Keynote Presentation

Corval Group is the parent company of Conga Foods, dc Specialty Coffee Roasters and Pakval Business Solutions. Its prime operation, Conga Foods, is one of Australia’s leading private, family-owned companies in the grocery industry working with major supermarkets and boutique delicatessens alike: if you look in your pantry, chances are you will have one or more of their brands on your shelf, be it Moro, Squeaky Gate Growers Co., Rana, Sacla, Val Verde, Zanetti, dc coffee or others.
For over 70 years, since taking over a small Italian grocery shop in Swanston Street, the Valmorbida family have grown businesses across the spectrum of retail, wholesale, import, farming, domestic production, property and media, all with the common thread of sharing culture and fine foods from around Australia and the world. The family has a rich heritage of pioneering innovation and creating new categories once considered “niche” or “ethnic” but now commonplace.
This deep family business story starts in the 1920s, having roots in the entrepreneurial and intrepid spirit of David’s grandfather Fulvio Valmorbida, who passed his knack and ambition on to his sons, including David’s father, Saverio. Having transitioned into an independent family branch 30 years ago, Corval Group is now shared by David, his brother and four sisters, the family having decided to continue the legacy of the previous generations while embarking on diversification, continued innovation and a new focus on corporate social responsibility.

Hitting a cricket ball requires you to keep your eye on the ball from the bowler’s hand to the bat. Applying this analogy in business will ultimately achieve goals.
That’s what family businesses Kookaburra Sport and Packer Leather have done successfully over five generations.
Started in 1890 by AG Thompson, Kookaburra Sport is a Melbourne based sports equipment manufacturer specialising in cricket and field hockey balls and equipment, bespoke teamwear, clothing and footwear.
Packer Leather, a Brisbane company established in 1891, has been producing premium leather and, for the last 30 years, have specialised in high-performance leathers for sporting and military applications.
Committed to innovation and progress, these family businesses pioneered the pink cricket ball that revolutionised cricket.
Ross Thompson (Production Director, Kookaburra) and Lindsay Packer (Chairman/Director, Packer Leather) will discuss the 10-year partnership and how they work together to understand and meet a range of technical, environmental and market requirements for a highly competitive industry.

Coopers is a brewing family. It’s in their blood. Their passion for brewing has kept the family together and helped the business through economic recessions, wars, government imposts, changing tastes, pandemics and the occasional hostile takeover bid.

After dedicating over 150 years to the art of brewing, Coopers is an icon.

With the incumbent generation in their 50’s and 60’s, it’s time to plan for the next transition.

Australia’s leading family of brewers has restructured its senior management to enable the 5th generation to transfer from commercial to custodial roles while the upcoming 6th generation find their feet. The role of non-family executives will be key to this process.

Join Melanie Cooper and her nephew Andrew Cooper as they share: how the business is transitioning from the 5th to the 6th generation, the measures they have put in place to future-proof the business, and what it feels like to be the custodians of the Coopers legacy.

It took twenty years, five failed businesses and three unsuccessful careers to build the overnight success that is $100m global online wine startup Vinomofo.

Vinomofo started life back in 2007 in the garage of brothers-in-law and fellow wine geeks, Justin Dry and Andre Eikmeier, who just wanted to do something cool for wine lovers and producers.

Growing increasingly concerned with the way the world was headed, André knew he could either keep complaining about it at dinner parties, or he could try to do something about it.

In 2018, André founded Good Empire, a global community platform for projects that unite and empower people to live more connected, sustainable, and impactful lives.

André shares a very real and raw account of the failures, triumphs and hard and vital lessons that have shaped his business ventures and him as an entrepreneur. This is the real truth – the fears – the impact of being an entrepreneur on friends and family – the soul-searching.