Former corporate investment high flyer and Australian rugby union international player, Damien Frawley, has been picked to run onto the paddock with the Elders board team.
The 1980s Wallaby, turned banker, pulls on the pink jersey for the Elders farm services business in July, filling a director's spot which has been vacant since September.
Mr Frawley is currently chairman of Australia's fourth biggest superannuation fund, the $100 billion, Hostplus, and he chairs Queensland Treasury Corporation's board.
Originally from Rockhampton, he has a close affinity with the farm sector, including a directorship with Blackall-based Blue Sky Beef in Western Queensland.
He is also a director with big property developer and investor, Mirvac, and prior to taking on company directorship jobs was chief executive officer of government-owned global institutional investor, Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), one of Australia's leading investment managers, between 2012 and 2022.
QIC owns 80 per cent of the 200,000 head beef business, North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCo), bought during Mr Frawley's time at the helm.
He initially made his name playing for the Australian Schoolboys representative side, then the Queensland Reds, before making a mid-1986 debut as lock for the Wallabies against Argentina.
Considered a strapping presence on the field, he played 10 international games, retiring in 1988.
Elders chairman, Ian Wilton, said Mr Frawley would bring valuable skills in CEO and leadership oversight and board leadership to the agribusiness.
His skills in strategy and planning, government relations, and with consumers and customers would complement a well developed understanding of agriculture through various professional and personal ties.
Mr Frawley's 35 years in the financial services sector included roles with Barclays, Merrill Lynch and heading local operations for the world's largest investment asset manager, the $10 trillion US-based, BlackRock.
His appointment returns Elders' board numbers to six, filling the vacancy left by Australian Competition Tribunal director, Diana Eilert, who flagged her intended departure last July, after six years in the job - about the same time as fellow director and former Stockland boss, Matthew Quinn, abruptly ended his term.
Mr Quinn's unexpected departure, after three years, coincided with the board opting to retain the retiring Mark Allison as managing director, reappointing him on $1.5 million a year, plus up to $1m in retention incentives by 2025.
A replacement directorship eventually went to former Horticulture Innovation Australia and CNH Australia managing director, John Lloyd, who joined in December.
Meanwhile, Elders' board has announced plans to commence a dividend reinvestment plan to enable shareholders to divert their dividend earnings directly to accumulating more shares.
Earlier this month the company surprised the share market by slashing its earnings expectations for the current financial year as much as 30 per cent, saying lower demand and prices for crop chemical and weakened livestock sector sentiment during dry seasonal conditions last year had hit first half trading results.
Elders half year results will be reported on May 20.
Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
