Dr Melissa Barrett

She has a PhD from the University of Adelaide and has worked in a number of research institutions including in Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, British Antarctic Survey and at the South Australian Research and Development Institution.

After an early career as a researcher in environmental and plant sciences, Melissa joined Arthur D. Little supporting clients across multiple sectors on their social and environmental sustainability journeys working across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She went on to spend 10 years with Accenture as Managing Director, Consumer Industries Sustainability Strategy and Future of Food capabilities. At Accenture she worked globally with boards and across functions to build strong sustainability-driven strategies and operating models, build stakeholder trust, innovate product portfolios, implement digital solutions, and deliver growth and sustainable solutions across value chains and ecosystems. She has a passion for enabling impact from food and agriculture value chains and has worked with numerous clients on their local sourcing agendas – in particular in sub Saharan Africa.

She now works as an independent consultant with clients in agriculture, food, beverage and fashion as well as with digital and platform solution players. She is a non-executive strategic sustainability advisor for Future Business Partnership and Chairwoman of Kanaama Interactive, a charity supporting social economic development in south west Uganda.

Melissa is a mission driven collaborator and focuses her efforts on mobilising partnerships and supporting organisations to unlock their capabilities to accelerate and scale sustainable impact.