2025 Distillers South Australia Conference Program
Beyond Survival: Building resilient, smarter distilleries for the future.
Our 2025 conference will be our biggest event to date with a full day program of local and national speakers, plenty of opportunity to network with fellow distillers and industry supply chain, and a side of local spirits to wash it all down.
Informative and insightful sessions on navigating your business horizon, successfully engaging with and learning from the world’s best bars, cutting through the clutter to find your consumer and tips for improving business operations to ensure climate and economic resilience.
CONFERENCE SPEAKER LINE-UP
Sam Bygrave
Founder & Editor, Boothby Media
Sam Bygrave
Founder & Editor
Sam Bygrave is the editor and founder of Boothby Media, where he writes, shoots, and talks about bars, bartenders and drinks online and in print. He host the Drinks At Work podcast, and presents the Boothby Drink of the Year awards, the Boothby Best Bars Awards, and three-day drinks festival, Bartenders’ Weekender. Sam was number 90 on the 2023 Bar World 100, a list of the world’s most influential bar industry figures, and Boothby has been named in the Top 10 Best Cocktail & Spirits Publications in the world at Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards in 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
He’s the Oceania academy chair for The World’s 50 Best Bars, and was the Asia-Pacific co-chair for the Spirited Awards. He has been a spirits judge or head judge at Tasting Australia, Perth Royal Spirits Awards, the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards, Sydney Royal Spirits Awards, and NZ Spirits Awards. He has judged more cocktail competitions than he remembers.
David Vitale
Founder, Starward Whisky
David Vitale
Founder
Dave Vitale is the founder of Australia’s leading craft spirit – Starward Whisky.
I’m an Australian entrepreneur based just outside of Seattle, USA and love whisky, food and business.
I’m the head of US operations for the company I founded, Starward, and despite my tendencies to be distracted by the next-shiny-thing I’m kept pretty busy building this brand with an amazingly talented team both in the US and back home.
I have three kids, and, when I’m not being reminded I’m ranked # 4 in our household, I love exploring the amazing outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, finding the best pizza in the world, cooking & sharing a whisky with friends, and mentoring other businesses that are on their own starward-bound journey.
Jo Watkins
Sales & Marketing Lead, Watkins Wine Group
Jo Watkins
Sales & Marketing Lead
Jo Watkins is Sales & Marketing Lead at Watkins Wine Group. She builds consumer-led brands that cut through the noise by bridging traditional winemaking with market demand, while taking cues from adjacent categories to innovate, adapt, and tell compelling stories that drive growth.
Amanda Eve
Brand Strategist & Communications Consultant
Amanda Eve
Brand Strategist & Communications Consultant
Amanda Eve is a brand strategist and communications specialist with over a decade of experience in the drinks industry. She combines her behind-the-bar experience, design acumen, and industry knowledge to help organisations define who they are and communicate with clarity and intent. Alongside her work with drinks brands across strategy, copywriting, and creative, Amanda has also applied her expertise to environmental, tertiary, and community sectors. At the heart of her work is a passion for conscious communication—crafting stories that spark connection and drive meaningful change.
Bryan Fry
Former Pernod Ricard Senior Executive
Bryan Fry
Former Senior Pernod Ricard Executive
In July, Bryan Fry just completed a 30 year career with Pernod Ricard, the world’s second largest alcohol beverage company. Bryan’s last role was CEO of Pernod Ricard Winemakers which encompassed winemaking operations across Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the USA, as well as distribution responsibility for all the spirits and Champagne business in the Pacific. The wine business was recently sold to Bain Capital Special Solutions, in a deal he championed.
Previous to that Bryan was the President and CEO of Pernod Ricard USA (the groups largest affiliate globally based in NY), President & CEO of Pernod Ricard Brasil (based in Sao Paulo), and Vice President of Marketing for Pernod Ricard Asia (based in Hong Kong). These international roles were heavily focused on Spirits and Champagne.
Bryan began his Pernod Ricard career in 1995 as Grower Liaison Officer at the Orlando Wyndham Group in South Australia, and prior to leave Australia he held various export and marketing roles.
His career over the past 30 years has been heavily involved in driving spirits and wine brand growth.
Bryan holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from the University of Adelaide and a graduate diploma in economics from the University of New England.
Charlotte Chambers
Founder/Director mumamoo Group
Charlotte Chambers
Founder/Director mumamoo Group
mumamoo
Charlotte Chambers is a stalwart of the Adelaide media scene, cutting her teeth on street-press in the heady days of print in the noughties on titles Rip It Up and Attitude. Charlotte went on to create and launch Clique Mag and its associated iconic event, the A Night Of Fashion series. With a love for print in her blood, Charlotte saw a gap in the market for a modern parenting magazine when she became a mum of two boys, George & Mack.
Soon after, KIDDO – a magazine for modern parenting – was born as well as launching 2 other print publications Educate Mag and more recently Fifty+Sa magazine.
Not one to shy from a challenge, it was through this journey Charlotte founded mumamoo in 2021 – an infant formula company designed to disrupt the status quo by shaking the stigma around formula feeding through creating a premium Australian product at an affordable price. Now in its four year on shelf, mumamoo is available at over 1,500 nationally including Woolworths and Chemist Warehouse. With its message of support for all feeding journeys, mumamoo has connected authentically with its consumer, earning the title of Accelerating Women at the prestigious Telstra Best of Business Awards in 2024. Mumamoo was the winner of Business SA’s 2023 Business of the Year and Small Business of the Year.
Darren Oemcke
Marketing Director, Hydra Consulting
Darren Oemcke
Marketing Director
Darren Oemcke is a strategist, consultant, advisor, and occasional disruptor with 35 years in marketing, business transformation, and growth. As Marketing Director of Hydra Consulting, he works across food, beverages, and manufacturing, blending sharp commercial insight with a love of innovation. Darren is known for bold ideas and practical outcomes.
Will Pitchforth
Drinks Industry Executive, Cheval Rouge
Will Pitchforth
Drinks Industry Executive
Cheval Rouge
Will has nearly 20 years of drinks industry experience and has worked in over 50 countries to develop brands across wine, spirits and champagne in both large MNC alcohol companies, and SMEs. Will was the Head of Commercial for Bladnoch Distillery for over five years and led a period of remarkable growth, with multiple awards won for brand and commercial excellence. He started Cheval Rouge to get involved with brands starting their journey, and driving commercial excellence by working directly with founders to realise the potential from international growth, and a more strategic procurement process.
Kristen Eckhardt
Associate Director, Brand SA
Kristen Eckhardt
Associate Director
Brand SA
Kristen is a senior marketing leader with an MBA and AICD qualifications. She has driven growth, brand excellence, and audience engagement across major sporting and cultural institutions, including Port Adelaide Football Club, Adelaide Festival Centre, and Arts Centre Melbourne, achieving record results in membership, revenue, and digital transformation.
safework sa
Safework SA
South Australia’s workplace health and safety regulator. Services include;
- advice and education on work health and safety
- provide licences and registration for workers and plant
- investigate workplace incidents
- enforce the work health and safety laws in South Australia.
James McIntyre
General Manager, 2XE
James McIntyre
General Manager
James is a problem-solver and communicator who takes a no-nonsense approach to sustainability. With nearly two decades of technical and consulting experience, he has guided 200+ organisations across food, beverage, agriculture, and industry. He specialises in turning complex sustainability challenges into practical, cost-saving strategies that deliver real results.
Fiona Krawczyk
Marketing Manager, Haigh's Chocolates
Fiona Krawczyk
Marketing Manager
Anoop Thakur
Procurement & Sustainability Manager APAC, Orora & Saverglass
Anoop Thakur
Procurement & Sustainability General Manager – Asia Pacific
Based in Hawthorn, VIC, Anoop leads procurement of all goods and services (including energy) for Orora and its recent acquisition Saverglass, along with driving the sustainability agenda for the organisation. With over a decade at Orora, Anoop has worked globally across the US, India, and UAE, bringing cross-sector experience in automotive, retail, oil and gas, technology, and manufacturing.
George Georgiadis
Never Never Distilling & Distillers SA President
George Georgiadis
President of Distillers SA
Managing Director, Never Never Distilling Co.
George is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Never Never Distilling Co. Following eight years building Never Never, George continues to lead the business after its acquisition by Asahi. He’s fearless in his quest for flavour, whether it be in gin or other spirits, coffee and cheese. “The nose knows” as they say.
George has travelled to hundreds of distilleries and the best cocktail bars across the world, and brings his experience to Never Never through their gins and limited releases.
Following a career in investment banking and private equity in Sydney, George is thrilled to have returned to South Australia and loves being part of our dynamic food and beverage industry. He particularly enjoys being based in the incredible region of McLaren Vale. George is Founding President of Distillers SA (established 2018), and a board member of Australian Distillers and Brand SA.
