The Board of Grains Australia sets strategic direction and monitors ongoing performance. It is governed by a Charter which sets out policies and procedures for the Board and Board Committees including the Audit and Risk Committee.
Proposed 2024 Annual General Meeting Date: 3 October
Advisory Committee
Grains Australia is supported by an Advisory Committee which meets quarterly and provides advice to the Board. The Advisory Committee is governed by a Charter which sets out roles, responsibilities and procedures.
The Grains Australia Advisory Committee consists of representatives from:
Board Members
Andrew Young - Chair
Based in Western Australia, Andrew Young has over 25 years’ experience in senior executive and director roles in leading agribusiness based in Australia and South East Asia.
He is involved in several large agribusinesses in both Executive and Non-Executive roles. He is currently a non-executive Chair of grain export business Plum Grove. Andrew is the Chair of Westpork Pty Ltd, Western Australia’s largest pork producer and its joint venture processing and food service company Dardanup Butchering Company.
Andrew is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD business.
Catherine Cooper
Based in South Australia, Catherine Cooper is an experienced Non-Executive Director with a portfolio of approximately 50 Board positions over 20 years. Positions have included Director/Chair of public boards, Not-for-Profits (NFPs), industry bodies, Rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) and regulators. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).
Catherine’s current directorships include agribusiness and R&D organisations, including current roles with Wine Australia and Australian Eggs, RACE for 2030 CRC, and Sovereign Manufacturing Automation for Composites CRC (SoMAC CRC).
She is also the Chair of the Environmental Protection Agency SA, Deputy Chair/Commissioner of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and recently Chair of the SA Seafood Industry Advisory Forum to develop the 10-year strategic plan.
In addition to her background as a corporate/commercial lawyer, Catherine has had a senior management career in agribusiness (Elders and Foster’s Brewing Group) both domestically and internationally. Those roles included trade and market access, customer engagement, product development, and establishment of export businesses internationally.
Catherine brings a wealth of experience in strategy, research and development, evaluation and achieving commercial outcomes. Her strategic governance and risk management skills are well established.
Andrew Earle
Andrew Earle is Managing Partner of farming operation ‘Bullwarrie’ at Thallon on the Queensland and New South Wales border.
He is also a partner and manager in share farming partnerships, growing dryland winter crops and irrigated summer crops, and is partner in a local grain storage business and a fuel supply business.
Andrew is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAID) Company Directors Course and has a diploma in Farm Management from Marcus Oldham College, Geelong.
He is an experienced Board member, including serving as Deputy Chair on the Grain Producers Australia Board – to which he was first appointed as a director in 2013.
Rebecca Reardon
Rebecca Reardon operates a broad acre farming operation in Moree, NSW with her husband. She has over 25 years in leadership roles for private and public grain agribusiness companies and in board director roles.
She is currently on the board of NSW Farmers Association, NSW Farmers Industrial Association, Grains Australia and Queensland Sugar. Rebecca has previously served on the boards of Grain Trade Australia, North West NSW Local Land Services and Direct Fertilizers Vic, as well as on the Wheat Industry Advisory Taskforce and the Grain Producers Australia (GPA) Policy Group.
Rebecca is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds an Honours degree in Agricultural Economics.
Stuart Richardson
Based in Victoria, Stuart Richardson has over 30 years’ experience in the grains industry.
A former Director of Grain Trade Australia and former Head of Trading at AWB, Stuart developed and executed expansion strategies for AWB Limited global markets, as well as managing domestic activities.
Stuart also has experience in the horticulture sector through investments in turf genetics and marketing company Turfbreed Pty Ltd which focusses grass genetics for growers in Australia, owning plant variety rights to nine high quality turf varieties marketed and sold across Australia.
He is currently one of the leading physical grain brokers in Australia and is affiliated with the McDonald Pelz Global Commodities group globally.
Women in Leadership Development Program
The Board of Grains Australia is currently supporting a participant in the Women in Leadership Development (WILD) Program, a Federal Government-supported program that helps women attain senior leadership roles and company directorships.
Part three of the WILD Program is a board observership experience providing participants with real-world board experience. The WILD Program participant is attending Grains Australia Board meetings during 2023 and de-briefing sessions to consolidate learning and help prepare them for working closely with boards and senior management.