Wingara AG appoints James Whiteside as CEO

SYDNEY: Wingara AG Limited announced the appointment of James Whiteside as CEO, effective 1 July 2021.

The Board of Wingara would like to thank Zane Banson for his dedication and commitment in the role of Interim-CEO over the past 3 months.

The Board looks forward to Zane returning to his role as CFO and a key member of the Company’s leadership team.

Commenting on the appointment of Mr Whiteside as CEO, Wingara Chair David Christie said: “Significant efforts have been made to revitalise the Company’s culture and strategy, and position the business for sustainable growth. Today’s appointment of James as Wingara’s new CEO is the next step in this process. James is well known within the agricultural sector, having previously been CEO of Australia’s major horticultural body AUSVEG, and prior to that spending 9 years in the executive team at Incitec Pivot including the role of Group COO.

Appointing James will ensure the Company’s growth strategy is best implemented.”

Commenting on his appointment as CEO, Mr Whiteside said: “Wingara has enormous opportunities to grow, and I am excited to be given the opportunity to lead the Company’s team to drive this growth. I’m looking forward to bringing my skills and experience to Wingara and working collaboratively with the Board to deliver on the Company’s potential, support Australian farmers, provide customers with high quality products, and grow long term shareholder value.”

Mr Whiteside has a strong understanding of agricultural value chains, including sourcing, logistics, price risk management, export market development and international trade. He also has strong industry networks and credibility, having spent much of his time working with growers.

Mr Whiteside was most recently the CEO of AUSVEG, the Industry Representative Body for Australia’s vegetable growers where he led a substantial transformation of the organisation.

Prior to that role, he spent 19 years with Incitec Pivot Limited in various leadership positions, including holding the roles of COO for Southern Cross International and Incitec Pivot Fertilisers where he led multi-functional and geographically dispersed teams. Prior to these roles James held leadership roles with Elders Pastoral, Coopers Animal Health and ICI Rural.

Wingara AG Limited aims to be the leader in the sale of agricultural products to the domestic and international markets, particularly focusing on the export of hay products to Asia. By adhering to the highest standards of production we ensure a reliable source of hay to our clients, enabling them to meet their business demands confident in the quality of our product.
https://wingaraag.com.au/