Industry/Sector Experience:

As a degree-qualified Food Technologist with a postgraduate diploma in Finance, I bring over 25 years of experience in the food and beverage industry — both in New Zealand and internationally. 

My background spans technical and commercial roles across the entire value chain: from B2B ingredients and finished goods to packaging, manufacturing, and FMCG. I’ve worked with businesses at every stage, from agile start-ups to global multinationals. For the past six years, I’ve served as a Business Innovation Advisor at Callaghan Innovation, acting as a connector within New Zealand’s innovation ecosystem.

Outline your previous relevant business consulting experience: 

During my time at Callaghan Innovation, I’ve worked directly with more than 100 businesses, primarily in the food and beverage sector, but also with cross-over into biotechnology and clean technology. My focus has been on identifying and benchmarking innovation capabilities, then designing and facilitating tailored sessions to close capability gaps, de-risk innovation, preparation for funding events all with a focus to
improve commercial outcomes, referencing my 20 years of F&B industry experience where applicable.

Consulting Services:

Open to consultation via the NZ Food Innovation network and the Catalyst programme on offer here, primarily broken down into three broad offerings for Start-Ups/Early Stage, SMEs & Corporates.

If you are willing to be hired to fulfil an internal role in a business, what kinds of roles could you potentially perform?

• Innovation

• Advisory

• Scale Up
  

What kind of services can you offer:

• I offer a range of strategic and practical services to support your innovation journey:

• Innovation capability benchmarking

• Problem and assumption mapping

• Value proposition design workshops

• Strategy mapping and innovation strategy facilitation

• Innovation Road-mapping (scale-up strategy)

• Go-to-market planning, market validation, and early-stage sales 

• strategy

• Funding strategy and pitch deck review

• Food & beverage financial costings and margin analysis

How do you typically charge for your services? 

Typically charge a set engagement fee, with clearly defined deliverables. All fees are transparent and can be broken down by hourly rate.

Availability for Consulting: 

I’m currently available up to three days per
week at the Food Innovation Network.

Describe your consulting style/approach: 

My approach is collaborative and focused, influenced by Design Sprint methodologies, I help clients frame the right problems, explore unknowns and
assumptions, and move rapidly from insight to action. I’m outcome-focused and with alignment on goals from the outset.

Finally, what makes you a great consultant that would compel someone to hire you?

I believe great consulting starts with listening —
two ears, one mouth. I’m not afraid to challenge assumptions, stretch ambitions, and help businesses think beyond the status quo. I work best with aspirational teams looking to scale smartly: think big, start small, learn and grow fast.