People
Chairman
G. Dip. Management, AMP (Harvard Business School), AICD, REBA
Mr Hunt has enjoyed a highly-successful senior executive career. He has worked in the agribusiness industry for over 30 years and was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of Elders Ltd. Mr Hunt has extensive corporate experience in the agribusiness sector and in addition to his management responsibilities, has in recent years held directorships with BWK Ag (Germany), Australian Agricultural Company Limited, Killara Feedlot Pty Limited, Webster Limited, HiFert Pty Limited, Walnuts Australia Pty Limited, Elders Indonesia, Elders Rural Bank Limited and Elders Insurance Limited.
Non-Executive Director
Ian Stanley is a third generation farmer. Ian's father, the late Donald Stanley, is widely regarded as the founder of the oil mallee industry in Australia. Ian currently owns and operates a 60,000 acre wheat and sheep farm in Kalannie in the Central Wheatbelt of Western Australia. Over the past 15 years he has become the most widely-recognized spokesperson for the integrated farm-forestry industry in Australia. His experience in running a large broadacre farming enterprise with integrated mallee plantations led to his election as President and Chairman of the Oil Mallee Association of Australia in 2003. Ian is passionate about growing small rural communities through new industry and farming enterprises. He has been awarded both the State and National Landcare Awards for Individuals. Nominated for his work in landcare, Ian was 1 of only 80 people selected to run with the Olympic Torch in Australia for the Beijing Olympics. Ian currently serves as a Director of Kalannie Distillers (a local eucalyptus oil manufacturing enterprise) a Director of Rainbow Bee Eater (a company involved in ground breaking technology involving biochar and renewable energy) and is also the current Chairman of the Central Wheatbelt Football League.
Plantation Operations Manager (Northern Wheatbelt)
Diploma in Agriculture (Curtin University of WA)
President - Oil Mallee Association of Australia (OMA)
President - Mullewa Landcare
Mr. Kerkmans brings a tremendous knowledge of dryland agriculture from over 25 years experience as a farmer in the North-Eastern Wheatbelt of Western Australia. Mr. Kerkmans' recognized expertise in dryland agriculture lead to his appointment as Farm Manager to a 20,000 hectare greenfield wheat project in the deserts of Saudi Arabia in 1983. Respected as a visionary and progressive thinker among West Australian farmers, Mr. Kerkmans' demonstrated ability to envision, design and communicate large projects lead to his election as President of the Oil Mallee Association of Australia (OMA) in 2005. As President of the OMA, Mr. Kerkmans maintains a current and intimate knowledge of the hopes and views of the rural community throughout regional Australia.
Director of Operations
Associate Diploma of Applied Science (Forestry)
Mr. Ipsen was the former Infrastructure, Wood Marketing and Operations Manager for ITC Limited. He was also a Director and Company Secretary for Plantation Pulpwood Terminals and Plantation Pulpwood Exports. Mr. Ipsen has over 24 years of experience in the commercial forestry industry. During this time he has held senior positions in the areas of production planning, land acquisition, project management, harvesting and wood marketing. In addition to large-scale commercial forestry board and management expertise, Mr. Ipsen brings an extraordinary network of long-held vendor and customer relationships. Mr. Ipsen is responsible for the management of the Company's forestry operations throughout Australia.
Director - Regional Business Development
Mr. Walter has over 40 years of rural finance, merchandising and general agribusiness experience. Mr. Walter joins the Company from Elders Rural Bank where he has been the State Banking Manager in Western Australia for the past 10 years. Prior to joining the Company Mr. Walter held several other senior executive positions in the rural banking industry most notably as the former General Manager of the Primary Industry Bank of Australia (now Rabobank). Mr. Walter brings an extraordinary network of contacts and relationships from in and around the rural banking and wider agribusiness industries across Australia.
Manager - Science, Sequestration & Compliance
PhD in Natural and Agricultural Sciences (UWA)
Thesis title "Growing mallee eucalypts as short rotation tree crops in the semi-arid wheatbelt of Western Australia"
Bachelor of Science (Botany major) with First Class Honours (UWA)
Dr Wildy has over 15 years operational and research experience in the commercial forestry industry. His experience ranges from seedling propagation to harvest, and from plantation establishment and management to development of silvicultural systems for new forestry regimes. Prior to joining Elementree, Dr Wildy built upon a successful academic career as a Research Scientist and later Senior Forester with ITC Limited. Dr Wildy is passionate about mallee eucalypts and is recognized within the academic community as one of the leading experts on mallees in Australia. His research is often cited and widely recognized as being at the forefront of much of the knowledge the mallee industry shares today. Dr Wildy is responsible for the Company's land evaluation, growth forecasting and measuring, plantation design, geographic information system, Kyoto compliance, and research and development functions.
Managing Director
BA (Hons) UWA; Post Grad Dip. Applied Finance and Investment (FINSIA)
Mr. Hayes is the Managing Director of the Company. Mr. Hayes brings to the Company what many would regard as an unrivalled knowledge of the science of climate change and the mechanics of the global carbon market. In addition to being a co-founder of the Company, Mr. Hayes has conducted presentations on the mechanics of climate change and the carbon markets to professional audiences throughout Australia and overseas. Prior to co-founding the Company he held senior positions in the areas of financial and investment analysis, sales and marketing communications. Mr. Hayes' broad, cross-functional, cross-industry experience was acquired through a variety of roles at major multinationals (including WMC Resources, Adidas and the Bank of America) both in Australia and overseas.
