Kim Antonio brings over 25 years of experience in agriculture and regional development, with a strong focus on delivering impactful programs across Western Australia. He has led major national and state initiatives, including Australia’s first large-scale mine dewatering for agricultural production project, a national industry restructure program, and multiple disaster reconstruction efforts.

With deep roots in regional Australia, Kim is passionate about helping regional communities realise their potential. Since 2016, he has led efforts to strengthen food and beverage manufacturing in WA, aligning with the State’s Diversify WA strategy. He currently heads DPIRD’s Food Industry Innovation program, which delivers targeted extension services to support food and beverage manufacturers to grow, compete, and innovate in national and global markets.

Under Kim’s leadership, the program takes a holistic approach—not only supporting manufacturers directly, but also nurturing the broader ecosystem of service providers, researchers, and educators needed to sustain industry transformation. His work spans strategic capability building, market opportunity development, and the integration of digital tools for scalable impact.

Kim also leads the WA implementation of Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring, making Western Australia the first jurisdiction outside the UK to adopt this global initiative. Through this program, his team supports local businesses to identify affordable digital solutions, facilitates student-led innovation projects, and helps bridge the gap between technology and day-to-day manufacturing needs.

Kim’s practical, regionally grounded leadership continues to shape the future of WA’s food and beverage industry—creating new opportunities, lifting digital capability, and strengthening long-term resilience across the sector.