
Nicolás Erdödy
Director, Open ParallelNicolás founded Open Parallel in 2010 as a strategic R&D consultancy, specialised in next-gen high-tech ecosystems. A globally distributed company, Open Parallel was officially selected by NZ Government to contribute to the computing platform of the Square Kilometre Array radiotelescope project (SKA) – the largest scientific and engineering instrument in the world.
Core knowledge developed for the SKA is behind Open Parallel’s decadal project Whakarongo ki te Whenua (Listen to the Land) – a platform concept for NZ’s Agritech sector. In 2021 Nicolás was PC Member of PAISE2021 (Parallel AI & Systems for the Edge) and SC21 (SuperComputing 2021). He holds a Master of Entrepreneurship from the University of Otago and studied Hydraulics at the School of Engineering of Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Presentation Details
“Strategic planning for scalable data transformation in the agriculture sector” pulls together farmers real needs, alongside regulations and requirements, towards a strategy that could guide a gradual transformation of the primary sector. We have to leverage the digital opportunity to become a data-driven industry while addressing climate change, regulations and optimising productivity in the value chain. Challenges abound, but we have to address them orderly whilst keeping our technology independence – then the rewards will be significant and long-lasting.
Contact Details

Nicolás Erdödy
Speaker Profiles

Greg Peyroux
CEO, OmniEye
With over 20 years as an ICT leader, manager and strategist, Greg is passionate about turning the latest technology into real-life solutions. His current focus is on OmniEye, an automated camera-based on-farm livestock monitoring system.

Paul Ryan
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With consumers desire to educate themselves further on information about the products they consume, the pressure for supply-chain participants to be transparent, means product traceability become a standard, not a value add.

Kylie Hall
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The fruit tech sector has become one of the most exciting spaces to be working in. As the global appetite for technology increases, the pressures of growing escalate, and the deep need for greater insights builds, the perfect storm is brewing.

Jaco Fourie
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Precision agriculture has made extensive use of new technology to automate and improve common tasks. However, the pervasive use of this technology also highlighted the limitations that researchers must overcome to get practical, economically viable outputs to farmers.

Russell Craig
Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft New Zealand
Russell works with sector stakeholders on matters related to technology strategy and policy for Microsoft New Zealand. Based in Wellington, his role focuses on helping customers understand and realise the broad transformational opportunities enabled by Microsoft’s cloud platform.

Greg Bodeker
Director, Bodeker Scientific
Changes in the regulatory environment, and in consumer expectations, requires rapid deployment of digital technologies across New Zealand's agricultural sector. We must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures (thanks to Shakespeare).

Bridgit Hawkins
Chief Sustainability Officer, CropX Ltd
From my earliest days of helping on the family farm to founding a technology business focused on enabling financial and environmental sustainability for farmers, I am passionate about making a difference in the agricultural sector.

Kit Franklin
Agricultural Engineering Senior Lecturer, Harper Adams University
Kit's research focuses on sustainable future farming systems, with the most notable project to date being the award-winning Hands Free Hectare

Gavin McEwen
CEO, Farmax
Gavin's focus is on furthering the potential of New Zealand pastoral agriculture through adoption of information technology, believing that transparency and collaboration among the agricultural service industry is long overdue and is key to unlocking that potential.

Emma Wheeler
Head of Strategy, Trust Codes
The tech sector in New Zealand is in a prime position to deliver on consumer expectations for increased transparency, with brilliant data-driven stories of provenance that our global consumers are hungry for.

Ian Reilly
Managing Director, Altrutec
Ian has spent 30+ years turning new technology into innovative, world-first products in diverse industry sectors including agtech, biotech, medtech, foodtech, renewable energy, defence and aerospace.