EARLIER this year, the Committee for Greater Shepparton (C4GS), in partnership with the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), held a forum where more than 130 members and friends came together to shine a spotlight on the incredible strength, variety and investment that is happening in our region.
A highlight of the evening was AFGC announcing two scholarships for young leaders under 35 from Greater Shepparton's food and grocery manufacturing sector to attend their Future Leaders Forum in Melbourne.
C4GS had an influx of excellent applications following this announcement with Kirby Sprunt, Noumi’s Customer Service and Distribution Manager and Jenica Mendoza a Process Specialist from SPC the lucky recipients of these scholarships.
The one-day program, held in Melbourne in October, was tailored for young leaders and experienced managers who wanted to build and strengthen the future of the supermarket retail industry within Australia.
Session topics at the Future Leaders Forum included Leading with Resilience; the Path to Sustainability – meeting consumer expectations amid economic realities; Navigating Consumer Trends; and Harnessing Technology for Enhanced Efficiency.
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Kirby said the keynote speaker in the first session, Amanda Stevens, was amazing.
“She had such indepth knowledge of understanding and adapting consumer behaviour and how to leverage consumer insights to drive innovation and enhance brand loyalty,” Kirby said.
“The mentors at each table session were great in keeping the conversation and ideas flowing.
“It was a very big day but so worth it and I want to thank C4GS and the AFGC for giving me this fantastic opportunity.”
Jenica, who won the Young Professional of the Year Award at the recent Greater Shepparton Business Awards, said her takeaway from the Future Leaders Forum was “small conversations develop strong relationships, trust and knowledge”.
“It was inspiring seeing leaders put in the effort; the mentoring sessions with executives from companies including Unilever, Chobani, and Johnson & Johnson were valuable.
“Moving forward we need to tackle issues holistically; the advancement in technology was executed fast, but sometimes without any future planning.”
Greater Shepparton is the most important intersection in south east Australia.
With entire food and grocery manufacturing supply chains in one postcode, this region anchors Australia's dairy processing and fruit processing and packing.
The local food and grocery sector (in the combined LGAs of Campaspe, Greater Shepparton and Moira) already generates more than $3.1 billion of food and grocery revenue, employs more than 4,000 locals and injects almost $340 million in salaries and wages into local economies.
Both Kirby and Jenica thanked C4GS and the AFGC for providing the scholarship which gave them the opportunity to meet and talk with industry leaders and bring that acquired knowledge back to the Greater Shepparton region.
