KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Lucy Bloom
Keynote Speaker - Day 1 - Thriving Women Conference 2025
Lucy Bloom is an award-winning leader and speaker. She’s a change-maker, exceptional communicator, and business fixer with the best mohawk in the business. Lucy led an advertising agency for 20 years before she held CEO roles leading international aid organisations, one in Ethiopia and another in Cambodia. She’s the founder of an education start-up and the author of four books including her memoir, Get the Girls Out, and her latest, a killer novel.
You will find Lucy challenging and entertaining in equal measure, with humour tied into a powerful business message. She’s a rule-breaker, idea-maker and momentum creator. You can find more about Lucy and see her in action on her website, or find her on Instagram and Facebook.
Stephanie Trethewey
Keynote Speaker - Day 2 - Thriving Women Conference 2025
As a seasoned television journalist, 2024 Australian of the Year for Tasmania Stephanie Trethewey has reported and produced for some of the country’s biggest news and current affairs programs. In 2019, soon after having her first child, she swapped the city for the country and moved to rural Tasmania. The transition was both a brutal and beautiful journey, and Steph’s struggles with depression and isolation inspired the creation of Motherland, a national charity that supports rural mothers, reducing isolation and improving mental health outcomes for women on the land.
Steph’s weekly podcast, Motherland, has been downloaded over 1.1 million times, and Motherland Village, Australia’s first online rural mother's group program, has connected hundreds of rural women to their own personalised support group. In 2022, Stephanie was named the national winner of the AgriFutures Rural Women's Award, and in 2023 she celebrated the release of her debut book, Motherland. Stephanie also sits on the Australian Advisory Council of Thankful4Farmers.
Kristina Hermanson
Dinner Speaker - Day 1 - Thriving Women Conference 2025
Kristina Hermanson is the Head of APAC and Africa at Nuveen Natural Capital. She targets growth in the region in farmland, timber and nature- based investments in collaboration with the expertise across Nuveen. The Australian Farmland core business is a key component within the APAC region with growth potential into nature-based solutions with regenerative agriculture at the core.
With proud roots on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, Kristina has more than 25 years of international leadership experience, most recently serving as Managing Director of ANZ & ASEAN at FMC Corporation. Kristina started her career as a mechanical engineer based in Europe and worked in commercial, strategy, and M&A roles in EMEA and APAC over a decade with global agribusiness firm, Archer Daniels Midland. She also served as Director of Growth and Collaboration, at Coca Cola Amatil in Australia before joining FMC. Kristina is a Non-Executive Board member at the Australian Farm Institute and has recently served as a Director of AgSafe, CropLife Australia, and non-profit, Business for Development.
Lyndsey Douglas
MC - Thriving Women Conference 2025
Lyndsey is the editor-in-chief at agricultural content agency Writers Who, bringing her journalism expertise to lead an all-female team of 12 rural journalists who create compelling written and spoken content while living on the land. Her client portfolio includes prominent agricultural organisations such as AgriFutures, Rural Aid, AgForce, Australian Wool Innovation, Australian Wagyu Association, Vytelle, Agricultural Shows Australia, GrainGrowers Ltd, McGrath Rural, Citrus Australia and Droughtmaster Australia. Her recognisable voice anchors agricultural events across Australia, from major exhibitions like the Queensland AgTech Summit, Wilmot Field Day, the Ekka, Sydney Royal Easter Show, Melbourne Royal Show, Royal Adelaide Show and Canberra Royal, to smaller rural gatherings in communities from Alpha in Central Queensland to Condobolin in Western NSW.
Lyndsey pioneered live agricultural broadcasting as host of the industry-first Beef TV and hosts the wagyu breed podcast "Beyond the Marbling. Lyndsey's leadership extends to her roles as former chairman of Australian Wool Innovation's consultation panel, NSW Rural Ambassador, and founding director of Agricultural Shows Australia.
Carmen Quade
On The Couch Session, Day 1 - Stories of Impact & Influence
Carmen Quade runs AgriFocused, a business offering offers face to face and online courses in the areas of farm business management to farming families around Australia.
Carmen has worked as a University lecturer in Accounting and Agribusiness and enjoys working with people to improve their business skills. She holds a Bachelor of Business (Agricultural Commerce), a Master of Professional Accounting and a Cert IV in Training Small Groups.
Together with her husband, she is a partner in Quade Ag Co, farming at Tallimba, in the Northern Riverina, managing the business side of the enterprise. She would rather push the broom around in the shed than pick up or throw a fleece and has an uncanny knack of always standing in the wrong spot in the yards. Her lack of spatial skills mean that she is a danger to herself and others operating machinery. She founded AgriFocused in 2019 after a decade of almost continuous gestation and lactation and continues to learn more in this role every day.
Belinda Anderson
On The Couch Session, Day 1 - Stories of Impact & Influence
Belinda’s journey with Henty Machinery Field Days began in 2011, and just two years later, she was appointed Chief Executive Officer—a role in which she continues to lead with vision and commitment.
In addition to her leadership at Henty, Belinda is a partner in a 1,655-hectare mixed farming enterprise based in Pulletop, with a recent expansion to Coleambally, both in southern New South Wales. She shares the responsibilities of the farm with her husband Garry, their son Thomas, and her parents-in-law. Together, they’ve raised four children and continue to embrace the values and rewards of rural life in their close-knit regional community.
Belinda holds qualifications in Project Management, Agriculture, Rural Business Management, and Business Administration. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has previously served on the Regional Development Australia – Murray committee and the Major Events Advisory Panel for Wagga Wagga City Council.
Outside of her professional and agricultural roles, Belinda enjoys the simple pleasures of home life—especially time in her garden. Family remains at the heart of everything she does, with her five grandchildren bringing her the greatest joy.