Meet The Team
The NBIA Team are professionals within their field and are passionate about baking and the baking industry. We utilise a highly skilled and focused selection of experienced individuals to provide services to our members and assist with your enquiries. The NBIA team motto is “For a thriving baking industry”.
Dean Musgrave
General Manager
Dean has 45 years of experience in the baking industry along with more than 20 years of experience in a training environment. He ran his own bakery for a number of years as well as assisting many bakeries with production and other business needs. Dean is passionate about the baking industry and excited to be back on board with the BITA and NBIA team to share his knowledge and expertise.
Melissa Choy
Membership and Engagement Officer
Melissa has more than 15 years experience in the higher education industry specifically in the Widening Participation team at QUT. She has strong event management, office administration, and excellent customer service skills. Melissa is looking forward to assisting our members with any enquiries.
Eleisha Strang
Accounts
Eleisha has many years of office and bookkeeping experienced obtained from working with a range of clients including customers, suppliers, banks, directors, and external accountants. She especially loves small to medium size companies and organisations where she hopes she can make a difference.
Gem O’Boyle
RTO Administrator
Gem recently embarked on a new path as RTO Administrator within BITA, having worked the past 20 years in the Early Education sector.
Gem is focused on supporting students and trainers with the day-to-day needs of the business. As well as liaising with Mel, supporting her with various aspect of the role.
Focusing on the processes, she has an eye for detail, strong organisation and communication skills and hopes to get a more in-depth insight into the Baking Industry & RTO Industry.
Martin Schett
Industry Assessor/Trainer
Martin has been a member of the NBIA Team for more than 10 years and offers a wealth of knowledge and broad array of experience from his long-term career in the baking industry. He spent many years as an Executive Pastry Chef at 5-star hotels throughout Austria, Switzerland, England, and Queensland. His passion for the baking industry led to the successful completion of a Bachelor of Adult Education at QUT in 2004,which resulted in an ongoing career educating the younger generation of bakers since. Martin joined the BITA Training Team in August 2010 and has taught many apprentices in the art of baking.
In 2011, Martin was selected to participate in the Capability Building – Enterprise Engagement Project established by the Department of Education and Training which further established his career as a trainer and advocate for the baking industry.
Chris Hurford
Industry Assessor/Trainer
Chris has been a member of the NBIA team for more than five years he has more than 30 years of experience in the baking industry and a career that has seen him travel the world holding positions of all levels in England, Greece, Africa, and Australia. From 2004 to 2014 he owned and managed his own bakery in Queensland which received several awards including Queensland Bakery of the Year (three times) and a Quest Business Achiever Award (five times). This achievement also saw the businesses induction into the Quest Hall of Fame. Chris is an active competitor and judge of bread shows and known for his passion for artisan breads. Most recently Chris was a finalist in the 2019 Australia Society of Baking Sydney J Packham Scholarship.
Rodney Stanaway
Industry Assessor/Trainer
With more than 35 years of experience in the baking industry, Rodney is the most recent trainer to join the BITA and NBIA team. During his career he has performed in many roles including Bakery Manager and Bakery Owner and has also worked closely with milling companies Maralong Milling and OBP Milling in various representative roles. As a baker he has worked throughout Queensland and Papua New Guinea with teams varying in size, managing relationships, wages, customers, and more. Rodney’s most recent achievement is the completion of his training qualification allowing him to share his extensive bakery skills with the young emerging bakers of today.
Allan Hodges
Industry Assessor/Trainer
Allan is the newest member of the NBIA Team and has 30 years of experience in the baking industry holding a Certificate III in Baking. He has worked throughout Australia in various position at independent bakeries, major supermarket bakeries and as an Account Manager/Technical Sales Representative with Allied Pinnacle. Allan received a Certificate of Excellence for the ASB Arthur E Denison Trophy in 2017, 2018, and 2022. His passion for the baking industry has lead to judging many bread shows such as the Toowoomba Bread Show and attending many industry events. Allan loves a sparkling clean bakery and is excited to shape the future of the baking industry.
Mel Marquis
RTO Administrator
Mel has 35 years of experience in customer service and more than 12 years of experience working in an RTO environment. She is process focused and supports BITA trainers/students with all things related to training administration. Mel is a bright and bubbly person who has a consistently positive demeanor.
Board of Directors
The NBIA Board works closely with the NBIA Team and is comprised of a group of industry professionals from diverse backgrounds ranging from plant bakeries to independently owned and operated businesses, and allied traders. Our directors are successful and proficient within their fields, resulting in their ability to deliver industry-wide experience and expertise when serving NBIA Members and the baking industry at large.
Mark Dennien
President
Mark is the current Sales Manager (Bakery, Manufacturing, and Innovation) for Kialla Pure Foods and President of the NBIA. He has more than 40 years of experience from various sales and technical baking advisory roles in the baking industry, which has resulted in an extensive collection of transferable skills across product development and troubleshooting of product quality. Mark is passionate about all things baking and serves to build a thriving bakery industry for all.
Kris Fox
Kris is the owner of Foxy’s Bakery (located in Stanthorpe, Qld). He is an enthusiastic employer with many years of experience in the baking industry who plans to contribute to the future growth of the association.
Chris Hurford
Chris has more than 30 years of experience in the baking industry. His career has seen him travel the world holding positions of all levels in England, Greece, Africa, and Australia. Chris is known for his passion with artisan breads and loves passing on his knowledge to the younger baking generations is a trainer for BITA. He is an active competitor and judge at bread shows and as a result has many awards and business accolades to his name.