• AMIC goes in-house with CEO appointment
• AMPC CEO moves on
• Regional management changes happening at Zoetis, as business expands
• Respected geneticist joins Angus Australia in new COO role
• Four promising youngsters start to AACo graduate program
• Rabobank’s 2025 graduate program intake
• Meat Business Women strengthens engagement
• CPC celebrates excellence with annual awards

AMIC goes in-house with CEO appointment

The Australian Meat Industry Council has stayed in-house with its appointment of a new chief executive officer, confirming yesterday that interim CEO Tim Ryan will continue in the role permanently.

Mr Ryan joined AMIC in 2022 as general manager for industry affairs. Prior to that he worked at Meat & Livestock Australia for eight years, initially as a livestock/global markets analyst, then markets insights manager, and finally global trade development manager.

He replaces former CEO Patrick Hutchinson, who left the processor, independent retailer, smallgoods, wholesaler and exporter representative body suddenly last November.

Mr Ryan has been instrumental in addressing some of the most critical issues facing the meat industry across all sectors, including changes to animal welfare standards, advocating for retail member interests in competition inquiries, and pushing back on scope creep of dietary guidelines.

AMIC chair Tom Maguire said Mr Ryan brought a deep understanding of the red meat industry and a clear vision for its future.

“More importantly, he has the ability to unite the entire post-farmgate meat sector – an industry with $41 billion in turnover and directly employing 64,000 personnel – under the AMIC banner. His leadership will be instrumental as we continue to advocate for our members and strengthen the industry’s position both locally and globally,” Mr Maguire said.

“Tim takes on this role at a pivotal time for our industry. With mounting challenges and opportunities ahead, his leadership will ensure AMIC continues to deliver value for members, while securing a strong, sustainable future for Australia’s red meat industry,” Mr Maguire said.

“His appointment follows an extensive recruitment process to identify a leader who can steer AMIC through an evolving regulatory landscape, changing consumer expectations, technological advancements, and environmental considerations.”

Mr Ryan said he looked forward to working closely with all members, stakeholders and government partners to drive sustainable growth and ensure a thriving future for the industry.

AMIC hosts its major 2025 Meat Processing & Export Conference on the Gold Coast on March 12-13. Click here for details. 

AMPC CEO moves on

In other processing sector moves this week, Australian Meat Processor Corporation CEO Chris Taylor finishes up in his role today.

AMPC is the specialist R&D provider for the Australian meat processing industry, working alongside AMIC (see references above) whose role is to advocate for effective and strategic policy, support the industry on important issues and provide members with tools to build and grow their businesses.

Mr Taylor has spent the past nine years with AMPC, initially as chief financial officer, and since 2019 as CEO, when he succeeded Peter Rizzo.

During his term at AMPC, the organisation launched its first ever industry marketing campaign focussed on jobs creation (More to Meat, https://www.moretomeat.com.au/), modernised its funding model, introduced leading governance arrangements, and boosted productivity through developing transformative processing technologies.

“After nine years with AMPC, including almost six as CEO, this has been a significant and rewarding chapter of my career,” Mr Taylor told colleagues this week. “It has been such a privilege to serve an industry that I have grown to admire so dearly, and that is one of the unsung heroes of regional and rural Australia – the red meat processing industry.

The company is in a strong position, with a talented and dedicated team, a clear strategic direction, and a commitment to delivering value for the red meat processing industry,” Mr Taylor said.

Following Mr Taylor’s departure, AMPC has appointed Edwina Toohey as Interim CEO, effective 3 March.

Ms Toohey is currently servicing as AMPC’s General Manager of Research, Development and Adoption, bringing extensive experience in R&D and deep industry knowledge, particularly within the red meat processing sector. Since joining AMPC in June 2023, she has successfully led the organisation’s R&D function, ensuring impactful outcomes for industry stakeholders.

• AMPC will launch a recruitment process to fill the CEO role shortly. Once public, it will be listed on Beef Central’s popular Jobs Central platform. 

Regional management changes happening at Zoetis, as business expands

Major animal health solutions provider Zoetis has restructured its regional management team, leading to a number of redeployments.

Part of the movement process has been driven by the impending retirement of Kev Wilson, who has worked with Zoetis for 30 years, including the past 18 as Queensland regional sales manager. Mr Wilson has built up strong relationships with cattle producers across his region since 2007, and will be greatly missed. Friends and colleagues provided this recent tribute on Facebook.

As part of the adjustments made this week, Zoetis Animal Health’s current three pastoral management regions will be divided into four.

Former Pastoral Key Account Manager Andrew Hallas becomes the new Regional Livestock Sales Manager for Queensland/Northern Territory. He starts in his new role on 1 March.

Zoetis will shortly start a recruitment process to appoint a new Pastoral Key account manager, working with the large feedlots and pastoral companies. The role will appear among listings on Beef Central’s popular Jobs Central platform.

As part of the business’s expansion in Australia, Zoetis has divided its current three livestock regions into four.

Taking on the NSW Regional Livestock Sales Management role will be Kyle McDonald, while the Victorian/Tasmanian region manager’s role has been filled by Bruce Officer. Both are promotions from regional sales roles. Mike Danby, who has been in the position for years, will continue as Zoetis’ Western Australia/South Australia regional manager.

Respected geneticist joins Angus Australia in new COO role

Respected animal geneticist Carel Teseling will return to his roots at Angus Australia next month, filling the newly-created role of chief operating officer.

A South African by birth, Mr Teseling is a geneticist by training, and has worked in the seedstock end of the Australian cattle industry since emigrating in 2001. He originally spent 14 years with Angus Australia as breed development and innovation manager, before joining the Australian Wagyu Association in 2015 as technical services manager in charge of the breed’s genetic and genomic development. He is highly regarded across the industry for his genetics expertise.

In the newly-created role as Angus Australia COO, Mr Teseling will manage both genetics and research streams of the Angus seedstock organisation.

“Carel will add a whole new dimension to Angus Australia, our services and capability,” Angus Australia CEO Scott Wright told Beef Central. “His great depth of experience will be utilised not only in the genetics field, but in other parts of the business in commercial areas as well,” he said.

“Our members know Carel well, and it will be an easy re-integration into the Angus Australia business.”

Mr Teseling will be embedded in his new role well before the start of the World Angus Forum in Brisbane on 3-8 May, where AA members can get re-acquainted. He is on the speaking program, addressing the topic of “Where to for Angus genetic progress?” looking at the next chapter of breeding values.

Four smart young stakeholders start their AA Co Graduate Program

Four smart young uni graduates have this week started their two-year immersions within the operations of the Australian Agricultural Co, as part of the company’s longstanding annual Graduate Program intake.

This year’s participants (see image below) are Grace Weston from Pentland in North Queensland, Austin Smith from the Western Australian wheatbelt, Georgia Waters from the Toowoomba district and Thomas Lyons from Charters Towers.

The four will head into AA Co’s ‘O-week’ next week, and then begin their first rotations across the company’s far-flung stations and feedlots in Queensland and the Northern Territory, as well as spending time in head office in Brisbane.

In other recent AA Co staff movements,  James Carter has been promoted internally as the company’s new processing manager. James is a Nuffield Scholar this year.

• Beef Central plans on publishing a directory of what’s on offer across the Australian beef industry in the field of Graduate Programs for 2026, across pastoral companies, lotfeeding businesses, processors, agency and the finance sector. Keep an eye out for a call for submissions around June.

Rabobank’s 2025 graduate program intake

Similar to AA Co, Rabobank has recently inducted its 2025 Graduate Program participants.

Rabo has welcomed 13 recent university graduates to the bank’s 2025 Program. Since commencing its formal graduate program in 2023, the bank has launched the careers of a range of university graduates across the country, in locations spanning from Sydney to Geraldton in regional Western Australia.

Rabobank chief HR Officer Belinda Webber said the latest cohort of graduates will join a program that provides the chance to embark on fulfilling careers with a leading global agricultural finance business.

“The graduate program participants will acquire skills, knowledge and experience while working at one of Australia’s leading agri banks,” she said.

Ms Webber said as part of the program, the incoming cohort of 2025 graduates would undertake placements in a range of Rabobank’s business areas in regional and metropolitan locations, including rural banking, sustainability, risk management, technology, operations, legal, business transformation and finance.

“Each graduate will rotate across a range of areas within their chosen function as part of the program,” she said. “And they will be able to spend time at a rural or regional branch – providing a customer-facing experience that allows individuals to develop a greater appreciation and a deeper understanding of Rabobank’s unique method of client support.”

One of the 2025 program cohort, Australian National University graduate Henry Rowley has recently started his first rotation with the bank and is working with the rural banking team in Toowoomba for the next four months. Originally from a sheep and cattle farm near Goulburn in NSW, Mr Rowley said he was excited to be working in Queensland.

“The grad program provides a great opportunity to work from a range of locations that I may otherwise not had the chance to. And having the opportunity to learn about the industries and commodities produced in those different regions and develop an understanding of their complexities is something really appealing about Rabobank’s graduate program,” he said.

During the program, Mr Rowley (bottom left in graduate photo below) will also spend time working in Rabobank’s head office in Sydney and plans to do rotations in the Adelaide and Cloncurry or Geraldton branches.

Meat Business Women strengthens engagement

The popular Meat Business Women body has strengthened its presence with the appointment of Alexandra Harvey as the organisation’s Community Engagement Manager for Australia.

MBW is a collective of females working in the red meat industry, with chapters in Australia and a number of overseas countries. The organisation holds its annual conference in Brisbane on 5 March.   

MBW chair Stacey McKenna welcomed Ms Harvey to the role, saying she brought a wealth of knowledge and experience from the red meat industry, coupled with a passion for building strong industry relationships. Known for her commercial focus and client-centred approach, she has a track record of delivering exceptional results and fostering long-term partnerships.

With a background in media and advertising, Ms Harvey led campaigns for global brands before transitioning into business development and operations at Meateng, an engineering consultancy specialising in meat processing facility design and project management. Over the past decade, she has gained extensive experience working closely with industry stakeholders, giving her a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the meat sector.

In her new role as MBW Community Engagement Manager, she will play a key part in nurturing connections with colleagues, members, and industry partners. Her focus will be on creating opportunities that support and elevate women across the meat supply chain, aligning with our mission to empower the next generation of female industry leaders.

CPC celebrates excellence with annual awards

Consolidated Pastoral Co made its annual in-company awards during a conference gathering of management and staff in Brisbane last week.

The annual awards dinner followed several days of collaboration at the Manager’s Conference, brought together station managers, office team members and their partners to honour outstanding achievements within the company.

The evening highlighted the dedication, resilience, and teamwork of the CPC teams, aligning with the company’s core values of Safety and Welfare, Leadership, Community, Trust, and Value Creation. Some of the highlight awards were:

Recognising Excellence in Safety, Teamwork, and Performance: Safety remains a fundamental value of CPC’s operations, and this year, Allawah Station was awarded the Team Safety Award in recognition of its outstanding commitment to safety. Station Manager David Young accepted the accolade on behalf of his team, celebrating their proactive approach to ensuring a secure environment for people and animals.

The Teamwork Award was presented to Dungowan Station, with Station Managers Jeremy Scott and Kate Murphy accepting the honour. This award recognises their culture of positivity, leadership at all levels, and a strong sense of pride in both CPC and their station.

For outstanding business performance, Wrotham Park Station took home the coveted Business of the Year Award, with Simon Cobb receiving the award. His efforts in delivering top financial results, improved turnoff weights, and operational efficiencies were widely applauded.

A special recognition award was given to CPC’s and Dicky Adiwoso’s joint venture Indonesian feedlot and farming business Juang Jaya Abdi Alam (JJAA) for Outstanding Performance, celebrating their significant contributions to CPC’s success over many years (accepted by CPC Chair, Margaux Beauchamp).

Retirement of Respected Team Member

The event also marked the retirement of Jack Lake, who has served as CPC’s Government Liaison Adviser for the past 13 years. A highly respected figure in agricultural policy, Jack previously held senior advisory roles in numerous governments on both sides of politics including the Hawke, Keating, Gillard, and Rudd Governments. His deep industry knowledge and expertise have been invaluable to CPC.

A Year of Challenges and Achievements

Consolidated Pastoral’s CEO and director Troy Setter acknowledged the challenges faced in 2024, including fires, floods, tightening terms of trade, and commended the resilience and dedication of the team in overcoming these challenges.

The CPC staff had done an outstanding job in the last year maximising sales and operational performance, he said, converting close to another 10,000 ha of land from cattle to cropping, developing new real and tangible natural capital projects and supporting our local communities.

He said it was great to have CPC’s Australian leadership team together to collaborate on how the business could work better together as a team, and continue to improve operations, properties and each other.

During the awards, Mr Setter announced that the CPC Team Members’ Choice award for the team member who best lived CPC’s values each year would be renamed the ‘Dave Shearer Award’. The CPC team were shocked to lose Dave Shearer in late 2024, having been a long-term manager with CPC who lived the company’s values every day.