To learn more please contact Warakirri Cropping:

T: +61 3 8613 1177
E: Warakirri Cropping

Key People

Warakirri Cropping's Board of Directors is a governing board with a diverse group of directors, each of whom bring many years of experience and expertise in their particular field. The Board members are as follows:

Dan Mangelsdorf - Non-Executive Chair

Dan is Chairman of the Warakirri Cropping Trusts, a role he has held since July 2014. He is currently a Non-Executive Director for Warakirri Asset Management and is a board member of GrainCorp Limited. Dan holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics (Hons) from the University of New England and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Dan owns and operates farming interests in New South Wales, and is an experienced company director with agricultural, supply chain, international trade and risk management expertise.

Jim Mckay - Managing Director

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Jim was appointed as Managing Director of Warakirri in 2017. Prior to joining Warakirri, he was most recently Head of Distribution for Franklin Templeton Investments, Managing Director of the wealth management division of Challenger, and the CEO of Boss Software International. Jim holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Tasmania, a Post Graduate Degree in Finance and Investments, and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School. Jim is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Graduate of their Company Directors program.

Jane Tongs - Non-executive Director

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Jane was appointed as a Non-executive director in 2010. She is chairman of Netwealth Holdings Limited and Lend Lease Australian Prime Property Fund Investors Committee and is a Director of Australian Energy Market Operator Limited, Cromwell Property Group and Catholic Church Insurances. Previously, Jane was a Financial Services and Litigation Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Jane holds an Executive MBA from the Melbourne Business School, a Business degree from RMIT and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Jane is also a member of the Institute of Company Directors.
Warakirri Cropping’s leadership team are dedicated to exceed our investor’s expectations, whilst developing and supporting our people to ensure a sustainable future.

Dale O'Neill, Chief Executive Officer

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Dale joined Warakirri in 2021 and was appointed to his current role as CEO of Warakirri Cropping in 2023. Prior to Warakirri, he spent 11 years as General Manager Commercial at Burra Foods. More broadly, he has over 20 years leadership and management experience in various senior roles across both corporate and privately held Australian agribusinesses. Dale has a Masters of Agribusiness from Melbourne University, Leadership Training from Harvard Business School and completed Farm Business Management at Marcus Oldham. Originally from a family farming operation based in Gippsland in Victoria, Dale has spent time in Western Victoria and in Hong Kong where he was based for four years and successfully led and developed a geographically dispersed workforce across South Asia and Australia.

Darcy Gorman, Chief Operating Officer

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Darcy was appointed Chief Operating Officer in March 2020 and has been a leading member of the Warakirri Cropping team since June 2015. Prior to joining Warakirri, Darcy worked with Glencore Agriculture (Australia) in the operational side of their Australian broadacre cropping investments. Darcy’s background and passion in agriculture adds to his professional experience in the financial and operational management of farmland investments. Darcy holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from the University of Melbourne and a Masters of Applied Finance (Investment Management) from Kaplan Professional.

Peter Johnson, General Manager

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Peter joined Warakirri Cropping as General Manager in November 2020 and works closely across the portfolio on operations and acquisitions. Peter has a range of Agribusiness experience in both Australia and Internationally and has held a number of executive positions in the private and public sector in rural supply and research, development & extension. Peter holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Business Administration from Charles Sturt University.

John Stevenson, Regional manager southern region

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John has spent the majority of his working life as a Warakirri Cropping employee. Commencing as an assistant farm manager at Englefield Plains in 1997 John quickly graduated to management and spent two years managing Wyobie in Southern Queensland. John spent 20 years managing Orange Park in the NSW Riverina before transitioning to the role of Southern Regional Manager in 2021. John has a passion for optimising systems efficiency and has a strong understanding of the key drivers for investor returns in broadacre production agriculture

Brian Strand, regional manager northern region

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Brian joined Warakirri in 2012 as Assistant Farm Manager on our Wyobie property in Queensland, subsequently progressing to Farm Manager and Senior Farm Manager. He now serves as Regional Manager for the northern region which farms approximately 30 000ha across the Myobie, Willaroo and Boolavilla properties. Brian holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Rural Management) and a Diploma of Agriculture (Cotton BMP Manager). His passion for agriculture has resulted in a rewarding career of over 40 years in broadacre cotton and grain production, both irrigated and rain grown.

Tony Murfit, Regional manager Western region

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Tony was appointed Regional Manager Western region in July 2020. Tony joined Warakirri in 2011 as the manager of the 1st Warakirri farm in WA at Mawarra near Merredin. Tony has 30 years’ experience in large broad acre farming and prior to this was involved with Research and Development trials at the DPIRD Merredin Dry Lands Research Institute. Tony has a Diploma in Agriculture. Tony’s passion for farming saw him awarded the 2018 Wheatbelt Soil Health Champion for his transformational work in sustainable soil constraint removal.