Mekong Region: Agrifood Innovation Opportunities

On behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we invite you to express your interest in attending “Mekong Region: Agrifood Innovation Opportunities”. 

Join Charles (Chick) Olsson, Australia’s Business Champion for Laos and Managing Director Four Season Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, to explore the emerging agrifood business opportunities in the Mekong Region. 

This panel discussion will examine emerging opportunities across Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. It will cover the agrifood and logistics sectors, trade and investment potential, and innovations driving regional market integration across the Mekong.  

Australian businesses will gain insights on the trends shaping the region and hear from a panel of leading businesses on how Australia’s expertise in agriculture and logistics is helping meet Southeast Asia’s growing demand for premium agrifood products. 

Guest speakers 

• Charles (Chick) Olsson, Australia’s Business Champion for Laos and Managing Director Four Season Australia, Thailand, Indonesia
• Marc Werner, CEO, Costa Group
• Kylie Porter, Group Director, Sustainability, SunRice
• Jason Verspuy, General Manager, Trade, Austrade
• Catherine Mudford, Acting CEO, Asialink Business 

Event Details​​​​​​​ 

Date: Wednesday 17 September 2025 

Time: Arrival and lunch from 12.00pm – 12.30pm. Event at 12.30pm – 2.00pm.  

Venue: Melbourne CBD

To express your interest in attending, please complete the form below.

As this is an invitation-only event, we will review submissions and contact eligible organisations with further details. Places are limited and we are prioritising submissions from Australian businesses with an interest in agrifood in the Mekong Region. Expression of interest does not guarantee attendance.

We look forward to the opportunity to connect with you. For any queries, please contact asialinkbusiness-events@unimelb.edu.au

Charles (Chick) Olsson, Australia’s Business Champion for Laos, Managing Director, Four Season, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia

Charles has extensive experience in Australian agribusiness, including livestock nutrition and stock medicine manufacturing, sheep and wool production, and salt mining. He has sat on various agricultural industry boards, including directorships at Australian Wool Innovation and chaired marketing and intellectual property divisions of Woolmark and AWI.

Charles is currently Managing Director of Four Seasons Pty Ltd, a national livestock supplement company supplying 400 rural retailers throughout Australia, exporting to NZ and Southeast Asia. Through innovative salt and molasses-based lick-blocks and close collaboration with universities and industry leaders Charles has championed livestock health and productivity with targeted, research-driven solutions.

As an initiative of Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, Charles was appointed as Australia’s Business Champion for Laos in March of 2024 at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

Kylie Porter, Group Director, Sustainability, SunRice

Kylie Porter is a sustainability expert holding over 20 years of experience across corporate affairs, sustainability strategy and ESG risk management. Kylie as deep expertise in business strategy, corporate affairs and sustainability practices including advising executives and boards on managing sustainability-related risks and developing and implementing policies across thematic areas such as climate change, human rights, including modern slavery, and international development. Kylie has held roles in numerous sectors including for the United Nations and in the financial services, FMCG, international development and consulting services sectors in Australia, the UK and Singapore.  She is currently the Group Director, Sustainability for the global food manufacturing company, SunRice, where is responsible for the development and implementation of the Group’s sustainability strategy.

Kylie holds a Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Arts and a Masters’ in Social Science (International Development). She is a Graduate and Member of the AICD Directors’ Course and a Fellow of the Cranlana Centre's Vincent Fairfax Fellowship in Ethical Leadership. She is currently the Co-Chair of Footy for Climate and a member of the Australian Government’s Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group. She was formerly a board member of the United Nations Global Compact and a member of the Australian Government’s External Advisory Group for new International Development Policy.

Marc Werner , CEO, Costa Group

Appointed CEO on March 1, 2024 Marc joined Costa in September 2022 as Group Chief Operating Officer, later serving as Deputy CEO. Prior to joining Costa, he held senior Executive positions at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Melbourne and BMW Group, which included managing the Asia-Pacific region and leading BMW Group Australia/NZ as CEO & Managing Director. Marc holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a BA (Hons) from the European Business School, Germany.

Jason Verspuy, General Manager, Trade, Austrade

Responsible for Australia’s international and domestic trade promotion efforts, supporting businesses to export and grow in international markets and enhancing global competitiveness.

Jason Verspuy commenced with Austrade in August 2019. He brings over 15 years of knowledge and experience in economic policy development and has worked at senior levels within the public and private sector. Prior to his appointment as the General Manager, Trade, Jason was the Head of Strategy and Performance, responsible for the development of Austrade’s trade and investment strategy and performance framework. Before joining Austrade, Jason was Head of Strategy at Invest Victoria, the State of Victoria’s investment attraction agency. He was also Head of the Office of the Secretary of Victoria’s Employment, Investment and Trade Office. Jason has a Bachelor of Business in accountancy from RMIT University.

Catherine Mudford, Acting CEO, Asialink Business

Catherine Mudford is Acting CEO at Asialink Business, Australia’s National Centre for Asia Capability.

Catherine is a senior business leader with 20+ years’ experience in international business, gained across developed and emerging markets. She has lived in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore and worked extensively across the Asia region from these bases.  Her career to date has included roles on the client side and in consultancy, in the private sector, government and in the education sector. She joined Asialink Business in 2021 leading the development of a series of initiatives to equip Australian businesses with the skills to succeed in fast-changing Asia. This included launching the Asialink Business Academy in 2023 and the publication this year of “Asialink Leaders: 30 Years of Asia success” showcasing stories of business success in Asia and the capabilities that enable that.

Catherine is passionate about helping leaders and organisations build the awareness and insight to help them be successful as they work across borders.