Bridging the interface between industry and academia
Interdisciplinary Business Experience
Vivienne Hunt has 30 years’ experience in the food and nutrition sectors with marketing and management roles in New Zealand and Asia. With a background in applied science, research management and commerce, she now focuses on the development of collaborative ventures bridging the interface between industry and academia.
While in Singapore, Vivienne was an active board member of the New Zealand Chamber of the Commerce Singapore, being elected as Vice President in 2015 and then President from 2016 to 2018. As President she chaired an executive board of ten, leading projects that included rebranding of the Chamber and developing a new platform to improve user experience; co-ordinating the development of a network linking the NZ ASEAN Business Council with New Zealand Chambers throughout Southeast Asia to develop opportunities for New Zealand companies in Asia. She also conceptualised the development of Māia, the kiwi women’s network in Asia which was officially launched on International Women’s Day in 2019.
Recent Experience
Since returning back to New Zealand in December 2019, Vivienne has worked for several science-based collaborations. These include AgResearch, the NZ Food Safety Science and Research Centre (NZFSSRC), the Southeast Asia Centre for Asia Pacific Excellence (SEACAPE), the Nuku ki te Puku, and the Centre for Data Science Analytics (CSDA) at AUT University.
In Singapore from 2012 to 2019, Vivienne worked at the science industry interface, first at A*STAR (Agency for Science Technology and Academic Research) and then for Abbott Nutrition R&D Asia Pacific. At both of these organisations she managed partnership development with research scientists, academic, government and healthcare institutions. Prior to working in Singapore, she was at Auckland UniServices Ltd where she led the industry engagement for an interdisciplinary food and health research programme at the University of Auckland.
While at Abbott Nutrition, Vivienne led research projects to address the nutritional needs of vulnerable populations measuring the health and economic outcomes. For example, she commissioned New Zealand health economists to estimate the economic burden of poor nutrition in countries such as Indonesia, India and China. In such countries the researchers often documented a measurable economic burden as a result of stunting in paediatric populations and malnutrition in the elderly. These can be outcomes of poor nutrition impacting on health care costs. (See ‘Projects’ for further detail)
In 2017, Vivienne has worked for New Zealand research institutions such as AgResearch and the New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Centre setting up collaborative research projects with industry and scientists. Projects have focused on food safety science and the novel development of food ingredients to improve food products.
Vivienne is Beachhead Advisor for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and has worked with many New Zealand food companies supporting their plans to expand into markets in Southeast Asia. She has worked on research for NZTE’s G2G looking for opportunities in Southeast Asia for Government-to-Government collaborations post the pandemic.
Since 2018 Vivienne has worked with the Nuku ki te Puku, a Māori-led collective helping their engagement with scientists in Singapore and introducing them to companies to work on the co-design and co-development of nutritional products that can potentially address health concerns for Asian consumers.
Since 2020, Vivienne has worked with the Southeast Asia Centre for Asia Pacific Excellence (SEACAPE) which is hosted by Victoria University leading student projects to learn about potential markets in Southeast Asia. This included the Tertiary Market Immersion Programme (TMIP) in 2021 which explored new market opportunities for natural health products in Singapore.