Sam Robinson

Sam Robinson is a well known Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer who is highly respected in the red meat industry and an acknowledged farming leader.

Sam is currently Chair of AgResearch and a board member of AsureQuality. He was Chairman of Richmond Ltd before its acquisition by PPCS (now Silver Fern Farms), and has been a member of the Prime Minister's Growth and Innovation Advisory Board and the Government's Food & Beverage Task Force. He chaired the Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust (AGMARDT) and was a director of the Port of Napier and Farmlands.

He farms near Waipukurau.

Susan Huria

Susan Huria is a specialist in the Māori sector with experience in governance, marketing communications and general management. She held a senior role at Auckland International Airport for ten years before starting her own management practice, Huria Anders, in 2000. Her previous directorships include Radio New Zealand, Housing New Zealand Corporation, Ngai Tahu Development Corporation and Workbase, the national centre for literacy in the workplace.

Susan is a director of Airways, Watercare and Northland Port Corporation and a Trustee of First Foundation.

Dr Jane Adams

Dr Jane Adams has wide ranging experience in applied plant science and food technology in public and private sectors and is currently a consultant to the primary sector for the development and management of research strategies.

She started her career as a research scientist with the DSIR. After gaining a PhD in plant biochemistry, Jane joined Goodman Fielder Wattie Ltd as an export and development manager for a company involved with new innovations in fresh food. She was also technical advisor to the New Zealand Board of Goodman Fielder Wattie Ltd and undertook one of the first waste audits of a major company in New Zealand. She later joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Quality Management Division, became a registered quality systems auditor and developed quality assurance systems for several food companies. She then developed her own consultancy business in post-harvest science and science management. In 1996 Jane joined UNITEC Institute of Technology as a senior academic manager and later became Dean of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences.

Jane has been involved in strategic management of research both at an institutional and national level. She contributed to national research strategies for food science and technology and for forage crops and reviewed applications for research funding for the Foundation for Research and Technology (now MSI) from 1992 to 1998. In 2006 she became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to food science and technology. She is currently a trustee of the New Zealand Horticultural Science Advancement Trust and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science and the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology.

Dr Michael Dunbier

Dr Michael Dunbier is a research scientist with expertise in genetics and plant breeding. He is a former director of DSIR Crop Research and was the founding Chief Executive of Crop & Food Research.

Michael chairs the boards of the BioProtection Centre of Research Excellence, Pastoral Genomics Consortium, Horticulture New Zealand Vegetable Research and Innovation Board and the Governance Groups of two NIWA OBIs. He is also a Director of the Foundation for Arable Research. Previous directorships include FRST, Grains Research and Development Corporation (Aust), SunPrime Seeds (Aust), Quality Wheat CRC (Aust), Lincoln International and Dairy InSight. In 2005, Michael received the Bledisloe medal from Lincoln University, and is a Fellow of both the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science and the New Zealand Institute of Management.

Barry Harris

Barry Harris is currently the Chief Executive of Hamilton City Council. His previous roles have included Chief Executive in regional government and, more recently, a senior executive in the dairy industry as Director of Fonterra Milk Supply and a member of the Fonterra Leadership Team. He also sits on the board of DairyNZ.

Barry has a Masters degree in Agricultural Science from Massey University. He lives in Hamilton with his wife Wendy and they have three adult children.

John Loughlin

John Loughlin was Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of meat marketer and processor Richmond Ltd., and prior to this was an institutional fund manager. John is currently Chair of ZESPRI Group Ltd, Firstlight Foods Ltd and Tru-Test Corporation. He is a Director of Metlifecare Ltd, Port of Napier Ltd, Kermadec Property Fund Ltd, Taupo Motorsport Park Ltd and Centralines Ltd. He was an issuer appointee to the New Zealand Markets Disciplinary Tribunal and a former ministerial appointee to the Representatives' Committee of the Animal Health Board.

John is married to Kathryn and they have three daughters. Together Kathryn and John have successfully developed Askerne Winery and vineyard from a green field back in 1993 to now an award winning producer of fine wines.

Andrew Macfarlane

Andrew Macfarlane (B.AgSci) is a farm management consultant. He is a member, and past president, of the New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management. He is also a Director of ANZCO, a member of the Lincoln University Council and Chairman of Deer Industry NZ.

Andrew has a particular interest in building depth in both the numbers and quality of young professionals entering the rural sector. He has a particular interest and expertise in developing environmentally sound farm management systems, particularly in relation to irrigation development and the use of trees on farms.

Andrew and his wife Tricia have four children - Thomas who is farming, Julia who is studying design at Massey University (Wellington) and James and Lauren who are at secondary school.

Tania Simpson

Tania Simpson is a Māori development consultant with a broad range of governance experience on boards including Mighty River Power, Landcare Research, Waikato Endowed Colleges Trust, Maniapoto FM, and Medical Laboratory Technologists. She is Chief Executive of Kowhai Consulting and a member of the Waitangi Tribunal.

Tania has tribal affiliations to Tainui Nga Puhi and Ngai Tahu and lives at Waitomo Caves, in the King Country.