Tristan Butt succeeds EFWA founder Steven Lapidge, who will join the board as a non-executive director
End Food Waste Australia (EFWA) has announced the appointment of Tristan Butt as its new chief executive, following an extensive national search and rigorous selection process.
Butt has extensive experience driving sustainable growth and operational excellence at leading organisations in Australia and internationally, including Woolworths, Harris Farm Markets, Kerry Foods and Mars.
EFWA chair John Webster welcomed the appointment and said Butt was well positioned to lead the organisation on its mission to halve food waste in Australia by 2030
“Tristan brings a unique blend of commercial discipline, strategic thinking, and values-driven leadership,” Webster said. “As we work to unlock systems change across Australia’s food value chain, his deep understanding of the industry and supply chains end-to-end, coupled with his passion for impact and sustainability, make him the ideal leader to take EFWA forward as we scale our efforts to end food waste nationally.”
EFWA is dedicated to driving coordinated action on food waste. It uses a science-based, collaborative and commercial approach across the entire food system to deliver measurable, systemic change.
Despite Australia’s highly productive and efficient food and agribusiness sector, food waste costs the nation an estimated A$37bn each year, according to EFWA.
Butt joins EFWA from his role as chief operating officer at TMX, where he led successful business transformation, drove EBIT and revenue growth, and worked closely with major retailers and manufacturers across Australia and globally.
“I’m incredibly honoured to be appointed CEO of End Food Waste Australia,” said Butt.
“It’s a huge privilege to step into this role at such an important moment. The scale of food waste in Australia is staggering – but so is the opportunity to create change. I’m energised by EFWA’s mission and look forward to working across government, industry, education and community to deliver real impact. We can’t afford to treat food waste as an inevitability. It’s a solvable problem – and together, we will solve it.”
Butt succeeds Steven Lapidge, who founded and led EFWA since its inception and was deeply involved in establishing Australia’s National Food Waste Strategy and Roadmap. Lapidge will continue to support EFWA by joining the board as a non-executive director.
“End Food Waste Australia has built strong foundations in science, collaboration and impact. It has been an absolute privilege to lead EFWA since 2017 and to work with so many committed partners,” Lapidge said.
“I’m confident that under Tristan’s leadership, EFWA will continue to grow in reach, influence, and impact, and I look forward to supporting that journey in my new role on the board.”
Butt will formally commence in the CEO role on 5 May.
