AGBIZ ASSIST - Key Persons
Anthony lives at Greta West in N/E Victoria where he is part of the family beef farming operation.
Anthony has a strong background in the public and not for profit sectors both through his professional role as well as a variety of board roles, with a strong focus on governance and assurance.
Carl has a wide range of specialist knowledge from years of practical farming as a wool classer, shearer and farmer. He has applied this knowledge to serve AgBiz Assist clients. Carl specialises in sheep, beef, broadacre and horticultural farming services and is based in our Benalla office.
Chris has worked in the agricultural sector for over twenty five years. He is a passionate advocate for the rural communities of North East Victoria and member of a number of industry and community bodies in the area. Chris commenced with AgBiz Assist in 2008, initially as a Rural Financial Counsellor before taking on the role of Program Manager. Chris holds various qualifications in accounting, business administration and training and assessment. Chris is based in the Shepparton office.
A Chartered Accountant and partner in Belmores Accounting Yarrawonga, Chris provides a range of accounting and business advisory services to farming and regional businesses in North East Victoria and South West NSW. He was the inaugural treasurer of North East Agcare Rural Financial Counselling Service. Chris has a broad acre farming background and is involved in many community organisations.
Dan is an experienced general manager with over 20 years' experience, both on the tools and at the helm within the IT industry.
Dan's passion to work more closely with the community has seen him join the team to help develop our core strategies as well as improve our service offerings.
Coming from a broadacre cereal and prime lamb family property on the Adelaide Plains, Darren's real-life experiences support his conviction that the best decisions are based on effective communications coupled with a thorough understanding of all aspects of business.
With the recent relocation to Victoria with his wife, Cherrie, Darren is keen to continue his career focused on assisting farming families with their financial management and succession planning needs. His career in rural banking and an ag science degree provide Darren with all the right tools to make a real difference in his role as a Rural Financial Counsellor.
High level involvement in farming, business and community roles have rewarded David with not only a long service history but also deep connections and a sound understanding of rural life.
Overseeing strategic and financial performance as well as managing the very important interaction between employees and stakeholders for more than 30 years are other valuable assets he brings to his board position.
Fiona farms with her family in the Rennie area north of Mulwala. They are broadacre, dryland grain growers also operating a prime lamb enterprise.
Fiona is a life-long learner with a background in applied science and education. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the NFF Diversity in Ag Leadership Program, the Grains Social Leadership Program and most recently the Farmers for Climate Action Climate Smart Agriculture Scholarship. Fiona is the Chair of Riverine Plains Farming Systems Group, has served on the GRDC Southern Panel and is very involved in her local community. She is passionate about building skills and capacity within rural communities.
Greg started his career as a CPA and now has over 35 years' experience in executive finance and CEO roles, non-executive directorships on an ASX listed, NFP, agribusiness and private company boards. He is a partner of a national boutique business consulting firm specialising in business restructuring, executive mentoring, and driving growth in small and medium sized businesses. In 2020, he moved from Melbourne to a small cattle farm in Kiewa with his wife.
Heather displays a strong customer focus and a raft of complementary skills she gained with her previous employment in sales, clerical, and finance roles. Her rural background makes her a valued member of the AgBiz team. Heather is based in the Wodonga office as Client Support Officer.
As an accomplished professional with hands on experience specialising in marketing, sales and the development of existing and start-up operations, Jackie's interest in business and community are built on a personal understanding.
Her easy to understand, friendly and supportive approach is an easy fit for our organisation and reflects her enviable reputation for empowering others by cutting through the ‘tech-talk' to close the digital gap and help them implement highly effective digital media and marketing strategies.
Jan Barned is a qualified accountant who has been specialising in assisting small business for over 20 years. She is passionate about empowering business owners and managers to become self-sufficient in improving their overall business and financial performance. She is an award-winning author, having published over 50 small business resources, and is an experienced speaker and facilitator.
Jim is an agricultural scientist/economist with over 20 years of experience in agricultural research and extension. His speciality is assisting clients to run profitable and sustainable businesses. His knowledge and skills cover a wide range of agricultural industries including dairying, broadacre grazing and cropping, irrigated grain, horticulture and viticulture. Jim is in our Benalla office.
As a fourth generation primary producer and the current Chair of a regional development program for farmers in the Murray region, Karen has a deep understanding of the dairy industry both at production and industry levels.
She also has a keen interest and strong track record of involvement in research, development and extension in regional policy and economic development and is an active leader in a range of commercial and community organisations.
With a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Agronomy), Lyn has 18 years' experience in irrigated cropping and pasture operations. Lyn has extensive knowledge of budgeting and bookkeeping, having ran her own irrigation farm business and provided bookkeeping services for corporate and large family farm businesses. Lyn is passionate about assisting people to understand their financial position and supporting them to make well informed business decisions. Lyn is in our Wodonga office.
Lynda's farm background nurtured her strong interest in agribusiness and sustainable farming. Her considerable experience supporting executives and teams in the public and private sectors in agriculture, education and local government, stands her in good stead to co-ordinate the compliance and office activities of the organisation and support the Board of Directors.
Maryanne has dedicated her career to agriculture and holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science. Maryanne's area of expertise is dairy and she provides a broad knowledge of livestock, broadacre and horticultural enterprises. She is currently based in our Numurkah office.
Nerida brings a wealth of experience and a life-time commitment to agriculture, economic, community development and social service provision to her role with RFCS Vic-NE, which she commenced in July 2012.
Nerida previously held key regional roles with Regional Development Victoria in management, business and economic development and community capacity building.
She has worked in economic development with the local government areas of Wodonga and Towong, managed home and community care services and managed Neighbourhood House and adult and community education program delivery. During that time, she established and maintained extensive community, agency and business relationships and networks. Nerida also shares her skills through voluntary work in local and regional communities.
In March 2013, she was inducted into the Victorian Women's Honour Role for services to the community, of which rural financial counselling was a major component. Nerida's involvement with rural financial counselling services started in 1992 when she joined the inaugural committee of management of North East AgCare.
Nerida was also a founding member of Rural Financial Counselling Service Victoria - North East and remained a Director until she resigned, before taking up the Executive Officer position. Nerida studied Business Management, Social Work and Dairy Farm Management.
Nerida is based in our Wodonga office and regularly travels throughout the region.
His expansive background in helping the agricultural and dairying sectors confront the challenges and ever present need to adapt and change has equipped Richard with a deep understanding of human nature and corporate culture. This has been key to his success in developing and implementing business strategy and change management practices within his leadership and human resources roles.
With 25 years of dairy farming experience, Serge brings extensive knowledge and a personal understanding of the difficulties faced by farmers. Serge commenced with RFCS Vic-NE in August 2016 and has previously worked with rural communities in North Central Victoria providing business management services and training. Serge is in our Shepparton office.
Stephen spent 30 years as a dairy farmer including 9 years as secretary of the local Landcare group and 17 years on the Board of an agricultural co-operative. He now lives in Tatura and runs a retail business while continuing a long history of community involvement as Chair of GV Agcare and representing the Goulburn Valley on the Board of AgBiz Assist.
Job Titles:
- Farmer Wellbeing Officer and Finance Officer
Suzie is a dedicated Farmer Wellbeing Officer and Finance Officer with strong ties to numerous rural and regional communities. Her successful and fulfilling roles in the Medical, Banking, and Finance sectors have equipped her with the skills and experience needed to support farmers and their families in the region. Suzie's passion for helping others and deep connection to the land led her to pursue a full-time career in dairy farming. She has participated in and completed various renowned leadership programs, which has only expanded her passion for rural community wellbeing. Suzie is committed to using her expertise and experience to support farmers and their families throughout the region.
Warwick has been delivering professional services for the past 30 years across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania. He has a farming and small business background in addition to holding qualifications in business, finance, property and agricultural economics. Warwick is in our Benalla office.