-related population health data in AIHW publications. Peta holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Consumer Science) and Honours (Food Science) from RMIT University.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Tony Mahar
Director, Sustainable Development 

Tony Mahar has a history of employment in the Australian agriculture and agribusiness industry in both the private and public sector. Previous fields of work include agribusiness development, international trade policy and horticultural industry development and assistance measures. Tony has Agricultural Commerce qualifications from Sydney University and a Masters in Industry Policy from the Australian National University.

Angela McClowry
Sustainability Policy Analyst

Angela McClowry joined AFGC in June 2010 as a Sustainability Policy Analyst, with more than eight years experience in sustainability, environment and corporate responsibility.  Angela previously worked for Agribusiness Investment Company Timbercorp in Melbourne, British Energy in London and global environmental consulting firm ERM in Chicago.  She is also co-founder of open-sustainability, a collaborative sustainability governance framework.  Recent projects include consulting with PepsiCo and Quaker Oat's Sustainability team on their work to meet climate change targets and acting as an Advisor on Climate Change and Corporate Responsibility for the largest energy company in the UK.  Angela holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Natural Resource Management from Deakin University.

SUPPLY CHAIN

Samantha Blake
Director, Supply Chain and Retail Policy

Samantha Blake joined the AFGC in January 2004. Samantha has extensive career experience in the food industry in Australia and United Kingdom, spanning 18 years. Her work has encompassed all areas of food operations including senior management roles in manufacturing, technical, supply chain, with responsibility for maintenance and engineering, product and process development. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now Curtin University).                              

John Cawley
Associate Director, Supply Chain & Retail Policy

John Cawley joined the AFGC in August 2008. John brings 17 years experience in the FMCG industry in Australia and New Zealand. His background spans both Commercial and Supply Chain management, through a number of roles with Nestle and Procter and Gamble. John holds a Bachelor of Business degree from the University of New England.

PACKAGING STEWARDSHIP FORUM

Jenny Pickles
General Manager, Packaging Stewardship Forum

Jenny Pickles joined the AFGC in August 2006. Jenny has more than 12 years experience in recycling, waste management and packaging issues, and came to the AFGC from Sustainability Victoria. While there she developed the Victorian Government’s first ten year strategy for solid waste management and recycling.  She has also been involved with the National Packaging Covenant’s project group for the past 12 months.

PSF PROGRAM MANAGERS

Chris Jeffreys
Glass Recovery and Recycling Program Manager

Olivia Robertson
Program Manager Stadia and Entertainment Venues

Olivia Robertson has worked in the areas of Environmental Health, Resource Recovery and Waste Management, Pollution Prevention and Disaster Management in local government in both Queensland and Victoria and also in private industry waste consulting.  Her areas of expertise include managing; resource recovery and waste facilities for local government, waste and resource recovery contracts including kerbside collections, project management, stakeholder engagement, community consultation, environmental compliance auditing and management.  Olivia has a Bachelor of Science, Graduate Certificate in Waste Management and is currently completing her Masters in Environmental Engineering.

ADMINISTRATION

Jack Gevorgian
Business and Finance Manager

Cynthia Coppock
Executive Assistant to Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive

Kim Riggans
Administrative Coordinator