Meet the Team – Our Board
FAN is governed by a board responsible for ensuring that FAN operates in adherence to both the Corporations Act (2001) and the FAN Constitution. The board is also responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organisation, as well as providing general oversight of FAN’s operations including establishment of and adherence to policies and procedures. The board, together with FAN management, is entrusted with ensuring all monies received (including grants, sponsorships and membership fees) are appropriately managed and that FAN remains solvent.
The FAN Board consists of seven volunteer directors, four of whom are Elected Directors and three being Appointed Directors. FAN’s Directors give generously with their time and expertise to ensure that FAN provides consistently high levels of service and opportunities to its members.
Andrew Eves-Brown
Andrew joined COYO as CEO in 2017. The objective was to take the business from a successful Start-UP company through a Scale-Up phase and establish itself as a strong SME. In the first 12 months the business has moved from servicing the Independent/Health Food market to establishing itself as the Premium Brand in the major retailer sector and has more than doubled in size in the last 12 months.
Andrew was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) Botanical Food Company PTY Ltd in July 2010. In the same year, Andrew was
recognised for his Vision, Innovation, Leadership, Implementation and Culture within an organisation and was
awarded a “Medal of Excellence” by the Australian Institute of Management, Sunshine Coast (AIM) reinforcing his ability to provide operational, tactical and strategic guidance to the organisation. He was also recognised
as the 2015 Sunshine Coast Outstanding Business Person of the Year.
Andrew has over 20 years FMCG experience across, General Management, Supply Chain and Operations. Prior to COYO and Gourmet Garden, he worked in the UK for both food manufacturer Northern Foods and food retailer OCADO, where he was a key part of the team that developed and launched the UK’s most successful internet grocery business. Andrew was part of the small strong start-up team that developed OCADO and took the internet-based concept to market in 2001.
Ann Ross
Ann is a regionally renowned urban beekeeper based on the Sunshine Coast. Ann’s company, Hive Haven, specialises in producing award-winning products from both Australian stingless bees and European honeybees. Ann attributes much of Hive Haven’s success to the support and encouragement received from the FAN community and has been an active supporter of FAN since its inception.
Ann has been recognised in the ‘Top 50 Australian Business Leaders of 2018’ by the Australian Small Business Magazine and the company has won several awards including a Queensland Regional Award for ‘Innovative Agriculture’. Ann has a passion for agricultural innovation and smart farming technology.
Ann’s vision is to support FAN members to produce high value quality products with real export potential. Ann is also a member of the AgriFutures Emerging Industry Advisory Panel and Treasurer of the recently formed Australian Native Bee Association.
Ann is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting).
Kylie Watson
Kylie has extensive experience in senior management in the food and agriculture sector. As CEO of one of Queensland’s largest macadamia processors, Kylie’s experience in food manufacturing is vast, extending from strategic goal setting to new market and export development.
A Certified Practicing Accountant, Kylie also brings a wealth of financial experience from small to medium sized companies. As part of Kylie’s role as CEO of Nutworks, she has a strong understanding of the macadamia industry and has spent considerable time working closely with the local macadamia growing community. This has provided her with deep insights into the current and future challenges impacting both the macadamia and other agricultural sectors.
Lauren Brisbane
Lauren Brisbane is the Director of QCamel and has worked in agriculture in Queensland for the past 20 years. Lauren and husband Peter funded a study on the development of Queensland’s camel industry in 2009, and are founding members of the Australian Camel Industry Association.
Lauren has worked with State and Federal Governments and NGO’s throughout Australia to develop the camel industry and was the only industry member on the National Feral Camel Management Project (NFCMP) from 2010 – 2014. Lauren was also a Board Member of Australian Women in Agriculture from 2010 – 2012.
QCamel was the first camel dairy to produce pasteurised camel milk in Australia and the operation has now expanded to produce a number of innovative camel milk products, many of which have been developed with other Sunshine Coast businesses. QCamel also promotes the Sunshine Coast through its tourism operation – Camel Cuddles Tours and is an equal opportunity employer.
Paul Fisher
Paul has over 25 years international strategic and operational leadership experience, in sectors as diverse as logistics, international humanitarian aid, digital media, social impact, and government relations.
Paul’s roles have included C-suite (CEO, MD) & Board (NED) for high-growth start-up SMEs; established national and global enterprises; a United Nations children’s agency; and not-for-profits.
Paul is currently CEO of Regional Development Australia Sunshine Coast Inc., a not-for-profit government relations initiative funded by the Commonwealth Government, part of a national network of 52 RDAs committed to economic development, jobs creation and investment attraction across the Sunshine Coast and Noosa local government areas.
Paul holds a post Graduate Certificate in Change Management (GCCM) from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) MBA Program.
Jacqui Price
Jacqui is a passionate marketer with extensive experience in marketing, brand strategy, and new product commercialisation. Jacqui has worked with a diverse range of large, well-respected companies covering retail, foodservice, manufacturing, and business to business and now runs her own marketing consultancy, JP Marketing.
In addition to working with local food clients on marketing projects, Jacqui holds the positions of Program Manager for the GrowCoastal Food Accelerator and Program Facilitator for Sunshine Coast Startup Onramp. Jacqui also supports the iconic local tourist attraction, The Ginger Factory, with marketing initiatives to help grow their international visitatio
Sean McGowan
Sean has a keen eye for identifying and building on strategic collaborative partnerships and enjoys networking. Experience in restaurant and venue management, boutique wine retail sales, area management abroad, and sales and marketing management have gifted him broad experiences to assist forecasting business development opportunities.
Sean’s recent expertise is the wholesale sales and marketing of Speciality Fairtrade Organic Certified Coffee. He revels in his role in the management team at Montville Coffee where he is passionate about sourcing and roasting specialty coffee, client acquisition and relationship management, marketing and training.
Sean holds a BA of Business in Marketing/Music Industry Management.
Meet the Team – Our Staff
Emma Greenhatch
Emma has had more than 17 year’s experience working in the food and agribusiness industry for the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Renowned for her strong networks and leadership skills, Emma is a translator of ideas into strategies and actions that deliver positive and sustainable outcomes.
Before moving to the Sunshine Coast in 2015, Emma spent the previous nine years working with Victoria’s food industry in a range of senior roles with the Victorian Government. She facilitated the establishment of Victoria’s first representative group for the organic industry; led seven government departments in the development of a new policy framework for food; and created Australia’s largest and most successful inbound trade mission that resulted in $100 million in new food and beverage exports for Victoria.
Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies)
Sam McKerrow
With a Degree in Engineering, Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investment and Graduate Certificate in Sustainability, Sam brings a wide variety of skills and experience to FAN. After starting her career as a Geotechnical Engineer in Sydney, Sam moved into the finance sector in an Analyst role with NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp). Building on this experience, Sam spent five years with Goldman Sachs JBWere initially as a Risk Analyst and then Business Manager for a trading group. In this role Sam implemented a ‘Best Practice’ initiative to improve business operations and devised a number of management tools for the executive team.
Sam’s key skills include analysis and problem solving, research and report writing as well as business management. Sam has a keen interest in sustainability and has worked on a number of research projects for various United Nations entities.
Nicole McNaughton
With over 16 years of local and international marketing communication experience, Nicole has developed and implemented internal and external marketing communication strategies for companies in the tourism, FMCG, banking and investment industries.
She has also worked on leveraging and delivering local, national and international lifestyle, music and sporting events. Nicole joins FAN from the Sunshine Coast Council, where she worked in a marketing communication role with the Major Events Unit for the past three years. She is well known and actively connected with local and regional media and is highly regarded by our key stakeholders.
Adele Laughton
Adele has a background in writing and brand marketing, as well as a decade of experience in sales, negotiations and strategy at a management level.
With a strong knowledge of the food and beverage industry and experience with start-ups right through to national distribution, Adele has the skillset required to assist both small and large businesses to scale for growth and access new markets.
Rebecca Gillingham
Rebecca is a Human Resources professional with over 18 years of local and international experience. Calling the Sunshine Coast home and graduating from USC with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Rebecca began her career locally at Australia Zoo.
After building on her HR experience in the tourism, education and finance sectors in Brisbane and Sydney, Rebecca made the move to Dubai where she joined The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In her time with BCG, Rebecca’s HR focus was in Learning & Development and Performance Management.
Meet the Team – Our FAN Ambassadors
Martin Duncan
Martin is ‘Sunshine Coast Foodie’ with a passion for social media and events. As an ambassador for FAN he helps to spread the word and drive membership. He is also a chef, former restaurateur and connector of people.
Martin’s passion is “Sconetime” – a wonderful opportunity for older people, along with their carers, companions and family to establish a regular monthly social event where people from the community and business come together over Scones!
In addition to being actively involved with FAN, Martin is president of Country Noosa & the Cooroy Chamber of Commerce and works closely with Tourism Noosa, Mary Valley Country Harvest Cooperative and Gympie Gold Regional Produce. Annually, Martin assists the Ginger Flower & Food Festival, The Curated Plate and Noosa Eat and Drink Festival (formerly Noosa Food & Wine Festival).
Petra Hughes
Petra Hughes is the creative and collative mind behind ‘Local Harvest’, the Sunshine Coast and Surrounds Regional Food Directory. She is also an award-winning creative designer, photographer, product developer, author, publisher, reviewer, web designer, small business consultant, ‘major ideas person’ and self-proclaimed dreamer and entrepreneur.
Petra has spent the last 15 years scouring markets and developing initiatives to generate more interest in the Sunshine Coast regional food movement with the hope of making a tangible difference to the local food industry. This collecting and collating of ‘foodie’ information and contacts developed into the Local Harvest food directory. Consequently, Petra’s skillset and local knowledge make her an invaluable ambassador for FAN.