DFMC Board of Directors
The DFMC Board’s primary role is to manage the business of the Co-operative, provide leadership and ensure maximum returns to members. Currently there are six board members: five DFMC members elected by the membership base and one independent director appointed for their expertise in finance and business management.
Board members are elected for four year terms. The chairman is then elected by the DFMC Board at the first board meeting after each annual general meeting.
DFMC’s Executive Officer also meets with the Board, but is a non-voting member.
Meet the DFMC Board of Directors
Andrew Burnett
Chairman
Andrew Burnett was elected to the Board in 2011 and has been Chairman since November 2017.
Andrew has previously worked in the cotton industry and now runs a farm in Gympie in South East Queensland with his wife, Fiona, and their two sons. Their dairy business produces around 2.3 million litres of milk from 350 cows.
He has an Associate Diploma in Applied Science and has completed the Rabobank Executive Development Program for primary producers.
John Maher
Independent Director
John Maher joined the Board of DFMC in March 2022, taking on the role as Independent Director with the departure of John McKillop.
John is a leading Australian agribusiness CEO, Chair and Director with over 25 years of successful board and business management experience across several publicly listed and private companies. He has held senior executive roles at Wesfarmers Ltd , AWB Ltd for two years where he led the Landmark (now Nutrien) rural services business. After Landmark he was appointed as the long-term Managing Director and Chief Executive of the ASX listed rural services company, Ruralco Holdings Ltd for nine years.
He holds a Honours degree in Agricultural Science from Sydney University, an MBA from AGSM (University of NSW), studied global agribusiness at Harvard Business School and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
James Geraghty
Director
James Geraghty has been a member of the DFMC Board since 2009 and works, with his wife Sari, on their dairy farm in Millaa Millaa on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland.
His family moved to the area from Lismore in 1932 and have been dairy farming since then. James purchased his farm with his parents in 1981. James and his wife currently milk 230 cows year round and have an annual production of 1.4 million litres a year.
James is the District Chairman and State Councillor for Far North Queensland for the Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation and has an Advanced Diploma in Agriculture.
Trevor Middlebrook
Director
Trevor Middlebrook has been a member of the DFMC Board since December 2021 having served on the DFMC board from 2004 to 2013. Trevor farms near Gloucester in NSW with two of their children, Olivia and Thomas, co-managing the family farm. This will be the fourth-generation of Middlebrooks on Bowman Farm over nearly 100 years. The coming year will see us milk in excess of 500 cows producing over 4.75 million litres a year.
Trevor has a Diploma of Agriculture (Tocal), and has held a number of roles in the dairy industry including Director of Dairy NSW, Chairman on NSW Ready Future Dairy Committee and Chairman of Gloucester / Taree Dairy Farmers MILC Committee.
Sandy Rathjen
Director
Sandy joined the DFMC Board in November 2020 as South Australian (Region 4) Director. Sandy and husband Kym, who is a third-generation farmer at “Glenjoy Friesian Stud” based in Springton, South Australiamilk 180 Holstein Friesian cows and produce 1.84 million litres annually as well as farming beef cattle & sheep. Sandy has always had a passion for animals and through her employment history has attained extensive business management skills which are now utilised to manage the farm which has grown from 400 acres to 2500 acres over the past 35 years.
Victorian Director
Position vacant
Meet DFMC’s Executive Officer
Mark Kebbell
Executive Officer
Mark Kebbell joined Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative as Executive Officer in October 2016 and is responsible for the operations of the co-operative, including the development and implementation of its strategic vision in conjunction with the Board.
Before joining DFMC, Mark held general management positions in the automotive services sector including Assist Australia, Allianz Insurance and Manheim.
Mark has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University in New Zealand and an MBA (Exec) from the University of Queensland.