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Email usMeet the Members
WEA consists of a Chairperson and five members appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for a period not exceeding 5 years.
Ted Woodley - Chairman
Ted has extensive experience in the energy, water, rural, transport and community care sectors as a Director, CEO, government policy maker, regulator, engineer and consultant.
He has held numerous Board and CEO positions including with GrainCorp, Australian Bulk Handling Authorities, CSIRO Stored Grains Research Laboratories, Victorian Energy Networks Corporation, CLP Power Hong Kong, Transmission Pipelines Australia, PowerNet Victoria, Energy Australia, Australian Inland Energy Water Infrastructure, NSW State Water, Yarra Trams, NSW Home Care Service and the Uniting Church. He is Chairperson of the Gas Market Leaders Group and recently served on three Western Australian Energy Review Boards.
Invariably his appointments have been in circumstances where there are major changes and challenges ahead. He has an outstanding record in reforming large enterprises.
He has undertaken business governance and strategic planning projects in Australia and the Pacific with Indigenous Community Volunteers and Australian Business Volunteers and is a member of the National Committee of Uniting Church Overseas Aid and the Executive Council of the National Parks Association of NSW.
Ted has degrees in Science and in Engineering (with first class honours) from the University of Sydney, and has completed postgraduate management studies at Monash/Mt Eliza Business School, and has a Company Director Diploma from the University of New England/Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). He is a Fellow of the AICD, Australian Institute of Management, Institution of Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Energy.
Nicole Birrell - Member
Nicole runs a risk management consulting business and co-owns a mixed farming enterprise at Corowa, New South Wales. She has more than 27 years experience in overseas and local corporate and investment banking, most recently as Head of Operational Risk and Compliance for the ANZ Banking Group’s Institutional Financial Services division.
Nicole is currently a Director of the Grains Research & Development Corporation and Chair of its Finance, Risk & Audit Committee. She is also a Director of Superpartners Pty Ltd and Chair of its Risk & Compliance Committee; a Director of SMS Management and Technology Ltd and a member of the Programs Advisory Committee for the School of Applied Economics at Victoria University, Melbourne. She is a past Director of AusBulk Ltd and Chair of AusMalt Pty Ltd, as well as a past Director of the Australian Practice Nurses Association, Inc.
Kim Halbert - Member
Kim Halbert is a grain and livestock producer from Three Springs in Western Australia. He currently crops 4,000 ha of wheat, lupins, barley and canola. He also runs a livestock enterprise which includes a merino stud.
Kim spent nine years on the board of the Geraldton Port Authority where he was responsible for all rural exports through the port. During this time, he undertook extensive studies of supply chain issues affecting grain flows in Western Australia.
Kim is also a board member of the Grain Licensing Authority in WA. Currently, the Authority is responsible for the issuing of bulk export licences for barley, lupins and canola from Western Australia.
Paul Kerin - Member
Paul’s experiences and interests span the gamut of academia, business, media and public policy.
At Melbourne Business School (MBS), Paul teaches business strategy, corporate strategy and mergers & acquisitions (M&A). A Fulbright Scholar, Paul earned his PhD in Business Economics at Harvard University where he served as the George Dively Research Fellow in the Centre for Business & Government.
Prior to joining MBS, Paul was Managing Director of AT Kearney (Australia and New Zealand). His long consulting career has ranged across strategy development and implementation, M&A, corporate finance, corporate governance and microeconomics. He has consulted in many industries and nations on private equity, retailing, consumer goods and telecommunications.
Paul has performed many roles in the business world including: non-executive chairman, non-executive director, executive chairman, managing director and executive director.
He writes a weekly column with The Australian, focusing on the curly issues that key decision-makers, directors, CEOs and politicians face and is regularly sought for comment by other leading business publications and electronic media.
Sandy Murdoch - Member
Sandy has extensive experience in the rural sector, most recently as CEO of Ridley Agriproducts. Sandy has more than 24 years experience in large-scale agribusiness enterprises that have largely been export oriented, including Managing Director of the Australian Dairy Corporation and Metro Meat International and CEO of New Zealand companies Tui Milk Products and the Alliance Group.
Sandy has significant standing and expertise in international trade and marketing, commodity trading, business, and grain production and handling.
Martine Pop - Member
Martine has more than 12 years of experience in credit, risk management and control management with Macquarie Bank and Challenge Bank in senior and executive positions. Martine has worked for the last 11 years as a consultant, including six years with Ernst & Young, providing risk management and corporate management/governance advisory services to the private and public sectors.
Martine is currently on the board of Verve Energy, the Gold Corporation and chairs the Audit and Risk Management Committee for a number of agencies in Western Australia. She was a member of the 2004 Wheat Marketing Review commissioned by the Australian Government.
During the last 11 years, Ms Pop has held board positions with the Australian Rail Track Corporation, SBS, the Grain Pool of WA and chaired the Western Australian Meat Industry Authority.
