Brigitte Zeller and Jim Kirkwood to boost Emerald’s food practice in new advisory council roles

Emerald welcomes two food industry leaders into its advisory council: Brigitte Zeller and Jim Kirkwood. Both boast rich cross-functional experience in conglomerates at the heart of the global food and agricultural system. We look forward to harnessing their decades of shared learnings to help scale innovation in this vital part of the industrial landscape.

Brigitte, based in Singapore, has led teams around the world in a variety of senior roles in marketing, innovation and business entry strategies at food giants Nestle, Unilever, Danone and Fonterra. Her global outlook—she has spent a combined 23 years in Asia, including 15 in China—will be an invaluable asset as we build out our Asia practice. She currently leads Start’In For Good, a consultancy with the goal of merging sustainability and innovation in food solutions.

Jim has also held senior leadership positions at some of the biggest names in food, including Quaker Oats, Heinz and General Mills. He stands out especially as the founder of General Mills’ Global Center for Technology Creation, an in-house center of excellence focused on integrating innovation into food development and production. He has spent the last few years founding and leading Possibilities Unlimited LLC, a consultancy advancing technologies with the potential to improve food security around the world.