Speakers

Colin Christmas

Colin Christmas joined EAGLE Certification Group in 2019 as a managing director to support EAGLE’s international growth. He is an experienced professional with 20+ years in the food industry working for Nestlé. He has had the privilege to live and work in numerous countries around the world which helped him develop an excellent understanding for process, systems, and standardization while working with different cultures.

Colin’s professional experience at Nestlé includes:

-Starting in the UK in 1999 as a process analyst in technical and production working with manufacturing and quality IS/IT systems

-His next roles were based in Switzerland, Australia, and Canada driving business excellence projects for Nestlé markets in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

-He moved to the Unites States in 2011 and transitioned to work in a regional operational role supporting the Nestlé markets in North and South America, with a focus on implementation and sustainability of management systems (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and FSSC 22000), driving both compliance and improvement

-He was promoted to director, supplier management and improvement in 2015 with overall responsibility for food safety and quality of all Tier 1 ingredient and packaging suppliers to Nestlé in North America

Colin has a bachelor’s degree in computing and business analytics from The University of Huddersfield, with specialization in quality control, quality management systems, and business process management. He also has program completion certificates from Wageningen University and Research for Food Safety Management, and from the London Business School for an executive leadership program.

Craig Bates

Craig Bates is president and managing director of TQCS International Pty Ltd (TQCSI), Australia’s largest management system certification body and a leading JAS-ANZ accredited certifier of food safety management systems.

Bates has coordinated the quality assurance, microbiological testing and internal investigation of a number of serious food poisoning outbreaks in Australia, including Salmonella poisoning resulting in multiple hospitalizations and the poisoning-related death of a child in 1999.

In the early 2000s, he consulted government and industry throughout Asia to develop the TQCSI HACCP Code: 2003, which is still one of very few HACCP codes in the world to be recognized by an accreditation body for HACCP certification.

Bates is a senior FSMS lead auditor, a recognized leader in the development and auditing of food safety management systems, an expert for industry in interpreting governmental food safety legislation, and a regular speaker to industry organizations.

Chad Kymal

Chad Kymal is the CTO and founder of Omnex Inc., an international consulting, training, and software organization headquartered in the United States.

Kymal worked at General Motors and KPMG before founding Omnex Inc. in 1986. He has served on the Malcolm Baldrige Board of Examiners and has received numerous quality achievement awards, including the Quality Professional of the Year award by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Automotive Division in 2005. He holds both a master’s degree in industrial and operations engineering as well as an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Omnex has been involved in innovation of the application of HACCP using failure mode and effects analysis and control plans with integrated quality and food safety. Omnex implements customer-focused key measurables; phase gate new product development; integrated food, quality, environmental, and health and safety management systems; and disciplined problem-solving methods in organizations which produce food.

Kymal is a registered lead auditor who has conducted hundreds of audits including multiple audits in food safety management systems. He is HACCP and SQF (GFSI) certified and has published numerous papers and three books on the subjects of management systems standards and quality. He is the author of three books on quality standards, including two on the auditing process.

Daniel McConville

Daniel McConville has more than 35 years of experience in the food and occupational health and safety (OHS) industries. Daniel has extensive experience in OHS and food safety auditing, along with delivering health, safety, food safety, and quality-based services to a range of industries and events including Taipei Summer Universiade 2017, the ADF, universities and colleges, hospitality and food manufacturing, health and aged care, local government, facilities management, and contractor management.

Dr. Ajay Shah

Dr. Ajay Shah is a highly experienced food scientist/technologist trained in the UK. He holds impressive academic achievements and career highlights, both in Australia and abroad. He is an accredited food safety auditor to several certification bodies, including Cosmetics–Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), FAMI-QS, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). He also holds the position of technical manager for ISO 22000:2018 and HACCP for one of the certification bodies.

Dr. Shah has lectured in the field of food science and technology to university students in Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. In addition, he has reviewed food science and technology books for the Australian Institute of Food Science & Technology (AIFST) as well as the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) in the UK. Dr Shah has shared his expertise by presenting technical seminars at both local and international conferences.

He has been operating a food technical consultancy for 20 years, providing scientific and technical food solutions to the food industry.

Dr. Shah was awarded a Fellow of the AIFST in recognition of the outstanding service to the food industry in the fields of food science and technology in 2018. He also holds a higher national diploma (applied biology), a bachelor’s degree (honors; biology and chemistry), a master’s degree (food science), a Ph.D. (food technology), a post-graduate certificate (further education), a Certificate IV (assessment and workplace training), and is a registered food safety auditor with Exemplar Global.

Dr. Vasambal Manikkam

Dr. Vasambal Manikkam is an Australian-qualified Ph.D. in the field of food science and nutrition, whose passion is to break down the complex science behind food (functional foods), nutrition, and health into lay terms to empower consumers, the food industry, and research organizations in achieving food safety and sustainable products.

Dr. Manikkam is a member of Nutrition Australia and the International Food Safety and Quality Network and has gaining experience in Good Clinical Practices (GCP) and ISO 9001. She is often invited as a reviewer for research papers from highly ranked internationally recognized scientific journals, based on her skills and experiences in the field of food science.

Prior to her leadership roles, Dr. Manikkam studied and worked at Victoria University, Melbourne, as a research scholar and a functional foods lecturer to third-year students. In addition, during her doctoral studies, she founded and volunteered as president of a public speaking club to help students excel at their verbal communication skills. She won the first Postgraduate Student Leadership Award of the university.

Her Australian qualifications include a bachelor’s degree (food, nutrition, and health science), a bachelor’s degree (first-class honors; food science and nutrition), a Ph.D. (food science and nutrition), a certificate for internal food safety auditing, a certificate in the principles of HACCP, and a certificate in food allergy (Food Standards Agency).

Jeff Chilton

Jeff Chilton has more than 30 years of experience in the food industry, specializing in food safety, quality assurance, and plant management.

Prior to joining Intertek Alchemy, Chilton was the founder and president of Chilton Consulting Group for 18 years, helping clients achieve and sustain GFSI certification under the SQF, BRC, and FSSC 22000 standards along with USDA and FDA Regulatory Compliance services for HACCP and Food Safety Plan.

Chilton is a certified SQF auditor, an SQF Consultant, a Preventive Control for Human Food lead instructor, and an International HACCP Alliance lead instructor.

Prior to starting Chilton Consulting Group, he was a plant manager at two large food processing companies and a director of quality assurance. Chilton earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from Tampa College.

Jackie Stapleton

Jackie Stapleton is the founding director of Auditor Training Online, which is a Registered Training Organization (RTO ID 45123) and an Exemplar Global Recognized Training Provider for courses in management systems auditing.

Auditor Training Online offers online and blended courses to both new and experienced auditors, including:

-Auditing: Management Systems Lead Auditor (AU TL), Management Systems Auditing (AU).

-Management Systems: Quality – ISO 9001, Environmental – ISO 14001, OH&S

-ISO 45001, HACCP, Integrated Management Systems (Quality, Environment and OH&S)

Jackie is also a practicing contracted certification auditor for quality, environment, and OH&S management systems. Jackie leads audits ranging from small to medium enterprises to large global corporations, including commercial, industrial and civil construction, oil and gas, petroleum, infrastructure, utilities, IT and telecommunications companies, and government.

Prior to her contracting roles, Jackie held a number of senior quality and environmental positions in IT and telecommunications companies as well as government-owned utilities and is currently the lead panel member for a JASANZ accredited third-party certification body. She is also an Exemplar Global lead auditor and skill examiner for quality, OHS, and environmental management systems.

She brings all of this experience to the world of training and is passionate about sharing the love for auditing and the benefits of agile and friendly management systems into a business.

Jorge Bravo

Jorge Bravo is a biologist with a master’s degree in food technology and a management systems specialist.

He has been a member of ISO committees since 2002 and is an Exemplar Global training provider evaluator, an international speaker, a university teacher, and the director of Interqualitas.

Kim Leighton

Mr. Kim Leighton is the sector manager for food and biologicals at JAS-ANZ, where he has oversight of certification schemes in this sector, under which third-party certification bodies are assessed and accredited by JAS-ANZ. He provides support and engagement with certification bodies and scheme owners in the development and implementation of certification requirements. He is also engaged with key national and international stakeholders in supporting accredited certification to ensure food safety and facilitate domestic and international trade.

Kim has an extensive background in food policy and the food regulatory system in Australia, food law and consumer protection legislation, and the development of industry best practice guides and labelling tools to support product quality and safety and to inform consumer choice.

He previously worked as the director of strategic policy and partnerships with the New South Wales Food Authority, where he had responsibility for the development of state and national food policy and legislation, and the development of programs with local government and industry. He has also held the positions of chief scientific officer with Food Industry Asia based in Singapore, director for policy and regulation with the Australian Food and Grocery Council in Australia, and principal food scientist in the Western Australian Department of Health.

LeAnn Chuboff

LeAnn Chuboff has more than 25 years of food service experience specializing in supply chain food safety and quality assurance. Currently, she is the vice president of technical affairs for the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Institute responsible for the technical elements of the SQF program, including the development, maintenance, and technical support of the SQF Code and supporting materials.

Prior to working at the SQF Institute, Chuboff worked for the National Restaurant Association Solutions as the director of science and regulatory relations. In this role, she was responsible for the technical accuracy of the ServSafe food safety program and developed program and services on food safety and food defense to fit with all segments of the restaurant industry. LeAnn has also worked for Long John Silver’s and Boston Market in corporate quality assurance where she developed food safety and vendor approval program.

LeAnn graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. in food science and is active with many organizations including GFSI, the Conference for Food Protection, and the International Association for Food Protection. She sits on several committees in an effort to enhance policy and develop programs for the industry to help protect public health.

Dr. Michele Pfannenstiel

Dr. Michele Pfannenstiel, CEO of Dirigo Food Safety, is a veteran veterinarian turned business coach and food safety strategist. Pfannenstiel is the creator of The Proofing Box system, a game-changing system for simplifying the production process for small business operators. She is known in the food industry and beyond for being an innovator and master of productizing services and creating high-quality, high-profit products.

The Proofing Box and the other products Pfannenstiel has created have been transformative, generating millions of dollars in revenue for her clients in just a few years and serving small businesses in the United States. She is on a mission to transform local economies through profitable and sustainable food manufacturing.

Nuno Soares

Nuno Soares is an author, consultant, and trainer who has spent the last 20 years working as a food product engineer.

He is an MBA as well as a Ph.D., which was earned through investigating and developing a new frozen fish glazing solution.

In 2018, Soares was presented with the title of Food Engineer Specialist by the Portuguese Engineering Professional Association.

He currently works exclusively providing support to food safety professionals striving to achieve a more fulfilling career based on the foundation of continued learning and improved competencies.

Wendy Edwards

Wendy Edwards has more than 30 years’ experience as an auditor, consultant, and in-house quality professional, specializing in high and low-risk food industries.

In 2014, her project to transform global operations food safety and quality system was awarded Fonterra’s global “Trust in Source Award”.  In 2018, Edwards was selected by GFSI to join a small global working group, the only subject matter expert from the southern hemisphere.

She is currently the head of quality for New Zealand’s largest privately owned fast-moving consumer-goods company.

More speakers to be announced soon…