The Centre for Global Food and Resources together with Agribusiness Australia have the pleasure of announcing Special International guests, University of Adelaide Alumnus Prof Philip Pardey, University of Minnesota and Dr Gabe Gusimi, PepsiCo: Big data and its application to Agribusiness

Monday 13 February 2017
Ayers House, 288 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000

Topic: ‘Beyond Big Data to Actionable Information in a Fast Changing Global R&D Setting’

Philip G. Pardey, Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota. Philip is also the Director of Global Research Strategy for the College of Food Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and directs the University’s International Science and Technology Practice and Policy (InSTePP) centre. Previously he was a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C., and prior to 1994 at the International Service for National Agricultural Research in The Hague, Netherlands. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and of the American Agricultural Economics Association, Distinguished Fellow and Past President of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Distinguished Life Member of the International Association of Agricultural Economists, and winner of the Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture. His research deals with agricultural productivity measurement and assessment, the finance and conduct of R&D globally, methods for assessing the economic impacts of research, and the economic and policy (especially intellectual property) aspects of genetic resources and the biosciences. Pardey is author of more than 360 books, articles, and papers, a listing of which can be found here.

Topic: ‘New Approaches to Public/Private Long-Term Strategic Partnerships: The Oat Case in North America (and Beyond)’

Gabe Gusmini, Director Agro Discovery – Crop Improvement PepsiCo R&D, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, Adjunct Assistant Professor, NC State University. Gabe Gusmini, Director Agro Discovery – Crop Improvement PepsiCo R&D, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, Adjunct Assistant Professor, NC State University. While pursuing undergraduate and graduate education, Gabe ventured into an array of activities in agribusiness and adjacent fields, including starting his own businesses and consulting firms. During graduate education, he focused on increasing scientific output and released a conspicuous portfolio of peer-reviewed and trade publications in the field of cucurbit genetics and breeding. Upon graduation from the NCSU program in 2005, Gabe joined Syngenta as plant breeder leading the squash cultivar development program for North America. In 1998, he moved into a new role at Syngenta, as the global head of R&D for the “large seeded vegetables” portfolio (sweet corn, green bean, peas). His role evolved in 2011-12 through internal reorganization driven by the leadership team in which Gabe was one of four senior members, and resulted in his shift to leading Syngenta vegetables R&D organization in early/technology breeding across species. Throughout his tenure of eight years at Syngenta, Gabe focused on building R&D platforms and strategies that would balance delivery against short-term market needs and continuous knowledge generation and exploitation for breakthrough innovation. His current focus is leadership of functional capabilities in data sciences, trait discovery, and genomic breeding, as well as public/private partnerships for pre-competitive research in crop improvement.

Registration Information
Location: The Parlour, Ayers House, 288 North Terrace, Adelaide
Dress: Business attire or neat casual
Date: Monday 13 February 2017
Time 3.00 pm registration for 3.30 pm commencement. Networking drinks and canapés from 5.00 – 6.00pm
RSVP: Contact Julia Avdeeva to enquire about securing tickets by Thursday 9 February 2017

Register early to avoid disappointment and advise dietary requirements.