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Management Team
Jim Cotman – Farm Director
Jim Cotman is an experienced dairy farmer and has a strong background in the dairy industry including earlier involvement in Governance roles in farmer politics, working with a range of research agencies and involvement in research projects across both the dairy and sheep and beef sector. He retains these linkages in a number of areas in the farming and science sector across NZ.
Jim currently Chairs the New Zealand Farm Environment Award Trust which sets out to promote ‘best practice’ in farming across all the major agriculture sectors. Jim is also a member of a number of Industry Advisory Panels including a recent appointment to the Technical Advisory Group for the New Zealand Emission Trading Scheme.
Andy MacLeod - General Manager
Andy is originally from Hawke's Bay, the youngest of four, he was brought up on a sheep and beef farm in Patoka.
He graduated from Massey University in 1994 with a BBS in Accounting. Upon leaving university Andy worked for four years for KPMG. Andy has ten years of overseas experience where he continued to develop his business and management ability. His unique overseas experience saw him work in Russia, Europe, United States and Asia. Most recently, he worked as a Finance and Operational Director for a financial brokering company - three years in London and two years in Singapore. Over the last five years he has also been involved in non executive director and investment roles in the primary industry in New Zealand.
Chris Berry - Operations Manager
Chris was raised, lived and farmed in Featherston. He attended Saint Joseph's College in Masterton and later went on to attend Flock House Agriculture Training Centre in Bulls.
Chris has worked at Waiorongomai Station, on the shores of Lake Wairarapa, was a dairy Manager at Wairarapa Taratahi Agriculture Training Centre, then promoted to Farming Operations Manager. Chris then moved to Te Awamutu to become the Manager of the Department of Corrections, overseeing 1,000 hectares which contained three dairy farms, milking 3,000 cows on 840 hectares of land and three support blocks totalling 300 hectares. Part of his role was to oversee prisioners each day on the prison farm and liaise with staff. Chris has 25 years of dairy farming experience.
A Wairarapa Bush representative between 1985 and 1995, Chris has a keen interest in sport and played rugby for Tuhirangi, Greytown and Featherston. He now enjoys spending his spare time supporting his children's sporting activities.
Phil Tither – Sheep and Beef Unit Supervisor
Phil is Managing Director of AgFirst Pastoral HB Ltd, a member of the AgFirst group of consultancy companies.
Based out of Hastings for the past 18 years Phil has been in sheep and beef farm consultancy for 25 years and has enjoyed working with Wairarapa Moana for the past 5 years.
As well as consultancy Phil is kept close to the real world of farming as an investor in Livestock Partner, a share-farming business.
Michael Allan – Financial Supervisor
Michael Allan is a director of Beker Findlay Allan Ltd. He has been involved in farm accounting since 1988. He is known throughout the Central Plateau as a specialist farm accountant. Michael’s passionate about agribusiness.
Michael has a strong network of large agri-business related contacts. These include rural bankers, farm consultants, Fonterra representatives, agricultural product advisors, farm land agents, veterinary surgeons, farm accountants, and specialist farm solicitors.
Prior to becoming a farm accountant Michael Allan worked on both sheep and beef, and dairy farms. As well as business qualifications he holds a certificate in Farm Management. Michael acts as a Trustee to a number of farming trusts and provides financial advice to farming estates.
Michael has a specialisation in land-based businesses and assisted a number of sheep and cattle farmers through the dairy conversion process in the early and mid 1990’s and continues with this today. He has carried out numerous feasibility reports for dairy farm conversion and other land use changes. Michael has presented seminars and workshops for discussion groups and has presented at the Large Herds conference held in Taupo in 2001. He has a particular interest in large scale farming operations.
Brett Bennett – Accountant
Brett is a Chartered Accountant and an Associate Director (Director 1 February 2008) of Staples Rodway Waikato Limited. Brett joined the firm in March 2000.
Brett provides advice to a range of New Zealand agricultural businesses, including equity partnerships in both dairy and sheep and beef.
Brett has two main areas of interest. Firstly he has a personal interest in the rural sector whereby he grew up on the farm and is involved professionally and personally in farm syndicates. The “hands on” experience has enabled Brett to have complete understanding into the needs of his farming clients, with an appreciation of the family succession issues and future farm planning commonly involved with farming.
Secondly, Brett has an interest in the management reporting sector whereby he regularly consults with industry clients to foster growth and profitability within their businesses.
Charmaine Kawana - Secretary-Manager
Charmaine began her working life with whanau in the shearing sheds, moving through to various labour intensive positions.
Over the years Charmaine has successfully completed papers in New Zealand Institute of Management, Archives Management, Maori Studies and graduated in 2000 with Te Whakangungutanga ki nga Tairo a Kupe (Bachelor of Arts Maori).
Management and administration has been her key focus for several years and more recently, Charmaine has been involved with strategically developing and implementing the re-establishment of an Iwi Authority while continuing to hold a number of positions on not-for-profit organisations.
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