Sandra Loader

Sandra has been a Non-Executive director of the Australian Beverages Council Ltd (ABCL) since 2009 and the current Independent Chair since 2015. She is passionate about ensuring the beverages sector works together to drive positive change when it comes to environmental stewardship, healthier options while maintaining beverage choices for all consumers.

An experienced executive director with 30 years’ experience in the FMCG sector, and non-executive director with 12 years governance experience across food and beverage, government and not for profit sectors. Sandra values diversity and is committed to driving, continuous learning and sharing knowledge and wisdom to make a difference as a leader. Her 3 board roles allow her to focus on governance excellence and align with the organisations purpose. She is committed to actions that drive powerful change and have a positive impact on the environment, by serving boards, and their committees to deliver results.

In addition to the boards Sandra serves, she works as a consultant on strategic projects, is the Victorian advocate with Hargraves Institute bringing together community, collaboration and innovation, and is a coach and mentor to those wanting to achieve their potential.

Her past executive roles as Science & Technology Director with Asahi Beverages, and Executive Director with The Better Drinks Company, is testament to the depth and breadth of her business knowledge across all functions and the beverage sector. She is known for developing and implementing culture change and leading business integration programs at executive level.

Sandra is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds a Bachelor of Science qualification. Based in Melbourne, she has a passion for science & innovation, sport, art, travel and protecting our environment.

Geoff Parker

In 2009, Geoff was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Beverages Council. Since then, Geoff has successfully managed two mergers, significantly raised the Beverages Council’s profile with key stakeholders and firmly positioned the organisation as the peerless, respected voice of the $7+ billion non-alcoholic beverage industry in Australia.

In 2010, Geoff was elected President and Asia-Pacific Regional Director of the International Council of Beverages Associations (ICBA). In 2012 he was elected for a consecutive two-year term. Geoff also serves on the Board of the International Council of Bottled Water Associations (ICBWA), and in 2017 was elected as its Vice-President. Geoff has been on the ICBWA Board since 2009.

Geoff has over 20 years’ involvement in boardrooms including global training companies, national not-for-profits, arts organisations, public companies, statutory authorities and international associations in both director and chair roles.

Geoff is a Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Management and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds qualifications from The University of Queensland and The University of Cambridge. Geoff divides his time between Sydney, Brisbane and overseas markets. He is a rugby tragic, terrible golfer, avid runner and enjoys cooking and wine matching.

Tim Carey

Tim’s involvement in the bottled water industry stretches over 20 years, from the time that his father Brian started a small spring water supply business from their family property at Millbrook, Victoria.

Following 5 years as a Consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Tim joined Black Mount Spring Water full time in 2005 as Managing Director and started the expansion of the business.

Black Mount now supplies the bulk spring water and logistics to over 20 customers in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, with a small interest in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Tim is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Australia and has served on the ABCL Board since 2014 and ABWI Executive Committee since 2009, including the past 5 years as Chair.

Darek Kosla

Darek Kosla is a director at Refresco Australia Pty Ltd. His experience in beverages spans over a number of years.

Darek has held a number of senior roles in technical, manufacturing operations and sales (contract packing) at Refresco, Tru Blu Beverages, P&N Beverages, The Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola Asia) and Lion Nathan.

His professional career spans across Australia UK, New Zealand, and Poland.

Malcolm Lack

Malcolm has been involved in manufacturing for over 30 years, the last 17 as Managing Director of Alchemy Cordial beverage company in Queensland.

Malcolm is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds multiple board positions including being Director of the Australian Beverages Council for the last 8 years. He is a straight shooter who enjoys robust discussion and the never-ending quest for improvement.

Julian Sheezel

Julian Sheezel is Group General Manager of Corporate Affairs for Asahi Beverages Oceania. Prior to joining Asahi Beverages in 2020, Julian led the Corporate Affairs function at Carlton & United Breweries.

Earlier, Julian had careers in corporate taxation, politics and government. He worked in international corporate tax roles in Melbourne and Hong Kong with KPMG. He then served in senior political party roles in Melbourne and Canberra for more than a decade before being Chief of Staff to the Australian Minister for Revenue and Financial Services.

Julian has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and a Master of Taxation from the University of NSW.

Ali Hamza

Ali has held commercial and operational roles at PepsiCo ANZ and has a wealth of experience in fast-moving consumer goods across multiple markets. In his current role, Ali manages the beverage portfolio across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea which includes iconic brands such as Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew and Gatorade.

Prior to this, Ali was General Manager for Bluebird Foods, the New Zealand snacks division of PepsiCo, and has more than 18 years of experience across commercial, transformation and strategy. Ali is part of the executive committee for PepsiCo ANZ and is based in Sydney, Australia.

Ali is passionate about people, sustainability, driving category expansion through product innovation and delivering long-term sustainable growth.

George Kotses

George Kotses has over 23 years experience in the beverage industry working for the Bickford’s Group of companies, where he is Group Operations Manager with overall responsibility for the group’s total portfolio of operational sites.

George is based at the Salisbury Facility in South Australia, which is the main Operational and Logistics site on 24,000 sq metres of land, that produces soft drink, mixers, cordial, premium juices, syrups, water, flavoured water (under the Bickford’s and Aqua Pura brands) and alcoholic – full strength spirits, RTD’s, Ciders, wine, fortified wine – major brands portfolio Galway Tawny, Andrew Garratt Sparkling, Queen Adelaide, Beresford Wines, 3 Oaks Cider, Beenleigh Rum and Black Bottle Brandy.

Natalie Helm

Natalie joined Coca-Cola South Pacific in 2020, and leads public affairs, communication and sustainability for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Prior to joining Coca-Cola Natalie worked as a consultant in the UK and Australia, advising on communication strategy, public affairs, brand communications and government relations for businesses and brands operating in the retail, food and beverage, alcohol, and energy and environment sectors.

Drew Fairnham

With over 20 years’ experience in the FMCG sector, Drew has held Sales, Marketing and general Executive Management roles across major industry players, including PepsiCo and Mrs Mac’s. As the Chief Commercial Officer for Frucor Suntory since 2020, Drew is responsible for sales across Australia & New Zealand, operations, integrated business planning and category and strategic revenue growth.

With strong strategic mindset and vision, Drew is skilled at delivering superior business results through his customer-centric approach. A natural people-leader, Drew is driven to develop those he works with to maximise performance and opportunity.

Miles Wilson

Miles has a strong board, general management and commercial background, with a consistent record of accelerating growth and building high performing businesses across diverse cultures throughout Australia and Asia. He has a wealth of experience in general management, sales strategy and execution, business planning, supply chain, customer management and sales force optimisation.

Born in the UK, Miles holds a degree from the University of New South Wales and an executive MBA from INSEAD University in Singapore. He was co-chair of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) Asia, a  McDonald’s Supplier Advisory board member and American hotel Register executive board member.