Zanda McDonald Award 2025: Maegen Blom NZ winner, Jack O’Connor takes Aussie honours

Zanda McDonald Award 2025, New Zealand winner Maegen Blom and Australian winner Jack O'Connor.

The Zanda McDonald Award has named its 2025 winners, with Australian Jack O’Connor and New Zealander Maegen Blom taking the top honours.

In a first for the transtasman award, which recognises two young leaders from the primary sector, one of the recipients represents the aquaculture industry.

Blom, 24, is operations manager at family-owned business Mills Bay Mussels in Marlborough, supplying restaurants, wholesalers and supermarkets across New Zealand with their Greenshell mussels.

She is also the founding member of Young Fish NZ, which connects young professionals in the seafood industry.

O’Connor, 32, from Harden New South Wales, is the manager – general agribusiness, livestock, administration and cropping of the family farm at Oxton Park, a cropping, wool and prime lamb enterprise.

His focus is genetics, animal welfare, renewable energy, agrivoltaics and carbon accounting.

Started in 2014, the Zanda McDonald Award accelerates the careers of young people in the primary sector, offering them opportunities for growth, mentorship, and education.

O’Connor and Blom were selected from the following shortlist:

• Will Creek, 35, general manager – primary production with Arubial, Condamine, Queensland
• Felicity Taylor, 29, area manager at Rabobank, Moree, Country NSW
• Hamish Best, 34, sheep and beef farmer and founder of Conscious Valley, Wellington
• Sarah How, 33, co-founder and general manager of Landify Ltd, South Canterbury

Award chairman Shane McManaway praised both winners for their achievements and the impact they are already making in their respective industries.

“Jack and Maegen are incredibly focused, passionate, and driven to create meaningful change in their sectors,” McManaway said.

Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Shane McManaway, Maegen Blom, and Jack O’Connor on The Country below:

“Maegen’s leadership in a male-dominated industry is outstanding, and Jack’s holistic approach to integrating innovative practices on his farm demonstrates his forward-thinking mindset.”

As part of their prize, Blom and O’Connor will receive a personalised development package, including a bespoke mentoring trip across both Australia and New Zealand, $10,000 towards further education or training, media coaching, and ongoing networking opportunities.

Finalists also benefit from continued access to the award’s alumni network, ensuring they stay connected with mentorship and support.

Originally set to be unveiled at the annual Impact Summit on the Gold Coast, the winners were instead announced through the awards’ online platforms due to the disruption caused by Cyclone Alfred.