Humans of Agriculture

Anna Speer is known as an incredibly influential person in Australian agriculture, but where did Anna come from? What Drives her? and what has been her approach to setbacks, opportunities and leadership in the modern world of business.

Show Notes

Our next guest is just an incredible person, she’s a self confessed coffee snob, adventure racing, dog loving, mother of two and someone I feel really lucky to have sat down with on Gunditjmara country in western Victoria not too far from the turf that she grew up on.

Anna Speer has built her reputation as a business leader at the forefront of industry innovation and evolution; her ability to lead teams and implement change has seen her as the CEO of AuctionsPlus, Chief Operations Officer of Australian Agricultural Company and in her current role today as the CEO of Greenstock, the Red meat side of Woolworths where she is responsible for the Woolies networks supply of Beef, Lamb and Pork.  

But there’s a fair bit of the Anna Speer story that I certainly didn’t know. In this chat, we go beyond the day to day to understand more about the journey, the role of mentors, communication, professional development through the Australian Rural Leadership Program and more. This is the story from pony club kid, to ringer to today being Unashamedly Anna.  

Are the supply chains for big supermarkets sustainable
  • What does the first week as a CEO look like?
  • What have been the learnings at the centre of change in industries?
  • How has Anna approached communication, mentors and making the big decisions.

This episode of the Humans of Agriculture podcast was recorded live on location thanks to Hope & CO in Hamilton on Gunditjmara country and extend our respects to the traditional owners for your care of the lands, air and water and recognize the importance of storytelling to connect people and place.

This chat is part of our collaboration with EvokeAg, we're sitting down with people from right across the Global Agrifood system to hear their stories of innovation, how thye got to where they are and why they are so passionate about the future of food.
We are really excited about the evokeAG. 2023 event that will be held on 21-22 February 2023 in Adelaide, South Australia. If you're interested in attending the two-day, full-scale, global event or partnering, visit evokeAG.com for more details.



What is Humans of Agriculture?

We're going behind the scenes to see and understand modern agriculture, because no matter whether you're in it or not, you probably don't know all the pieces to just how incredible, diverse and multi-layered agriculture is. We do this by uncovering the real stories, experiences and voices of modern agriculture.