Looking Back to Look Forward: How 6 Seeds Has Shown Up as a Thought Leader in Food and Agriculture

Looking Back to Look Forward: How 6 Seeds Has Shown Up as a Thought Leader in Food and Agriculture

By Andreas Duess, CEO & Co-Founder, 6 Seeds Consulting

Thought leadership is often reduced to visibility. Big stages. Bold predictions. Loud opinions.

At 6 Seeds, we’ve always believed it’s something else entirely. Thought leadership means being invited into rooms where the questions are difficult, the consequences are real, and clarity matters more than confidence. It means earning trust across contexts, from international conferences to boardrooms, classrooms, and community forums.

Over the past several seasons, Saskia Brussaard, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 6 Seeds, and I have had the opportunity to contribute to conversations across the food and agriculture sector. While the formats varied, the underlying questions were remarkably consistent.

How do we make better decisions in uncertainty? What role should AI actually play in food and agriculture? How do we move forward without losing trust, culture, or humanity?

This article reflects how 6 Seeds has shown up as a thought leader, and what that work reveals about the kind of partner food and agriculture organizations are looking for today.

Major Global Keynotes: Where the Industry Comes Together

Some invitations signal more than visibility. They signal trust.

United States Agricultural Export Development Council (USAEDC)

USAEDC has been a cornerstone platform for our work. I was invited to speak there twice: first on how to use AI without losing your humanity, and later in Washington, D.C., addressing exporters navigating trade pressure, shifting consumer sentiment, and market access challenges.

These audiences are responsible for real decisions with real consequences. The conversations focused on synthetic consumer research, decision-making under uncertainty, and how leaders can separate signal from noise when markets and narratives are in flux.

USA Rice – Rice Millers’ Association Conference

I was invited to deliver a keynote at the USA Rice Rice Millers’ Association Conference in Maui, followed by participation in board-level discussions. Speaking with rice millers reinforced a reality we see across commodities: AI only creates value when it reduces friction.

The focus was on pricing, supply chains, and strategic clarity in environments where margins are tight and missteps are costly. This was less about inspiration and more about application.

International Peanut Forum – American Peanut Council

At the International Peanut Forum, hosted by the American Peanut Council in Seville, I delivered a keynote to more than 350 global industry leaders. The discussion centered on how AI-driven insight is reshaping innovation, market understanding, and decision-making across borders.

Different crops, different geographies, but the same need for grounded insight leaders can trust.

Smaller Stages, Sharper Conversations

Not every impactful keynote happens on a global stage.

I was invited to speak at the Southwest Food Innovation Summit in London, Ontario, where the focus shifted to resilience, adaptability, and growth in a volatile food and beverage landscape. These audiences are often closer to execution, and the conversations reflect that urgency.

Through the Rural Ontario Institute’s Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program, I spoke with emerging and established leaders about what it means to lead in the age of AI. These sessions tend to be interactive, candid, and deeply influential.

I was also invited to engage with organizations like Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, where conversations focused on public trust and understanding in a rapidly changing food system, and Canada’s Food Island (PEI), working within a regional food ecosystem shaped by entrepreneurship, identity, and export ambition.

At the regional level, I participated as a speaker in Halton Region’s “Selling Food to Ontario” workshop, a government-led initiative designed to support food and beverage entrepreneurs. The session focused on delivering practical insight that would otherwise take founders significant time to gather on their own, while also creating space for meaningful peer-to-peer networking.

Engagements like these underscore an important point: thought leadership is not defined by the size of the stage, but by the relevance of the conversation and the value delivered to the people in the room.

Showing Up Beyond the Podium: Leadership and Service

Thought leadership also shows up in how you contribute when there is no keynote title attached.

I was invited to serve as a judge for Canadian Women In Food’s Pitch & Dine, supporting women founders as they pitched their businesses in front of a live audience. Staying close to founders keeps our thinking grounded and ensures the strategies discussed in boardrooms and conferences still hold up in real market conditions.

In another setting, I was invited to present directly to the Board of The Cranberry Institute, where the focus was governance, risk, and how boards evaluate consumer insight in a noisy information environment. These are quieter rooms, but often where the most important decisions are made.

Academic Leadership and Public Influence

Education and influence are central to how we think about leadership.

I continue to serve as a Visiting Lecturer at Western University’s Ivey School of Business, contributing to conversations around AI, consumer behaviour, and decision-making grounded in real-world business realities.

At the same time, Saskia Brussaard plays a critical role in shaping how insight travels beyond industry. Saskia was invited to lead an advanced workshop at the University of Guelph as part of the Skills for Research Impact series, focused on op-ed writing and public influence.

Her work equips researchers with practical tools to translate expertise into clear, persuasive commentary that reaches policymakers, industry leaders, and the public. It reflects a shared belief at 6 Seeds: insight only creates impact when it’s communicated clearly.

Hosting the Conversation Ourselves

Thought leadership also means creating space for dialogue.

Through 6 Seeds Intelligence webinars and hosted sessions, we’ve explored topics ranging from AI-powered consumer insight (Nuts for Insight) to the implications of GLP-1 drugs on food consumption (Ozempic and the Future of Your Business).

These sessions allow us to share insight directly with our community, test ideas in real time, and continue learning alongside the people we serve.

What This Work Has Revealed

Across all of these settings, a few themes surface again and again.

Leaders want clarity, not hype. They want AI to support better judgment, not replace it. They care deeply about trust, culture, and long-term resilience. And they value speakers and advisors who understand context as much as content.

In short, they are not looking for futurists. They are looking for partners who can help them find their way.

Work With Us

Whether you’re organizing a major international conference, a board or executive briefing, a leadership workshop, or a small, focused session, 6 Seeds brings the same approach: grounded insight, practical application, and respect for the realities leaders face.

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  Book Andreas Duess for keynotes on AI, decision-making, and consumer behaviour in food and agriculture

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  Engage Saskia Brussaard for workshops on communications, PR, and influence in the AI era

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  Or join one of our upcoming webinars and hosted sessions as we continue the conversation

Contact us: https://6seedsconsulting.com/contact