The 140 year-old neo-classical Sydney Town Hall was the grand venue for this year’s Rabobank Leadership Awards dinner, drawing farmers and business guests from across Australia.
The event, widely considered the agribusiness sector’s night of nights, saw about 200 attendees celebrate this year’s emerging leader, Anna Speer’s award win, while Helen Geltch and family members represented leadership award winner, Jim Geltch.
The function was also addressed by Australian expatriate and recently retired chairman of global food giant, Kellogg Company, John Bryant.
Ms Speer recently joined the executive team at the Australian Agricultural Company in Brisbane, having previously run online livestock market platform AuctionsPlus, in Sydney.
Mr Geltch, the former head of Nuffield Australia for more 10 years, and now Nuffield International chief executive officer, was overseas and unable to collect his award in person.
He addressed the gathering via a video link.
The award win recognised his role as a key player in developing leadership in the Australian and New Zealand farm and food sectors and his role in expanding the Nuffield scholarship program and its capacity-building services to the agricultural industry.
Nuffield scholars who have completed the program during his tenure have become federal and state parliamentarians, industry board directors, community and agribusiness leaders and successful farm business operators.