Board Members

The GRDC Board is accountable to Australia's grain growers, through the industry peak organisation, the Grains Council of Australia, and to the Commonwealth Parliament, through the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The GRDC Board currently has eight Directors. Six of the Corporation's Directors are nominated by a committee selected by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on advice from the Grains Council of Australia. Appointment of Directors nominated through this mechanism is subject to Ministerial approval. The Chairman is selected and appointed by the Minister. The Managing Director is appointed by the Board of the Corporation.

With the exception of the Managing Director, GRDC Directors are appointed for terms of up to three years. The Managing Director is the sole Executive Director and holds office at the Corporation's pleasure.

Prior to 28 May 2007 there was also a Government Director, appointed by the Minister. The Government Director position was abolished by changes to the PIERD Act which took effect on 28 May 2007.

The Board has combined expertise in business management; corporate governance; commodity production; processing and marketing; finance; risk management; management and conservation of natural resources and the environment; R&D administration; science, technology and technology transfer and sociology.

Applications close soon for new Board

The GRDC is currently advertising for seven non-executive Board members. Applications close on Friday 26 September 2008. See current vacancies for details of how to apply and a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Members
Peter Reading has been the Managing Director of the GRDC since February 2004. Currently he holds the position of Director for the Export Grains Centre, Enterprise Grain Australia and GrainGene III. Peter is also the inaugural Chairman of Pulse Breeding Australia.

Peter was previously the Managing Director of the Grain Pool Pty Ltd.

Peter graduated from the University of Sydney with an honours degree in agricultural science. He commenced post graduate studies in agronomy before leaving university to work for American Cyanamid in Australia, Asia and the United States; Incitec in Australia; and British Oxygen Group Asia and the Grain Pool in Western Australia.

The eight current members have a range of backgrounds and expertise.

Mr Keith Perrett, Chair (Non-executive)
• Appointed: 1 October 2007, for three years

Keith farms his 1,000 ha Gunnedah property in northern NSW. He produces wheat, barley, cotton, sunflower, sorghum, sheep and cattle.

He is the Chairman of the National Rural Advisory Council, which advises the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on rural issues including Exceptional Circumstances applications and extensions to EC declarations. He was President of the Grains Council of Australia between April 2001 and April 2005.

Keith is a past Chairman of the New South Wales Farmer's Association Grains Section, and has represented the grains industry at State and Federal level.
Keith was the Chairman of the Wheat Research Foundation of NSW between 2000 and October 2007. He was also a member of the Governing Council of the Plant Breeding Institute of the University of Sydney between 1997 and 2003.
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Mr Peter Reading, Managing Director (Executive)
• BScAg (Hons), FAICD
• Appointed: February 2004

Peter Reading has been the Managing Director of the GRDC since February 2004. Currently he holds the position of Director for the Export Grains Centre, Enterprise Grain Australia and GrainGene III. Peter is also the inaugural Chairman of Pulse Breeding Australia.

Peter was previously the Managing Director of the Grain Pool Pty Ltd.

Peter graduated from the University of Sydney with an honours degree in agricultural science. He commenced post graduate studies in agronomy before leaving university to work for American Cyanamid in Australia, Asia and the United States; Incitec in Australia; and British Oxygen Group Asia and the Grain Pool in Western Australia.

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Nicole Birrell, Director (Non-executive)
• MSc (London School of Economics), FAICD
• Appointed: 1 October 2005 for three years
• Chair: Finance, Risk and Audit Committee

Nicole runs a risk management consulting business, and a mixed farming enterprise at Corowa, New South Wales. Nicole has more than 27 years experience in corporate and investment banking, most recently as Head of Operational Risk and Compliance for the ANZ’s Institutional Financial Services division.

Previously a Director of AusBulk Ltd and the Chair of AusMalt Pty Ltd, Nicole is currently a Director of SuperPartners Pty Ltd and a member of its IT Initiatives Committee; a Director of SMS Management and Technology Ltd, and member of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee; and a member of the Programs Advisory Committee for the School of Applied Economics at Victoria University, Melbourne. Until December 2006 she was a Director of the Australian Practice Nurses Association Inc., and Chair of its Audit and Risk Management Committee.
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Mr Ross Johns, Deputy Chair (Non-executive)
• AdDipBusMgt, FAICD
• Reappointed: 1 October 2005 for three years
• Member: Finance, Risk and Audit Committee
• Member: Remuneration Committee

Ross lives and works in rural Victoria, and has been a graingrower for many years. He is an active member of the Victorian Farmers Federation and a Director of ABB Grain Ltd.

He takes a keen interest in regional affairs, and has participated in many overseas marketing missions. He brings to the GRDC experience in grain production and marketing, business management, sociology, technology transfer and natural resource management.
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Steve Marshall, Director (Non-executive)
• BSc (Hons1), MAppSc, FAIFST
• Appointed: 1 October 2005 for three years
• Member: Remuneration Committee

Steve has a background in food science and technology management. He was Managing Director of Goodman Fielder Ingredients Ltd from 1993 to 1998 and Technology Director of Goodman Fielder Ltd from 1999 to 2001.

He is currently Deputy Chair of the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and was a Director of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation between November 2005 and May 2007.
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Dr Don Plowman, Director (Non-executive)
• BScAg, MScAg, PhD
• Reappointed: 1 October 2005 for three years

Don is the Executive Director Agriculture Food and Wine at the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Resources.

He has more than 25 years experience in managing research, including as a director with the Horticultural R&D Corporation and the Dried Fruits R&D Council, and as a board member for numerous cooperative research centres.
His particular areas of expertise are in R&D management, agricultural policy and industry development, the environment and ecology, natural resource management and technology transfer.
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Professor Tim Reeves, Director (Non-executive)
• BSc (Hons), MAgrSc, FTSE
• Appointed: 1 October 2005 for three years

Timothy Reeves has worked for 39 years in agricultural research, development and extension, mostly focused on sustainable agriculture in Australia and overseas. His professional career includes positions in the Department of Agriculture, Victoria; Foundation Professor of Sustainable Agricultural Production, Adelaide University (1992–95) and Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) based in Mexico (1995–2002).

Recent roles include: Member, United Nations Millennium Project Task Force on Hunger; Chair, NSW Agricultural Advisory Council on Gene Technology; Member, European Commission Expert Group for Evaluation of Framework Projects; Chair, Academic Advisory Board on International Community and Development Studies, Deakin University; and Professorial Fellow, Melbourne University.

He is a former President of the Australian Society of Agronomy. Timothy has received several international and national honours and is currently a consultant specialising in national and international agricultural research and development.
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Philip Young, Director (Non-executive)
• BAgSc, MEcon
• Appointed: 1 October 2005 for three years
• Member: Finance, Risk and Audit Committee

Philip has been an international agricultural and agribusiness consultant for the past 25 years, with a focus on China.

He owns a share-farmed intensive grain production property at Munglinup on the south coast of Western Australia.
He was the inaugural Chair of Australian Grain Technologies Pty Ltd from 2003 to 2005, and was a member of the Interim Board of Single Vision Grains Australia from July 2005 to June 2007.