Agribusiness Association Board Members
The Hon. Caroline Schaefer - President
Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Certificate of Rural Office Practice.
Caroline grew up, lived and worked on Eyre Peninsula in marginal wheat farming country, until 1998, when she and her husband Roy shifted to a property at Clare where they planted Shiraz grapes.
Her primary schooling was by distance education, so she has a real affinity with and understanding of remote areas. She has a particular interest in agri-politics
Caroline entered State Parliament in August 1993, and has been actively involved on a great number of committees and councils.
She was the first (and to date, only) woman in Australia to be appointed Primary Industries Minister.
Caroline has been responsible for a number of initiatives promoting agricultural women in SA, including the delegation to Washington and the rural woman’s award. She instigated the SA Rural Network and helped acquire funding for the ‘Paperbark’ magazine.
John Crosby - Past President
Member since 1993, President 1996-7 and 2005-8
John Crosby is currently Managing Director of JR Crosby and MJ Fisher which is involved in a substantial cattle, grain and irrigation property at Lucindale in South Australia. This business is the leading maize producer and marketer in SA. He is also Managing Director of C&F International Pty Ltd, an import/export business between Australia and SE Asia, principally Vietnam. John is also a Chairman of Ag-Management Pty Ltd.
Prior to his current occupation John was General Manager, Asset Development with Elders. Responsibilities were centred on the hay and feedlot businesses and development of linkages with Asia. This follows periods as a director of Elders and Chairman of the NSW Meat Authority. During this period John was responsible for the introduction of uniform meat standards in Australia.
In the period prior to 1994 John held various positions within NSW Farmers and the National Farmers Federation, culminating in Senior Vice President of both organisations. It was during this period that he led the NFF team which floated Elders away from Fosters and allowed the revival of this agribusiness icon. It was during this period whilst based at Moree that he gained experience with cotton and irrigation development.
Lynn Henry - Vice President
Lynn is currently a Lecturer in agricultural and resource economics at The University of Sydney, and coordinator of the Faculty of Agriculture’s professional experience program. Prior to this Lynn worked at the NSW Department of Agriculture in a variety of positions in the economics division and in the Ministerial Advisory Unit.
Lynn’s research interests have focused on the marketing, policy and quantitative analysis of the agricultural and natural resource sectors. She has also worked on population issues, management of pest and disease management in Australia, and is currently working on a number of ACIAR funded projects in Indonesia, Tonga and Cambodia involving the horticultural and livestock industries.
Lynn has been a Council Member of the Australian Agribusiness Association (1997 to present).
Frank Young - Treasurer
Bachelor of Applied Finance.
Current role as Adelaide Branch Manager for Rabobank.
Bachelor of Applied Finance from the University of South Australia.
Lifetime background in hands on Agriculture and Agribusiness.
Have served as AAA national council member since 2004.
I am committed to agribusiness and believe it is important for there to be an organisation that deals across all sectors of the agribusiness value chain. Providing unbiased and credible knowledge, communication and linkages for all facets of agribusiness.
Brian Healey - Director
Brian Healey is a partner in Agribusiness at MacDonnells Law.He is a specialist agribusiness lawyer with expertise in rural and commercial property and real estate transactions.
He has acted for some of Australia’s largest corporate agribusinesses and family based primary producers in the beef, grain, cotton, forestry and other agricultural industries as well as for leading commercial property developers and investors.
Brian is qualified to practice in Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory and has acted in many large property transactions particularly in Queensland and New South Wales.His interest in acting for primary producers and agribusinesses stems from his experience as a lawyer working and travelling throughout these parts of Australia.
Russell Caird - Director
Russell has in excess of 20 years of working within agribusiness in Australia and New Zealand. Having established the boutique business consulting practice of Commercial & Strategic Solutions in 1997 continues to provide a wide range of advisory services predominantly to the agribusiness and energy sectors.
Russell has advised and held various positions on Agribusiness related Company, Advisory Committees and Industry Boards providing him with relevant skills and experience to contribute positively to the Australian Agribusiness Association.
He has served as a National Council member since 2004.
Geoff Lucas - Director
Diploma Farm Management Marcus Oldham College
Member since 2000 part of the initial team to re establish the Australian Agribusiness Association
Outside interests:
Managing Director of The Lucas Group Pty Ltd
Member of the Industry Standing Committee for the Primary Industry Skills Council of SA
Member of the Agriculture Programme Advisory Group for Adelaide University
Australian Institute of Company Directors
Australian Human Resources Institute
Lucy Purcell - Director
Bachelor of Business Agricultural Commerce, University of Sydney, Orange 2003 University of Sydney, Orange, Campus.
University of Sydney Student Association President 2002-03.
Background is in agribusiness employment, horticulture, animal production, vineyards, wine marketing and the food service industry.
She was awarded a university scholarship to visit China on an agricultural and agribusiness exchange in 2002 and has since been an active member in many state and national discussions regarding the direction of agribusiness and agriculture in Australia.
She has served as an AAA board member since 2006 based in NSW
Mark Rodda - Director
Bachelor of Agricultural Business, Masters of Innovation and Service Management
Mark worked for Elders Ltd for the past 12 years. During this time he has held various managerial roles within the Wool division and was General Manager of Elders Wool.
Mark is board member of Australian Wool Handlers, Elders Primary Wool NZ, Elders Risk Management, the State Government’s Wool Training Advisory Group and past Vice-President of the National Council of Wool Selling Brokers. He has served as a Director of the AAA since 2006.
Rod Miller - Director
Master of Business Administration Technology Management, Graduate Diploma of Management, Diploma of Directorship Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fellow Governors Leadership Foundation ( SA), Professional Wool classer certificate.
Currently General Manager Group Operations for Rural Solutions SA Australia’s largest Agribusiness and NRM Consultancy business working nationally and internationally across Government and private sectors.
Chairman of State Flora, a retail and production nursery organization. Has 26 years prior experience with a large Agribusiness Corporation in several State and National executive positions, as well as International project delivery in SE Asia.
Travis Morgan - Director
Member since 2007 Bachelor of Agricultural Science, University of Adelaide 2000
Born & raised on a mixed farm near Yongala, in South Australia’s Upper Mid north and involved with a family seed grading business, Travis has been working directly in the agribusiness sector for over 8 years.
This involvement began as an agronomist within IAMA agribusiness, then with National Australia Bank in a number of roles including as Manager Harvest Finance, Manager Agribusiness Marketing and also a Lending Manager, based in the Barossa Valley.
In 2006, Travis joined Landmark in Melbourne, as a Financial Services Product & Marketing Manager, with a focus on Debenture Investment and Transactional facilities.
Lloyd Neilson – Director
NAB – Senior Agribusiness Manager - Agribusiness
Lloyd Neilson is currently the Senior Agribusiness Manager for nabAgribusiness based in Melbourne Victoria. Lloyd has worked in various professional roles with the Agribusiness sector over the past 10 years both within nabAgribusiness as well as State Finance Manager VIC, SA & TAS for CNH Capital and Grower Manager for Flavorite Hydroponic Tomatoes.
Having completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at Melbourne University and post graduate studies in Applied Finance and Investment through FINSIA he has developed a passion and career in Agribusiness now specialising in financial services. Lloyd is based in Melbourne with his wife Bridget and a has new baby boy to keep him busy at home.
As a member of the Australian Agribusiness Association and having attended several Victorian events, Lloyd is looking forward to contributing to the further growth and development of the Association and the benefits it delivers to its members within the Agribusiness field and particularly in Victoria where the Association is presently represented by Travis Morgan.
Dr Theresa Craig – Director
Owner/Consultant, Tara – Technical Assistance and Research Analysis Pty Ltd
Theresa brings the perspective of Queensland primary industries that contributes $12.5 billion to the Queensland economy which, not including forestry and fisheries, is approximately 30.5 % of the national primary industries contribution. This contribution is driven by over 30,000 agribusinesses in Queensland.
Theresa obtained a PhD in nutrition, and has international experience in operations, research, and management in both animal and human nutrition; and this background allows me to have a unique perspective over a broad area of agribusiness. In addition, my network allows me to assess a large diverse group of people in both business and academia that contribute to agriculture; my network would be a valuable asset to draw on for special events for the Agribusiness Association of Australia.
She has completed Company Directors Course through the Australian Institute of Company Directors in November 2008.
She is passionate that agriculture and the food industries need to attract the best and brightest, and that agribusiness needs to have a good profile in the public domain.
