2024 Industry Leaders Breakfast

For the last seven years, our Industry Leaders Breakfast has served up fresh and relatable stories as experiences are shared, surprising insights are gleaned and new perspectives appreciated... all absorbed before the day's work begins!

WITH Tas is delighted to again partner with the Tasmanian Hospitality Association's Women in Leadership program to host the 2024 Industry Leaders Breakfast.

This year another three extraordinary women will join MC Fiona Breen in a conversation that will no doubt weave fascinating threads through the trials and highlights of their journey to this point in their careers and lives. What drives them and how do they keep focus on their chosen paths?

To find out and for some daybreak inspiration over a delicious breakfast, join us at the Franklin Wharf Function Centre on 16 October. Let's meet the speakers:

Jane lives and breathes whisky. She has been heavily involved in the Australian whisky industry since her father, Casey Overeem, founded Overeem Distillery in 2007.

She worked closely with her father distilling in the early years, and following this, she worked in the role of Sales and Marketing Manager from 2011. During this time, Jane quickly built a loyal following for Overeem Whisky, seeing Overeem Whisky placed in many venues throughout Australia, and barrels selling out within minutes.

After Casey's retirement in 2014, the Overeem family business was sold. In 2017 Jane and her husband Mark followed their passion, and regained ownership of Overeem Distillery with a long-term goal to take it into the future.

Jane now manages a team of industry professionals, the marketing, events and sales distribution of Overeem Whisky worldwide and is excited to continue to grow the brand globally.

Anna Terry, former Dietician, second-generation truffle farmer and owner of The Truffle Farm in Deloraine, pioneers Australia’s premier truffle agritourism, offering immersive experiences on their historic farm. In 2024, the farm celebrated its 25th anniversary since the first black truffle was harvested in Australia back in June 1999.

A born and bred Tasmanian, Anna developed a taste for the ‘black diamonds of the kitchen’ at a tender young age, and along with her father Tim and brother Henry, helped bring the truffle industry to where it is today. Anna champions agritourism excellence, sharing her family’s legacy and advocating for industry growth nationwide.

With Anna leading her team and her trusty four-legged friends (aka truffle dogs!), visitors to the farm can experience hands-on tours and genuine storytelling, delivering an unforgettable journey blending education and adventure while showcasing the farm's world-class black truffles and premium truffle products.

In 2022, Anna received the award for Tourism & Hospitality at the Tasmanian Young Achiever Awards. The following year, Anna and The Truffle Farm won Silver at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, Gold at the Tasmanian Tourism Awards, and Anna was honoured to receive the Tourism Minister’s Young Achiever Award that same year

Through innovation and passion, Anna embodies the spirit of Tasmania, inspiring others to explore the rich tapestry of Australian agriculture.

Margo Adler is the Founder and Executive Director of Beaker Street, a not-for-profit organisation in lutruwita/Tasmania.

Margo completed her PhD in evolutionary biology at UNSW Sydney in 2013. Her research focused mainly on the effects of diet on lifespan and ageing, and she continued to develop this work during a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto in Canada.

In 2016, Margo moved to Tasmania and that year founded Beaker Street, drawing on her passion for science communication and her diverse work experience as a writer and event organiser in her hometown of New York City.

Margo has received numerous awards for her work to make science accessible to a public audience, including being named Tasmanian STEM Communicator of the Year in 2018 and winning the Crispin Rice Prize for Outreach and Communication in Evolution and Ecology during her PhD.

Since founding Beaker Street, Margo's focus is now solidly on connecting Australia's public with our vibrant STEM research and community. Beaker Street facilitates connections and collaborations amongst scientists, artists, and the public. The organisation's flagship event, Beaker Street Festival, has become a cornerstone of National Science Week and brings in a public audience of more than 5,000 people annually to connect with workers across STEM fields.

Fiona Breen is the Executive Producer of ABC Rural Tas and runs a small team of expert rural reporters covering issues for radio, digital and television.

Fiona is well known for her reports from some of Tasmania's most remote spots with the iconic Australian TV program Landline.

She's camped in the State's rugged South West waiting for a glimpse of the rare Orange Bellied Parrot, searched for fossils in the Central Highlands, joined fishermen working in Bass Strait, walked the length and breadth of Macquarie Island and landed by helicopter on a glacier in the Antarctic.

Her favourite assignments for the ABC have been on Macquarie island, halfway between Tasmania and the Antarctic and the Antarctic Continent where she covered stories at Davis, Casey and Wilkins Runway.

Fiona has worked for the ABC in Hobart, Launceston, Burnie and Canberra, and also spent about eight years working in commercial television in Sydney.

A lover of the outdoors she was drawn back to her home state by the perfect combination of a great lifestyle and a senior reporting role in the ABC's Hobart newsroom.

In her spare time she loves to get outside biking and bushwalking with family and friends.