Emerging Industries

Emerging Industries Consultative Committee

Will Schmitt

The Innovation Mission Pty Ltd

Will Schmitt is an Australian-American innovation expert and international business advisor specialising in entrepreneurial ecosystems programming and policy and innovation strategy. He is currently Co-Founder and Principal of The Innovation Mission Pty Ltd (formerly Open2Innovate), a Canberra-based global innovation services consultancy specialising in innovation services for the food, agriculture and nutrition sectors, entrepreneurial ecosystems design and business in emerging markets. Will has 17 years of experience advising governments and private sector clients on designing innovation strategies and programs and encouraging a culture of innovation and change within their organizations. He has significant experience in curriculum design, teaching and coaching related to innovation, entrepreneurship and start-ups.

Will’s academic and professional background in global development means he brings deep expertise in the dynamics of rural entrepreneurship in emerging markets and in rural Australia. He has lived and worked in the United States, Australia, France, Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan. He has conducted major projects and advisory engagements in Madagascar, Tajikistan, Mali, Argentina, India, Indonesia, and the Pacific. Prior to his current roles, from 2008-2018, Will held senior innovation advisory staff positions at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and The World Bank and led a major innovation advisory service to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Leigh Clement

StrategyWise Consulting Services

Leigh is an independent consultant with over 30 years’ experience in leading organisational strategy, stakeholder and corporate affairs, governance and performance reporting.  She has worked at executive and senior management level across government, transport and agriculture sectors and was previously an Executive Manager at Sugar Research Australia (SRA).  Leigh brings extensive expertise in RD&E strategy and operational planning, RD&E investment prioritisation, risk management and performance monitoring.  She also has an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing Australian agriculture, having worked on numerous joint research and development corporations’ and government strategy, innovation and horizon scanning initiatives.  Leigh has a Bachelor of Commerce and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, with experience in government and not-for-profit boards.

Jane Lovell

Organic Systems Pty Ltd

Jane’s career has included diverse roles from trialling agricultural chemicals to evaluating new export shipping methods and executive positions with farming and seafood membership organisations. She has considerable experience in the not-for-profit, food safety and quality assurance sector, including more than a decade as Managing Director of TQA Australia. She has worked across the food supply chain, including international retailers, pack houses, export businesses, freight and logistics and a broad range of farming enterprises. She is a member of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) board and is Independent Chair of Cherry Growers Australia. Jane has qualifications in science, corporate governance and leadership, a master’s in international relations focussing on food security and was awarded the AgriFutures Australia Rural Women’s Award for Tasmania in 2009. Jane also runs a small farm in central Victoria breeding cows and pleasure horses.

Marion Healy

Independent Consultant

Marion is an independent expert providing strategic, technical and regulatory advice.  She has held senior executive leadership positions in national government agencies responsible for managing public health and/or environmental risks associated with the food supply, industrial chemicals, and the biosecurity risks from the international movement of plants/plant products.  She has a wealth of experience in regulatory systems, particularly at the science/policy interface and has represented Australia in developing international regulatory frameworks, regional guidance and capacity building with groups such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and technical negotiations with overseas counterparts.  Her regulatory skills and influence were recognised through the awarding of a Public Service Medal in 2021.  She is also the Independent Chair of the FRDC SafeFish committee, a non-executive director of PrimeSafe and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Lucinda (Lu) Hogan

Keringal Pty Ltd

Lu has a wealth of experience in the agribusiness sector as a commercial producer of livestock and grains, a farm management consultant, manager of research, development and extension programs, deliverer of industry training and commercialising research outcomes.  She has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, post graduate qualification in consulting and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Throughout her career she has worked with state departments, research and development corporations, Co-operative Research Centres (CRCs) and the university sector. In recent years she has been part of a team commercialising a suite of digital products developing the Sheep CRC and is currently Associate Director of Climate Resilience Initiatives at the University of New England and manages the Armidale Node of the Southern Qld and Northern NSW Innovation Hub. Along with her family, Lu also produces prime lamb and beef in northern NSW.

Dr Lynne McIntyre

Independent Consultant

Dr Lynne McIntyre is passionate about Australian agriculture and its importance to global food security. She has more than three decades of experience as a scientist, research manager and leader specialising in crop improvement of Australia’s major crops, including sugarcane. After several years as a Professor at the University of Missouri in the USA, Lynne returned to Australia to work with CSIRO.  For the past 10+ years, she has been a senior leader overseeing CSIRO’s crop improvement activities and contributing to the development and implementation of strategies designed to enable excellent science that delivers real impact to Australian agricultural industries. While at CSIRO, Lynne worked with the Australian sugarcane industry for more than 25 years, as a scientist and as a research manager, including working with BSES Ltd and SRDC to establish DNA marker technology for sugarcane breeding. She has published more than 135 papers and articles, demonstrating a breadth of research experience. In addition to her research and leadership experience, Lynne has extensive experience on committees, panels and advisory boards, nationally and internationally, and as a journal editor for several international journals.