Held on October 15, the one-day event brought together participants from across the country to explore key industry trends and challenges in the food and grocery sector.
Noumi customer service and distribution manager Kirby Sprunt and SPC process specialist Jenica Mendoza were selected as scholarship recipients to attend the forum.
The scholarships, open to leaders under 35, were announced earlier this year during a local forum hosted by the Committee for Greater Shepparton in partnership with the AFGC.
“The mentors at each table session were great in keeping the conversation and ideas flowing,” Ms Sprunt said.
“It was a very big day but so worth it and I want to thank C4GS and the AFGC for giving me this fantastic opportunity.”
The Future Leaders Forum covered topics such as ‘leading with resilience’, ‘the path to sustainability’, ‘navigating consumer trends’ and ‘harnessing technology for enhanced efficiency’.
Participants also had the opportunity to engage in mentoring sessions with executives from companies including Unilever, Chobani and Johnson & Johnson.
Ms Mendoza, who was recently named Young Professional of the Year at the Greater Shepparton Business Awards, emphasised the importance of collaboration.
“Small conversations develop strong relationships, trust and knowledge,” she said.
“Moving forward, we need to tackle issues holistically; the advancement in technology was executed fast, but sometimes without any future planning.”
The scholarships were announced earlier this year at a local forum hosted by C4GS and the AFGC, which brought together over 130 attendees, highlighting the region’s contributions to the industry.
Greater Shepparton continues to play a pivotal role in Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing industry, generating more than $3.1 billion annually in revenue across the Campaspe, Greater Shepparton and Moira local government areas.
The sector supports more than 4000 jobs and contributes nearly $340 million in wages to the regional economy.
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