Director and Principal Consultant
I’m passionate and optimistic about Agriculture, I’m a good communicator and enjoy working with people. I have a curiosity for business and provide insight to the key influencers of farm business performance and profit.
I am a full member (TEP) of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the worldwide professional association for those advising families across generations.
With over 25 years of industry experience as a producer, ag professional, educator and farm business consultant I have learned:
I understand:
I am:
For the businesses I work with, I provide:
In previous consulting roles, I supported farm business managers to identify opportunities for improved profit by recognising the critical link between production, management, and profitable outcomes through a focussed, regional benchmarking approach (Profit Focus). I facilitated the collection and analysis of validated, regional production and financial data and applied key profit driver ratios and regression analysis to define the characteristics of a profitable business in each region. Comparing individual farm performance through time, and relative to the regional benchmarks established, empowered managers to make informed decisions and led to profitable outcomes. I worked with cropping and mixed farming businesses, both corporate and family owned, throughout Victoria (South West & Wimmera/Sth Mallee) and New South Wales. I also led key industry projects for Horticulture Australia and Meat & Livestock Australia focussed on profitability.
Prior to consulting, I was a full-time lecturer in Farm Business Management to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Farm Management and Diploma of Agribusiness courses at Marcus Oldham College. I lectured in topics such as Human Resource Management, Accounting, Business Management, Analysis and Planning, Production Economics, Farm Business Performance and Risk Mitigation. I was also involved in the Marcus Oldham Corporate Leadership Program and facilitated workshops in Brisbane, Griffith and Tamworth to emerging corporate managers.
Prior to lecturing, I spent time in the corporate agriculture sector as the Operations Manager for one of Australia’s largest institutional investors with around 80,000 hectares of cropping land across Australia and approximately $120m of funds under management. In this role, I supported the farm management teams to be among the grains industry’s top performers. Reporting to the Managing Director, I was responsible for developing and implementing the annual production plans and budgets for the group, sourcing and managing contract service providers, the procurement of chemical and fertiliser inputs, and analysing the performance of the individual aggregations and the group overall. In 2009, as part of a portfolio expansion I undertook due diligence on new property acquisitions, employed management teams, sourced and engaged contract service providers and seamlessly facilitated bringing three new acquisitions online.
Based in Ceres, on the outskirts of Geelong, Pete is married to Trudy and has two daughters, Lexi and Tessa. In his free time, he is trying to keep fit, supports the Geelong Cats and coaches his daughters’ u15 football side- the mighty Newtown Eagles. He is also an active member of the Ceres Community Association.