Sam Robinson

Sam Robinson is a well known Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer who has had considerable experience in agribusiness and is 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.

Susan Huria

Susan Huria has a background in marketing with her last operational role at Auckland International Airport. She started her own 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 currently a director of Veterinary Enterprises, Airways Corporation, Watercare Services and Northland Port Corporation, a Trustee of First Foundation and a member of the advisory board of the Waikato University Maori Governance Centre.

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.

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. Jane has experience in quality assurance, risk assessment and systems auditing in the food industry. She has held senior management positions in both the private and tertiary education sectors. 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.

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 Pastoral Genomics Consortium and the Horticulture New Zealand Vegetable Research and Innovation Board. He is also a Director of the Foundation for Arable Research.

Previous Chair roles include the BioProtection Centre of Research Excellence, SunPrime Seeds (Aust), the MoRST International Science and Technology Advisory Committee and the Governance Groups of two NIWA OBIs. Previous directorships include FRST, Grains Research and Development Corporation (Aust), Quality Wheat CRC (Aust), Lincoln International and Dairy InSight.

 In 2005, Michael received the Bledisloe Medal from Lincoln University and in 2011 the Jubilee Medal from the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science. He 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.

Previous board appointments include CentrePort; RD1; International Nutritionals Ltd; Hamilton Riverside Hotels.

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 and Tru-Test Corporation. He is a Director of Metlifecare, Port of Napier, and Augusta Capital. 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.

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 and expertise in developing environmentally sound farm management systems, particularly in relation to irrigation development and the use of trees on farms.

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 Kōwhai Consulting and a member of the Waitangi Tribunal. Tania has tribal affiliations to Tainui, Ngā Puhi and Ngāi Tahu and lives near Hamilton.