News

People on the Move: Appointments, retirements, achievements

Jon Condon, 19/04/2018

Beef Central publishes an occasional summary of appointments, departures and achievements occurring across the red meat and livestock supply chain. Send details for entries to admin@beefcentral.com

  • Teys Australia snaps-up former AA Co acting CFO
  • New manager for Whyalla feedlot
  • MLA’s Andrew Simpson takes senior role with Bindaree
  • Re-worked management roles within NAPCo
  • New head of sales and marketing for Kilcoy
  • Respected legal eagle calls time
  • New Chair for AMIC Retail Council
  • Transporters salute their peers
  • Leucaena Network appoints EO

Teys Australia snaps-up former AA Co acting CFO

Former acting chief financial officer with the Australian Agricultural Co, Scott Prebble, has taken up a new challenge as CFO for Teys Australia, one of the nation’s largest beef processors.

Scott Prebble

Mr Prebble has 13 years’ accounting and financial experience in resources, banking and professional services across Australia, Africa and the United Kingdom. Prior to joining AA Co, he worked for various multinational companies including KPMG, PwC, Credit Suisse, Lloyds Bank and Discovery Metals.

Teys Australia chief executive Brad Teys told Beef Central that the CFO role was a newly-created position for the company, designed to “make the financial department a strategic partner in the Teys business.” An extensive external search was conducted, unearthing 160 well-qualified applicants.

Under the new arrangements, Mr Prebble will take oversight for Teys accounting and financial affairs, while Kirsty Jackson will continue to manage the treasury and risk portfolios.

Mr Prebble joined AA Co in July 2013 as group financial controller, later appointed head of investor relations in July 2015. He also spent a lengthy period as acting chief financial officer.

AA Co in January launched its search for a replacement CFO. A decision has not yet been made, but is understood to be close. A recent head-count suggested the company has had seven CFOs since 2010.

New GM for Whyalla feedlot

NH Foods has appointed experienced feedlot operations manager Tony Fitzgerald as its new general manager for the company’s extensive Whyalla feedlot near Texas, on the Qld/NSW border.

Tony Fitzgerald

The move follows the recent departure of long-time Whyalla manager Chris Fenwicke, who now heads up feedlot operations for Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Beef (see earlier report).

Mr Fitzgerald has been operations manager at Elders Killara feedlot in NSW for the past seven years, and served 15 years prior to that as manager of the specialised Macquarie Downs Wagyu feedlot and cattle property near Leyburn, in Queensland’s southeast.

He is a former president and long-serving committee member of the Australian Wagyu Association.

Elders is yet to make an appointment to fill the vacancy, but told Beef Central some decisions were close.

Along with Mort & Co Grassdale, NH Foods’ Whyalla feedlot is one of the two largest feedlots in Australia, with a current operating capacity of around 52,000 head. Cattle are processed at the company’s nearby Oakey Beef export plant. See Beef Central’s earlier Top 25 profile on Whyalla here.

MLA’s Andrew Simpson takes senior sales role with Bindaree

MLA’s South Asia regional manager Andrew Simpson has accepted a position as general manager of sales and marketing with NSW export processor Bindaree Beef.

Andrew Simpson

As reported in our previous People on the Move column, Mr Simpson recently announced his departure from the industry service delivery company.

Mr Simpson joined MLA in 2012 from Queensland farm lobby group, AgForce, where he acted as cattle policy officer. He has since filled several MLA management roles, including regional manager for the South Asia/Chinas region and business manager, global marketing.

Mr Simpson has more than 20 years sales and marketing experience in the red meat industry. Originally raised on a cattle station in the Kimberley region of WA, he graduated with a degree in Ag Science from the University of Queensland before spending three years living and working in Japan and China. He speaks fluent Japanese.

On his return to Australia in 1995, he was appointed as a marketing manager within Stockyard Meat Packers’ integrated supply chain, before holding sales and marketing management roles with Kilcoy Pastoral, JBS Swift and Stanbroke Beef.

His starts in his newly-created position with Bindaree next month. As general manager for sales and marketing, his role will include domestic and international sales for Bindaree’s production output, including the company’s large suite of grass and grainfed beef brands. He will also work in parallel with Sanger Australia’s beef trading operations.

New management roles within NAPCo

An internal management restructure has prompted some staff re-deployments and changed roles within the ranks at the North Australian Pastoral Co.

Stewart Taylor

Geoff Cornford, formerly chief operating officer for the past two years, is now head of commercial operations and strategy. Stewart Taylor is now head of pastoral operations. Phil Cummins, who speaks at the Beef 2018 Rural Press Club breakfast in Rockhampton next month, remains chief executive officer.

Mr Taylor, pictured here, has managed large-scale Roma district backgrounding property, Goldsborough for NAPCo since 2001. Earlier he spent three years as a ringer with NAPCo on extensive Barkly breeding property, Alexandria and Monkira and Coorabulka in the Channel Country. He is highly regarded in the Roma district grazing community for his land and cattle management expertise.

In his new role, Mr Taylor will oversee cattle operations across NAPCo’s 13 stations in Queensland and the northern Territory, running some 200,000 head of cattle.

New head of sales and marketing for Kilcoy

As part of Kilcoy Pastoral Co’s recent ‘evolution’ into Kilcoy Global Foods (see earlier Beef Central story), the company has made a strategic appointment, recruiting Fearn Cholerton as its new chief sales and marketing officer.

Mr Cholerton, pictured, will have responsibility for Kilcoy Global export and domestic beef sales out of Australia, as well as overseeing the company’s new KPC North America and KPC China chilled and frozen sales operations.

He took up the position towards the end of 2017, arriving from Agrifoods Global (formerly known as MAC Asia Pacific), where he worked for seven years, with responsibility for the procurement of raw material for McDonald’s global beef supply chain out of Australia and New Zealand. During that time, he worked with Chicago-based Australian expat, Andrew Brazier, now director of worldwide supply chain management with McDonald’s. Mr Brazier will speak at Beef 2018 in Rockhampton next month.

Prior to joining MAC Asia Pacific, Mr Cholerton worked in corporate agribusiness with National Australia Bank. Before completing an agribusiness degree at UNE Armidale, he spent time working on NAPCo’s Alexandria Station on the Barkly, under the solid tutelage of Ross Peatling.

Beef Central takes a closer look at Kilcoy’s evolving brands program in an upcoming story.

Respected legal eagle calls time

Respected Brisbane agribusiness solicitor Rodney Bell plans to retire in June, after more than 34 years in the legal profession.

A senior lawyer with McCullough Robertson, which has strong connections with the beef industry, Mr Bell specialised in agribusiness legal work – especially property matters. He practised at McCullough Robertson for his entire legal career, building up many associations and friendships across the bush over the decades. Chairman of partners Dom McGann said Rodney had been a stalwart of the company and his name and reputation was well-known throughout Queensland.

“We’re very sorry to see RDB or Dinger (as he is affectionately known to many) leave the firm, but his legacy will long remain. Happily, an element of that legacy is the agribusiness team that he has fostered, each of whom will maintain the tradition for excellence that Rodney has established.”

Mr Bell will retire in Brisbane, no doubt continuing his long association with the Queensland Rural Press Club.

Transporters salute their peers

There was no shortage of well-deserved awards and accolades handed out during the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association national conference held at Coffs Harbour recently.

Gordon Martin and Robert Cavanagh receive their ALRTA life memberships

The ALRTA congratulated several outstanding contributors, including new life-members Gordon Martin, Martins’ Transport and Robert Cavanagh, Cavanagh’s Transport. The ALRTA McIver Award went to Owen Driscoll, and the LBRCA Young Driver of the Year was Mark Carmichael.

The 2018 LBRCA/ALRTA Combined Conference held in Coffs Harbour was a resounding success with ‘full house’ attendance levels across all events. The policy sessions touched on issues as diverse as chain of responsibility, EWDs, charging, access, road infrastructure, training, vehicle dimensions, loading schemes and IAP.

The association also kicked off the development of an industry code of practice for effluent management during a special workshop session that involved the entire audience, and undertook a survey on attitudes towards user-pay infrastructure.

New Chair for AMIC Retail Council

Robert Constable has been appointed chair of AMIC’s Retail Industry Council, representing the interests of independent retail butchers across Australia.

He plans to use his term to build the profile of independent butchers and reinvigorate the sector. Mr Constable owns three retail butcheries in the NSW Hunter Valley and Mid-North Coast and is highly regarded in the sector. He has served in various positions within AMIC since 2005, most recently as head of the NSW chapter of the Retail Industry Council and as treasurer/secretary of the national board.

He succeeds retiring chair Ray Kelso, from Barrow Lane Butchers in Queensland.

“Being involved in AMIC means you understand issues from the ground floor, and it also gives you a voice. It helps you manage your business better than if you weren’t a part of it,” Mr Constable said.

His plans for the development of the sector include addressing workforce shortages, developing training programs for members and reducing business costs by addressing the regulatory red tape burden.

“My big focus is retaining independent butcher shops across Australia – keeping them as a viable and vibrant part of the community. The industry has been hit hard, especially over the last decade as shopping habits have changed. Independent butchers are changing too, and I think there’s a lot of good reasons to stick our chests out and have pride in our role in the community.”

Leucaena Network appoints EO

The Leucaena Network has appointed a new part-time executive officer.

Bron Christensen brings with her extensive project management skills, coupled with her own experiences as a leucaena grower to the position. She has hit the ground running, working on the release of the network’s new website, and furthering research and trial projects. Born and bred in Theodore, Bron returned ‘home’ in 2001 with her husband when they purchased their own grazing property, including establishment of some leucaena.

She brings many years of project management experience to the position, coupled with some public service, rural health, cotton, water policy, agricultural, financial, management and governance roles.

 

 

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Comments

  1. Len Perry, 21/04/2018

    Well deserved appointment congratulations Tony

  2. John Friend., 19/04/2018

    Congratulations Tony Fitzgerald on your Appointment. You have set the Bar for Feed lotting in Australia.

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