Board Director Profiles

Paul Roderick has operated his family dairy farm at Harrisville, south-east Queensland for the last 30 years with wife Linda and parents David and Gwen. Paul has been involved in all facets of dairy off-farm with roles in advocacy, research, development and extension. He was previously Chair of Subtropical Dairy, Dairy Australia’s Regional Development Program, and had a role in setting up the Young Dairy Network (YDN) Queensland as the young farmer delegate on the Inaugural Strategic Steering Committee.

Paul was a Director on Premium Milk Ltd (negotiating group with Lactalis) for 11 years and is a member of the Australian Dairy Conference Board. He is an active member of both the local and dairy communities which include roles in the Fassifern Rugby League Football Club for over 28 years (current President), Hayes Oval Inc, the local ANZAC Committee, and is a current EastAUSmilk District Councillor.

Paul is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

• Appointed: November 2020 

• Member: People and Culture Committee

Paul’s family farming background led him to a career path in agribusiness. He joined Cargill in 1991 and spent 10 years across Australia, the United States and Asia working in the meat, oilseeds and grains industries.

Following finance and general management roles with several small to medium agribusinesses, Paul joined Bega Cheese Ltd in 2009 where he gained commercial, operational and supply chain experience in the Australian dairy industry and international dairy markets. He stepped down as CEO of Bega Cheese Ltd in February 2023 after six years in the role.

He has served on a number of company and joint venture boards and is currently a director of Select Harvests Ltd.

• Appointed: January 2023

• Appointed Deputy Chair: December 2023

• Member: Audit and Risk Management Committee

David has over 25 years’ experience in the dairy industry and has led large scale innovation projects, brought new technology to the dairy industry, and forged significant international partnerships in research projects. He has a background in agricultural science and broad experience in senior management, including further studies in NZ and the US.

David has extensive national and global networks in commercial, research and sustainability sectors. David has also had technical and commercial roles in the animal breeding and herd fertility service industries.

• Appointed: July 2018

Alan grew up on a dairy farm in South Gippsland, Victoria. He was educated at the University of New England (B Rur Sc, Hons, 1969) and the University of Glasgow (PhD, 1976) and has held research and teaching positions in Australia, Scotland and the United States. He was Chairman and Extension Leader of the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University from 1997 to 2007, with responsibilities for teaching, research and extension in livestock biology and management.

From 2007 until his retirement in 2012 he was Chief of CSIRO Livestock Industries, Australia, with responsibility for research operations in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, and Western Australia. During this period, he also was seconded to be interim CEO of Food Science Australia and interim Chief of CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences.

Alan continues to be professionally engaged through writing, reviewing, chairing several national scientific committees, and taking the occasional consultancy. 

• Appointed: November2022

• Chair: People and Culture Committee

• Chair: Audit and Risk Management Committee

Paul grew up on the family farm at Elizabeth Town, Central-northern Tasmania. He is married to Bernadette and has two sons, William and Angus, who are currently studying at university. Paul is owner and manager of Ashgrove Farms which has five dairy farms milking 3,500 cows, and a dairy beef grazing operation with over 4,000 cattle, across 3,500 hectares of Northern Tasmania.

Paul was Tasmanian Apprentice of the Year then progressed on to graduate from Marcus Oldham Agricultural College in 1991 with a distinction in farm management.

Paul is currently Chairman of Ashgrove Cheese, the Bennett family value-adding business. He was Chair of DairyTas 2010-2013, and a member of the Dairy Moving Forward Steering Committee 2013-2016. Paul was a graduate of the Rabobank Executive Development Program in 2015 and is an active member of his local community. 

• Appointed: November 2023 

• Member: Audit and Risk Management Committee

Simone and her husband Neil have been farming on the Murrumbidgee River near Wagga Wagga in NSW since July 2000, starting out as sharefarmers and later purchasing the property in 2008. She has experience across a variety of farming systems including their housed facility commissioned in late 2023.

Simone has nearly 25 years industry involvement outside their farm business in local, state, and national roles. She has held various leadership roles in industry research, development and extension as well as advocacy and representation through her roles including Dairy NSW, Australian Dairy Farmers, DataGene and the Australian Dairy Sustainability Framework.

Simone has a Bachelor of Rural Science and is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program as well as the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

• Appointed: November 2021 

• Member: Audit and Risk Management Committee

• Member: People and Culture Committee

Andrew grew up on a family farm in the Goulburn Valley which influenced much of his professional life. Currently Andrew is Managing Director of corporate advisory and investment firm Somerset Capital, Chair of AgLink Australia, AGnVET Services and Langdon Group.

He has previously been Chair of The Pastoral Pork Company and a Director of Gardiner Dairy Foundation, Pork CRC, Beischer Medical Research Foundation and Mt Hotham Alpine Resort. Before founding Somerset Capital, Andrew worked in the US, Canada and Australia with Cargill and as a lawyer with Herbert Smith Freehills.

Andrew has a Bachelor of Law, Bachelor of Science and MBA. and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

• Appointed: November 2022 

• Chair: Audit and Risk Management Committee

Kären is a fourth-generation dairy farmer from the Mitta Valley, North-east Victoria. She is a partner in the dairy operation Arajarra, milking 280 Aussie reds, in a predominantly pasture-based farming system and presently, in a share farm arrangement with the next generation.

Up until December 2023 Kären was the co-owner of Auzred XB, an commercial AI import distribution company focused on three-way crossbreeding and the use of Aussie Red genetics. She has dedicated many years to contributing not only to projects that empower her local community but also to the broader dairy industry, by stepping up to lead on boards and industry groups.

These include regional board roles at Murray Dairy and Agbiz Assist, where Kären is presently Chair of both the Projects Board and the Governance and Risk Committee. She is a member of the Goulburn Murray Water Services Committee North-east Victoria and is a long standing committee member of the  Mitta Valley Landcare Group. Kären is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has a Diploma in Human Resources Management (Dairy). 

• Appointed: November 2023 

• Member: People and Culture Committee

James Neal is a fifth-generation dairy farmer from Oxley Island, near Taree in NSW.

He farms with his wife Katrina and parents Peter and Cheryl Neal, milking up to 800 cows all year round, in a predominantly pasture-based system. He has extensive agricultural research development and extension skills, having worked for NSW Department of Primary Industries and completing a PhD at the University of Sydney investigating differences in water use efficiency, yield, nutritive value and profitability of different dairy forages.

After completing his Agricultural Science degree at the University of Adelaide, he worked for the University at Roseworthy as a scientist, investigating the importance of soil fertility and root pathogens, on the poor productivity of legume pastures.

In addition to his background and experience in the dairy sector, which encompasses all aspects of quality milk production and dairy farm systems, James has strong governance experience having served on numerous industry boards and committees, including as chair of the Dairy NSW Board.

• Appointed: November 2024