HONEYCOMBES - Key Persons


Bud Taylor

Job Titles:
  • Group Parts Manager
Bud started with the company in 1978 as a parts store person and since then he has held several different roles. Bud's passion has always been the parts side of the business, which encompasses looking after people and helping them with their machinery requirements. He has been the Group Parts Manager looking after five branches for quite some years now and he loves his job, looking after the agricultural and automotive sectors. In his free time, Bud loves fishing and boating. He is also a member of the local Volunteer Marine Rescue (Burdekin group). Bud's other passion is soccer. He started playing when he was six and still plays in the current Night League.

Des Carroll

Job Titles:
  • GM - Ag Solutions & Operations
Des has been with Honeycombes for over 16 years, and he has over 30 years' experience working with John Deere. Starting his career as a Field Service Technician, he moved to Branch Service Manager, then joined Honeycombes as our Group Service Manager in 2005. In his current role he looks after the day-to-day agricultural operations of the company, along with strategic sales and business development initiatives. Des has a strong passion for the agricultural industry, the small rural towns and the people that live and work within these communities. Des particularly enjoys the NQ lifestyle, spending most of his free time in the outdoors, whether it is touring, exploring, camping, fishing, gold detecting or carrying out conservation work controlling feral species with private landowners and government bodies.

John McMillan

Job Titles:
  • Director
With a background in Law and business, John has had a shareholding in Honeycombes since 1999 and both he Peter Carcary have been 50% shareholders each since 2007. They have an extremely good business relationship, in no small part due to a remarkably similar vision for their company, staff, and clients. John takes a keen non-executive interest in Honeycombes and believes the current management and staff are without equal in the Australian agricultural sector. John lives on acreage an hour North of Sydney with his wife Catherine, and daughter Sarah. Sarah has recently completed University with Arts and Honours Law degrees. She has represented Australia a number of times in Show Jumping and is now looking to follow her father into professional competition riding and business. Cath and John travel extensively throughout Australia with her to competitions. There is little time for relaxation but when time permits, John enjoys music, snow skiing and boating.

John Obern

Job Titles:
  • Group Sales Manager
John has been with Honeycombes for almost 20 years now, ten as Group sales manager, and he has over 30 years' experience in capital equipment sales. He currently manages a team of ten sales staff, whilst forecasting forward orders for wholegoods stock, liaising with suppliers and providing support to the wider Honeycombes Sales team. John enjoys the challenges of the role and being on the cutting edge of technology with new innovations, and the good old fashioned approach of just ‘getting it done every day'. A family man with three adult children and a few pets, John enjoys a good lawn at home and all the good things in life, such as camping, motorcycling, and boating.

Mark Barrett - CEO

Job Titles:
  • CEO
With almost 30 years' experience, across a range of industries throughout North Queensland, Mark Barrett provides Honeycombes with a broad base of knowledge and a vast understanding of the local business environment. Mark has an extensive history in operational financial management, with a strategic focus on commercial success. Mark commenced his employment with Honeycombes in early 2013 as Chief Financial Officer and transitioned to Chief Executive Officer in late 2019. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from James Cook University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

Peter Carcary

Job Titles:
  • Director
Peter commenced working at Honeycombes in 1975, after completing grade 10, as a store person, sweeping floors and performing general duties. He quickly advanced through the business, initially working in the Spare Parts department and then progressing to Sales. Demonstrating a wide range of skills, Peter shifted into management and cultivated a prominent profile in North Queensland and throughout the Agricultural industry. In 1989 Peter was invited to take a small stake in the company and subsequently commenced his first foray into ownership of Honeycombes. He slowly increased his ownership share and in 2007 became a 50% shareholder with John McMillan, a structure that remains in place today. Peter and John have continued to grow the business over the years, adding strategic operations when they become available. Peter remains extensively active in all areas of the company, and controls all aspects of Honeycombes' critical used machinery business. When not working, Peter tends to his stable of horses and competes in Equestrian events, both domestically and internationally.