About Us
Food + Drink Victoria is the parent company behind Melbourne Food & Wine, and is a not-for-profit organisation which champions Victorian food and drink.
We work with the industry year-round to promote and grow the value of the food and drink sector in this state, creating economic impact and social value by accelerating the sustainable growth of Victoria’s food and drink industry.
We work right across the spectrum of food, from primary production to what goes out on the plate, from internationally renowned fine-dining restaurants and most cutting-edge talents to the most traditional of practitioners and grass-roots community organisations. We support the Victorian government in its key initiatives in the food and drink space as readily as we engage with the private sector in this work.
The Melbourne Food & Wine brand encompasses public events, industry events and awards, consulting services and a year-round publishing platform offering the latest news in food and drink culture from Melbourne and across Victoria. Our signature event, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, has been running for 30 years and is now the largest of its kind in Australia.
Founded in 1993, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival has grown from a modest offering of 12 events to an internationally recognised program of more than 400 events across the breadth of Melbourne, as well as satellite events around the state of Victoria. These events run from epic spectacles playing host to guests by the tens of thousands through to hands-on or bespoke engagements and activations on a more intimate scale.
One of the key functions of the festival is as a forum for cultural exchange and a means to tell the story of Melbourne and Victoria as a food and drink capital to the world. Over the years we’ve played host to international hospitality luminaries such as Nigella Lawson, Massimo Bottura, René Redzepi, Ruth Rogers, David Chang, Virgilio Martinez, Thomas Keller, Madhur Jaffrey, Mohamad Orfali, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Pierre Koffmann, Alex Atala, Elena Arzak, Magnus Nilsson, Gaia Gaja, Anthony Bourdain, Nicolas Joly, Garima Arora, Roy Choi, Fergus Henderson, Zaiyu Hasegawa, Gabrielle Hamilton, Junghyun Park, Eric Wareheim and Heston Blumenthal, and these guests in turn have become ambassadors for the city, weaving themselves into Melbourne’s food story and taking it back home with them.
The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival brings the best of the food and drink world to Victoria and the best of Victorian food and drink to the world.
Justin Howden (Chair)
Justin’s career has focused on food and drink consumer brands such as Vegemite, Meadow Lea, Western Star, Bega, Perfect Cheese, Diploma, Rush and Big M through supermarkets, hospitality and exports across Asia and Europe. He has also worked with the Victorian Government leading teams on investment attraction, business migration, university alumni and ministerial travel. After leaving government, Justin was a strategic advisor on international business to ANZ, Boral, Ericsson, Macquarie Bank, Santos, Singapore Government, Telstra and the vitamin industry. He joined Swisse in 2012, leading strategy and campaigns across government relations, public policy, community engagement and sustainability. He has recently joined H/Advisors APA as a director.
Justin is also VP of the United Nations Association of Australia and a board member of the European Australia Business Council. He has previously been National President of the Australia Malaysia Business Council, and the Australia Philippines Business Council and was a founding board member of Swinburne Ventures – the University’s vehicle for spinning off research and innovation.
Megan Kay (Deputy Chair)
Megan is the Managing Director of Zenith Media (Melbourne), a powerhouse global media agency representing clients such as Disney, TikTok, Honda, Lactalis, City of Melbourne and many more. At Zenith Media, Megan delivers her clients cutting-edge solutions for both offline and digital media planning and buying, consumer research and insights, data management, commerce integration and content creation.
With 30 years of media experience, Megan has held senior leadership roles within media agencies such as Starcom, Havas and Huckleberry. She was also the Victorian Sales Manager for Vogue Living, Inside Out and Country Style, and added media research to her experience with a Regional Manager role at Fairfax Media.
Megan brings with her to Food + Drink Victoria a deep passion for Victorian food and wine, as well as expertise in business performance, marketing led growth, team culture and strong relationships across the media and marketing business sectors.
John Haddad (Emeritus Chair)
AO, FCIA, FICD, FAIM
John Haddad is Chairman of the Taverns Group of Hotels and was Chairman of FDV from 2004-2018. He was a board member of Victorian Major Events Company from 1991 to 2016 and is a passionate and involved supporter of the arts community including as a Patron of the Victorian Arts Centre. John held the position of Chairman of the Australian National Academy of Music for eight years until 2008 and is Emeritus Chairman of Art Centre Melbourne Foundation Board of Governors (retired).
Shane Doyle
Shane is an experienced finance professional, with a 20-year career across public practice and the private sector, predominantly in the sport and major events industry, having held executive roles with Melbourne Victory (football), the ICC T20 World Cup (cricket), and Left Field Live (football/rugby). He is also a senior facilitator with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand’s postgraduate CA program, in the areas of financial reporting, audit, risk and technology, and management accounting.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, a Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance, and is a member of both Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and the Governance Institute of Australia. Shane joined the Board of Food + Drink Victoria in February 2023, and also chairs the company’s Corporate Governance Committee.
Gordon Gebbie
Gordon has over 30 years’ experience in the wine industry, from winemaking to marketing and sales. He has worked for the Rathbone Wine Group, which owns Yering Station, Mount Langi Ghiran and Xanadu Wines, for the past 19 years as Commercial Director. Gordon has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, a Bachelor of Oenology and a Masters in International Business.
Julie Ann Morrison
MA Creative Media, DipArts, MAIDC
Julie Ann has over 30 years experience working with world leading fashion and lifestyle brands in international markets. She has led transformational change and innovative strategies to develop business culture and brands to drive outcomes.
Julie Ann is currently a Non-Executive Director of Myer Holdings and a member of the HR and Nomination committees, an advisor to the Carla Zampatti brand and runs a private consultancy specialising in brand and business strategy. Her previous roles include Chair of the Myer subsidiary, Specialty Brands Australia, a Managing Director within the LVMH Group where she was MD of Bulgari UK (based in London) and Australia, and Managing Director of FJB Australia, a retailer and licensee of leading luxury and fashion brands through a global network. During her role at FJB, she was a finalist in the BRW/Qantas Business Woman of the Year Awards.
In her MD roles, Julie Ann has developed innovative collaborations to support the non-profit sector, including the Bulgari Art Award with the Art Gallery of NSW, fundraising for the National Gallery Victoria and The Carla Zampatti Foundation Fashion award for the University of Technology of Sydney among other initiatives.
Julie Ann has been a member of the Institute of Directors (UK) and is currently a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Tina Savona
Tina Savona is an experienced commercial general counsel, heading up the legal function in Australia for leading agricultural business Nutrien Ag Solutions. Tina was the lead counsel for the Australian Cargill Incorporated businesses across the malt, grain and oilseed crush sectors and has also worked at Elders Limited. She commenced her career as a tax lawyer at King and Wood Mallesons.
Tina is a member of the Food + Drink Victoria Corporate Governance Committee, serves on the Board of Governors and chairs the Audit and Risk Committee for Ivanhoe Grammar School and is a Non-Executive Director of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria. Tina graduated with a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws (with first class honours) from La Trobe University and Master of Laws degree from the University of Melbourne.
Tina is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association. Tina is a results-driven, strategic thinker and problem solver and has a keen interest in sustainability, digitalisation, inclusion and diversity.
2024 Annual Report Letter
2024 Annual Report LetterMeet our dedicated team linked by a common passion for food and drink.
Administration
Anthea Loucas Bosha
Chief Executive Officer
Nikki Fraser
Corporate Services Director
Jess Taylor
Financial Accountant
Devon Jones
Ticketing Lead
Content and Marketing
Louise Allan
Marketing Director
Pat Nourse
Creative Director
Frank Sweet
Content Manager
Rick Stephens
Social Media Editor & Audience Growth Strategist
Sophie Hume
E-commerce & Digital Marketing Executive
Dion Amor
Head of Design
Partnerships
Camilla Jones
Partnerships Director
Ali Webb
Partnerships Manager
Allegra Borsato-Tortoni
Partnerships Manager
Mindy Dao
Partnerships and Activations Coordinator
Events and Programming
Liz Hamilton
Director of Projects
Nadia Gordon
Senior Events Manager
Kim Danks
Industry Lead
Caroline Miles
Event Coordinator
Samara Violani
Administration Coordinator