Barry Irvin – AM
Executive Chairman
Chairman – Giant Steps Australia
Director – Vitasoy Australia Pty Ltd
Barry Irvin is recognised globally for his extensive experience in the dairy industry and has been Chairman of Bega Cheese Limited since 2000. Barry’s leadership has seen Bega grow from a small regionally based dairy company to now one of the largest dairy and food companies in Australia, supplying a large range of dairy and grocery products in Australia and around the world.
Barry’s depth of knowledge of the industry includes a significant understanding of the issues affecting Australian dairy farmers, the key investments required to meet changing consumer needs and the management of long term customer relationships.
Barry is very aware of the importance of social responsibility, he has been Chairman of Giant Steps, an organisation providing services to children and young adults with autism since 2002.
Peter Margin
Independent Director
Deputy Chairman
Peter has many years of leadership experience in major Australian and International food companies, including Executive Chairman of Asahi Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Chief Executive of Goodman Fielder Ltd and before that Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer of National Foods Ltd.
Raelene Murphy B BUS, FCA, GAICD
Independent Director
Chair of Audit and Risk Committee
Raelene Murphy has over 35 years’ experience in strategic, financial and operational leadership in both industry and professional advisory. In her professional advisory career, she specialised in operational and financial restructuring including merger and acquisition integration. She was formerly a Managing Director at KordaMentha and a Partner in a national accounting firm where she led the corporate turnaround practice. Her industry experience includes as CEO of the Delta Group and senior executive roles in the Mars Group. Raelene is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Member of Chief Executive Women.
Terry O’Brien FCPA, FAICD
Independent Director
Chair of the Nomination Remuneration & Human Resources Committee
Member of the Audit & Risk Committee
Terry brings to the Board a wealth of experience in the food industry, including a period of the Chairmanship of the Australian Food and Grocery Council and has been responsible for leading growth and acquisition strategies over many years in the industry.
Terry was, from 2001 until 2017, the Managing Director of Simplot Australia Pty Limited, the US owned, but Australian centric, food processor and marketer managing leading Australian brands including Birds Eye, Edgell and John West. After his retirement in early 2017, Terry took up a number of Australian Company Board positions, recently reducing these to two.
An accountant by training, Terry has been active in finance and management roles in the textile industry for ten years and in the food industry for over 30 years.
Rick Cross B.Ag Sci (Hon), GAICD
Director
Member of the Nomination Remuneration & Human Resources Committee
Rick was appointed to the Board following the merger of Bega Cheese Limited and Tatura Milk Industries.
Rick joined the TMI Board in 2003 and was heavily involved in negotiating the initial subscription by Bega of 70% shareholding in Tatura Milk. Rick also took a lead role in negotiating the scheme of arrangement for Bega to acquire the remaining 30% of Tatura Milk in December 2011.
Rick has represented dairy farmers in many various industry roles. He also owns and actively manages a progressive dairy farm in Northern Victoria.
Patria Mann
Independent Director
Appointed in September 2019, Patria is an experienced Independent Director with over 20 years Board experience across various sectors and geographies. Patria has significant insight and understanding of market development, business transformation, including digital and technological change and M&A and financial transactions. She also brings strong ASX, audit, risk management and governance experience.
Patria qualified as a Chartered Accountant and was a former Partner at KPMG. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Harper Kilpatrick BSc Agriculture, MBA, FCA, GAICD
Director
Originally from Northern Ireland, Harper and his wife own and operate a farm near Koroit in Western Victoria. Harper’s career has centered around agriculture and agribusiness. His career in agribusiness included several senior executive roles with Glenfarm Holdings rendering business in the UK, and Deputy CFO / Head of Finance with Almarai Co., the market leading GCC food and beverage company based in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Harper has held several Australian dairy industry positions including 3 years as a non-executive director of West Vic Dairy Inc., 18 months as a non-executive director of Murray Goulburn Co-operative Limited and is currently a non-executive Finance Director of the Australian Dairy Conference Pty. Ltd. a position he has held since 2015.