Pete Findlay
Chief Executive Officer
Pete joined the company in 2019 as CFO and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in June 2022 where he has been responsible for the branded business segment. He was appointed CEO in February 2023. He has over 25 years’ experience in professional services and senior finance and operational roles in private and publicly owned businesses. Pete has held several senior CFO roles in a variety of industries including manufacturing, retail, information technology and distribution.
Pete has led cross functional teams in finance, technology and customer service throughout Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.
Pete holds a Bachelor of Business Accounting Degree and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Gunther Burghardt
Chief Financial Officer
Gunther joined Bega Group as CFO in October of 2022. His three-decade international career in FMCG and food & drinks industries has seen him live in seven countries across four continents. In this time, he has worked in global and regional roles focused on commercial and supply results optimisation for companies including Reckitt Benckiser, P&G, Fosters / Treasury Wine Estates, and more recently Blackmores. In addition to multiple CFO roles, Gunther has led the IT teams in four different companies. Gunther prioritises organisational and team capability building, with a particular focus on strategic revenue management and supply chain optimisation.
Gunther holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance and Accounting) from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. More recently was awarded a four-year Fellowship at the University of Melbourne Business Faculty during which he lectured graduate students as part of the Centre for Accounting and Industry Partnerships (CAIP) and has also worked with faculty to author teaching case studies and articles in accounting and finance.
Adam McNamara
Executive General Manager – Growth Channels & Customer Supply Chain
Adam joined Bega Cheese Limited in October 2017 as General Manager Bega Foods. Adam has more than 20 years’ experience with Campbell Arnott’s and his most recent position was Vice President Sales Asia Pacific. He has also held the positions of Director of South East Asian Business Development and General Manager – Arnott’s Indonesia. Prior to these roles he held senior roles in sales, marketing, general management and began his career in finance. Adam brings a strong leadership focus on developing teams and building relationships with customers and has a Bachelor in Business & Accounting from Monash University and is also CPA qualified.
Antonietta Timms
Executive General Manager – Branded Business Operations
Antonietta was appointed Executive General Manager – Branded Business Operations in 2023. Prior to that Antonietta held several Executive General Manager roles across Operations and Operational Excellence since 2018, having joined Bega Cheese through the acquisition of the Mondelez Grocery business.
Antonietta is responsible for Branded Business Operations incorporating manufacturing of our milk and flavoured-milk beverages, juice portfolio, yoghurt operations, spreads portfolio which includes Vegemite and Bega Peanut Butter and our cheese processing sites.
Antonietta has a proven track record of implementing cultural change through continuous improvement programs and creating sustained value in the supply chain. By engaging and inspiring our suppliers, partners and employees, she is able to deliver outstanding business results.
With over 20 years’ experience in operations and supply chain, Antonietta has held senior roles in a number of global FMCG companies across Australia, Asia and Europe including George Weston Foods and Mars Incorporated.
Antonietta holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from RMIT and a Graduate Certificate of Commerce from Swinburne University.
Hamish Reid
Executive General Manager – Bulk Nutritionals & Ingredients
Hamish was appointed Executive General Manager – Nutritionals and Ingredients in January 2021 . Prior to that Hamish held the role of Executive General Manager and Business Manager – Nutritionals between 2010 and 2020, contributing to the significant growth of the business over that period.
Previously Hamish worked in senior marketing and innovation roles with Fonterra in Asia, the Middle East and New Zealand. Hamish has a MSc from Canterbury University a Diploma in Dairy Science and Technology from Massey University, has completed the Stanford Executive Program and has graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Hamish has been a member of the Australian Dairy Products Federation Executive Committee and ADIC director since August 2022.
David McKinnon
Executive General Manager People & Capability
David McKinnon is the Executive General Manager Human Resources, and has responsibility for human resources strategy development and execution through the leaders in the company. Increasing the capability of all leaders within the company, the performance of employees, and increasing talent are the key focuses of David’s human resources leadership, together with building an effective, engaged and outcome focused HR team. He is a firm believer that diverse, open and effective leadership is required to maximise an employee’s contribution and contentment at work.
David joined Bega Cheese Limited in 2012, and has previously held senior human resources leadership roles with Orica and Mobil Oil Australia and has a Bachelor of Commerce.
Darryn Wallace
Executive General Manager – Retail Sales, Marketing & Partnerships
Darryn was appointed Executive General Manager – Beverages in February 2021 having joined the business via the Dairy & Drinks acquisition where he spent the last 5 years working across marketing, innovation, and sales leadership roles.
Prior to this Darryn spent 24 years in consumer goods working in a variety of roles from finance, procurement, marketing and commercial roles across the Cadbury, Schweppes and Asahi businesses operating in the Australian Beverage and Food marketplace. Darryn is passionate about reinvigora ting heritage brands, and developing strong customer relationships as well as building new brands, partnerships and teams. He holds a Bachelor of Business from Deakin University and is a recent Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Rob Grima
Executive General Manager – Operational Excellence
Rob joined Bega Cheese Limited in 2019 as Engineering Group Manager and was appointed in the role of Executive General Manager – Operational Excellence in 2022, responsible for the group functions of Safety, Quality, Environment and Sustainability, Capital Engineering and Asset Management, Continuous Improvement and R&D. Prior to Bega, Rob worked with Mars Incorporated and Goodman Fielder Australia holding senior operations and supply roles. With 20 years’ experience in food manufacturing and FMCG, Rob has end to end supply chain experience in leading operations teams through change, planning and delivery of change programs. Rob has a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from RMIT.
Jacqueline Scarlett
Group General Counsel
Jacqueline began working with Bega in 2017 following the acquisition of the Mondelez grocery business. Jacqueline was appointed to the role of Group General Counsel for Bega in 2020 and joined the Bega Group executive in 2022. With over 20 years legal experience, including across a number of top tier law firms, Jacqueline has extensive experience providing strategic and commercial legal advice, guiding the business through major litigation and building a strong legal function within Bega.
Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Melbourne.
40:40 Vision
We are proud to have become a signatory to 40:40 Vision to achieve gender balance in executive leadership, an initiative led by members of Australia’s investor and business community across all ASX300 companies by 2030. We have set our goals to reach the 40:40 Vision target of 40% women on our Executive Leadership Team in the following way;
- 2024 – 20%
- 2027 – 30%
- 2030 – 40%
We acknowledge that there is more work to be done to attain gender balance in leadership teams and across all levels, within Bega Group.
Signing up to this initiative demonstrates our long-term commitment to workplace gender equality and demonstrates our values of Support Each Other and Grow Our People.
