Keynote speakers lined up

Dan Pronk - Inspirational Speaker

After failing dismally in his first career dream of being a professional triathlete, Pronk studied medicine on an army scholarship. After passing the punishing Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) selection course, he then served on over 100 combat missions in Afghanistan as a frontline special operations doctor. His casualties included fellow SAS soldiers, commandos, local civilians, and even the enemy.

The thrill of adventure and the challenges of battlefield medicine gave him a sense of purpose in testing his skills to the limits, but the despair of being helpless to save his friends in their final moments haunted him.

His journey back to a fulfilling life began when he moved into medical leadership roles, using the medical skills honed in Afghanistan to save civilian lives.

Pronk is just a small average guy who pushed himself to perform in complex environments, and will share with you his tales of adventure, resilience, and give you the tools to thrive.

Jeremy Hill - Fonterra

Jeremy Hill has worked for Fonterra and its predecessor companies for over 30 years, the last 17 as Fonterra’s chief science & technology officer and has held executive leadership roles in science, technology, regulatory and food assurance across the entire farm to consumer value chain.

Hill is an inventor of 20+ patent families covering different aspects of dairy science, technology, health, nutrition, and sustainability, and has published over 100 scientific papers. He has invented or co-invented IP used to create four start-up companies, all still operating.

He is a graduate of the New Zealand Institute of Directors company directors’ course and has held numerous governance positions in the boards of NZ and global organisations including president and chairman of the board of the International Dairy Federation. In 2018 Hill co-established the Sustainable Nutrition Initiative based at the Riddet Institute, Massey University, where he was a director on the Riddet Board 2009-2012. He was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to science and the dairy industry in the 2020 Queens Birthday Honours.

Siobhan O'Malley - Dairy Farmer

Siobhan O'Malley is a dairy farmer living on the West Coast, near Hokitika at Pukeko Pastures. From an urban family growing up in Christchurch, she and her husband Christopher and their three children sharemilked for 10 years in North Otago, Mid-Canterbury and the West Coast until buying a 180-cow farm in 2022. Christopher and Siobhan won the NZ Sharefarmer of the Year in 2017. Siobhan is the co-founder of farmer charity Meat the Need and co-founder of luxury knitwear e-commerce brand, Hemprino. She works full-time off farm as a secondary school English teacher and strongly dislikes gardening and housework.

Cameron Bagrie - Economist

Cameron Bagrie is a leading independent economist, with extensive experience in business and agriculture and brings a local and international flavour to his conversations. Bagrie’s ability to take complicated and complex information and data and make it accessible and meaningful for his audience sets him apart. Bagrie also runs two other businesses besides Bagrie Economics and sits on a couple of boards so is a business honed economist.

Join Bagrie as he takes SIDE participants through the issues and opportunities for the dairy sector, provides commentary and analysis on what the present and future holds and how the sector can thrive in these uncertain times.