DAVID Connolly has been FarmWorks Australia CEO for little over a fortnight but has wasted no time taking command of the company's new direction and expansion plans.
On February 19, EET Limited held an extraordinary shareholder meeting and approved the purchase of FarmWorks.
The company changed its name to FarmWorks Australia Ltd and Mr Connolly became CEO of the publicly listed entity immediately.
The vertically integrated business is now controlled by a new board serving 1500 shareholders.
Speaking to Farm Weekly last week, Mr Connolly outlined plans for the company's future, including expansion of its WA network and a possible entry into the grain market.
Since the changeover, Mr Connolly has worked with his new board and management team to align and finalise the purchase requirements.
He has also been meeting with stakeholders to gauge the company's current shape and direction.
Settlement was approved on Wednesday last week.
"I've been in the business since Monday last week (March 1) and hands-on here in Perth for about two weeks getting to know the business," he said.
"The last three days I've been on the road meeting with branch staff and getting to understand their needs.
"I've been to a cattle sale in Manjimup and a sheep sale in Katanning; brought all the livestock staff together and been to a number of branches.
"For me it's all about learning the business at the moment.
"There are a lot of similarities between the type of business that FarmWorks is and a lot of other rural service providers, but there's also a lot of differences.
"Each business has similarities but FarmWorks does it quite differently.
"The point of differentiation is the way FarmWorks has set up its model and the services it offers to the farming public and clients.
"FarmWorks is a vertically integrated business that makes its own chemicals and then wholesales those chemicals to resellers.
"It also has a distribution network.
"That's the model I've come in to look at and only time will tell if it's the right model going forward.
"Certainly within the next 90 days, one of my jobs is to deliver a strategy to the board that is going to take the company forward."
Mr Connelly was born in south west Queensland and has lived in the bush his entire life.
For the past 23 years he has worked with publicly listed entities carving out an impressive career that includes time with Dalgety during its mergers with Wesfarmers and into Wesfarmers Landmark.
Mr Connelly was quick to point his career with Wesfarmers Landmark finished five days before the company announced its sale to AWB.
"I never worked for AWB," he said.
During his career, Mr Connolly progressed from a trainee position through to regional manager and state livestock and studstock manager, covering an area from Dubbo through to Darwin, in charge of livestock activity.
For the past six years he has controlled livestock operations for Australian Agricultural Co (AACo); a publicly listed cattle company based in Brisbane.
His last role with AACo was as its chief operating officer.
With FarmWorks Australia, he will be based in WA while his family continues to live in Brisbane.
Mr Connelly said FarmWork's number one challenge was to develop a growth strategy.
The company's head office is in Perth and has eight branches and nine regional agencies throughout rural WA, added to offices in Adelaide and Brisbane.
It offers a range of agricultural products, including financial services, real estate, livestock, rural merchandise, agronomy and insurance.
"It is very easy for anyone to say we are going to grow and we are going to do this and that, but obviously the challenge is to look at where those growth streams are and where you are going to place them," Mr Connolly said.
"The challenge is to harness all of FarmWorks' strengths, and replicate it in other geographical regions.
"That's the challenge for this business and it's my challenge also."
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