Keynote speakers

Dr Ceri Evans

Award winning psychiatrist

​Dr Ceri Evan’s reputation generates diverse invitations from leading international organisations determined to help their people deliver in demanding situations 

His Red-Blue mind model is used by people serious about performing under pressure, from doctors to lawyers, executive teams to specialist teams, professional to amateurs. He is perhaps best known for his work with the New Zealand All Blacks, for whom he had provided specialist consultancy since 2010.  

Ceri graduated in medicine with distinction form the University of Otago. He gained first class honors in experimental psychology on a Rhodes scholarship at the university of Oxford while playing professional football in the English Championship. Awarded the Gaskell Gold Medal by the Royal college of Psychiatrists, he then specialized in forensic psychiatry and completed a PhD in traumatic memory. 

After returning home to Christchurch, he was Clinical Director of the Canterbury forensic psychiatric service and served as an expert witness in major cases. In 2018 he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of psychiatrist and awarded his football coaching A license 

Now in private practice, Ceri can otherwise be found with his head in a book, exercising, or with Therese trying to find out what their three children are up to at university. 

 

Julia Jones

Master of Ceremonies

Julia Jones is passionate about inspiring a new generation of food producers, she believes this will ensure long term economic relevance for our rural communities.   Her 6 years with KPMG fuelled her understanding global trends and their impact on NZ, and this led to her new role as the Head of Analytics with NZX.

Julia lives in the Waikato and feels extremely privileged be part of such a supportive rural community. 

Julia has had a series of highlights over her career which include completing the Harvard Agri Seminar in China, winning the emerging leader scholarship from MPI to attend the Te Hono boot camp at Stanford University, graduating the AWDT Escalator Program, a short stint working in Russia and being appointed to the primary sector council that is tasked with creating a vision for the NZ Food and Fibre sector.   

Logan Williams

Entrepreneur and inventor

Logan’s story of traversing unknown territory at the forefront of innovation will leave you inspired and motivated to change the world yourself. 

Logan is credited with inventing the polarized contact lens as a preventative treatment for photosensitive epilepsy. This technology has empowered sufferers worldwide to live a normal life, free of the ongoing fear of a life-threatening epileptic fit. 

Logan is also credited with inventing the novel method to turn Didymo ‘Rock Snot’, the pest algae destroying New Zealand’s rivers, into materials. This invention was successfully sold in 2018. 

In collaboration with Brendan Cook and Nelson Hartley, Logan has also developed a medical nebulizer which can convert any liquid medication to vapour. Better yet, the vapouriser has no moving parts or batteries, and is made of PLA bioplastic so is completely biodegradable. This is currently being developed with one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. 

Following these inventions, Logan joined Fonterra’s Head Research & Development Centre where he worked on the sustainability portfolio, producing an invention to significantly reduce methane on-farm. 

Ali and Dion Kilmister

Come and hear all about the journey of “TOVIEWADREAM” delivered by Ali, with Dion at her side for questions. 

This is a business story that started 15 years ago with Dion and Maria Kilmister moving from Ohura, where they were in a Stock Managers position, to their first lease farm in the Wairarapa with 70 steers and a $30k overdraft to the now 20-million-dollar farming operation. 

There were three things Dion wanted to be – a farmer, a truck driver or a butcher. Farming won and he has been a farmer all his working life. Ali on the other hand is a born and bred city slicker. Country Calendar named them a Formidable Pair. 

Dion and Ali were the winners of the 2018 Wairarapa Farm Business of the Year, and in the same year won the Paddock category for their Home-bred and Homegrown Gourmet Lamb Box, which is sold direct to the consumer.  

Pride of place in the couple’s office is a framed, hand-drawn sketch of a busy farm scene including a wool-shed with the words ‘Dream View’ on its roof. This was Dion’s dream. He drew it one day sitting at the kitchen table with a mate, and it was the beginning of something big.