Team
Charlie Blomfield, Managing Director & CEO
Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Animal Science)
RG146 Compliant (Managed Investments) KAPLAN Financial
Graduate Member of Australian Institute of Company Directors
Charlie Blomfield has an extensive operational background throughout the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales on family owned and other privately held operations. His experience includes livestock, cropping, Cotton and horticulture. Charlie is active with clients throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Charlie has led a number of large management and advisory projects for Origin Energy, Landmark, Ernst & Young, ANZ and Bankwest. He was also appointed Acting CEO by the Receivers & Managers of one of Australia's largest horticultural production businesses in Queensland.
Charlie is a regular public speaker and has been recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Australian Financial Review and Rural Press.
Karen Caston, General Manager
Master of Applied Finance and Investment (FINSIA)
Bachelor of Applied Science – Mathematics (QUT)
Certificate of Project Management (RMIT)
Fellow of FINSIA
Karen Caston has over twenty years' experience gained in banking and management consulting firms in Australia and overseas including Horwath's, PKF, IbisWorld and Andersen Consulting. Karen's wide-ranging industry experience includes agribusiness, property, tourism and leisure, telecommunications, information technology and local government.
While at AMC, Karen has assisted in the development and implementation of an international agricultural investment strategy on behalf of a sovereign wealth fund, as well as market and financial analysis of a range of agricultural investments for potential investors. Karen has also been involved with the evaluation of agricultural development options on behalf of several coal seam gas mining companies in Queensland, looking to maximise the returns from the water by-product of mining operations.
In her role as General Manager, Karen is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of AMC and leads the Strategic and Business Planning for AMC's management and consultancy clients.
Kevin Mulvahil, Manager Northern Region
Masters of Business Administration
Certified Practicing Accountant
Bachelor of Business
RCS Grazing for Profit
Kevin Mulvahil is AMC's Manager – Northern Region, based in Darwin, and has spent over twenty years working in senior positions in agriculture based enterprises. This has included involvement with ASX 200 listed corporations and large private companies along with stints working in Government and NGOs.
He has gained extensive operational experience across a diverse range of agricultural sectors both domestically and internationally, this has included involvement in the live cattle trade, feedlots, cattle production, forestry, stockfeed and biofuels. Kevin has a strong finance background giving him an astute understanding of business processes and commercial issues. Maintaining membership of both the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants and Australian Institute of Company Directors enables Kevin to be up to date with current trends and issues.
Charles Murphy, Operations Analyst
Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Animal Science)
Charles Murphy joined AMC as part of a University internship program in 2009 from the University of Queensland where he studied a Bachelor of Agricultural Science specialising in Animal Science. Since then he has continued to work as AMC's Operations Analyst under Bob McClelland in the operational team. He has an agricultural background and experience growing up on a family dry-land cropping and grazing property in northern NSW, north-west of Moree and south-west of Goondiwindi, as well as experience in several agricultural enterprises throughout the UK and mainland Europe during 2006.
Experienced in agriculture at the farm-gate level both in Australia and overseas along with a university research background puts Charles in a good position to assist AMC clients in a broad range of services.
Jo Shearn, Executive Assistant & Bookkeeper
Bachelor of Arts/Police Studies (Deakin University)
Diploma of Agriculture – Cattle Management (Longreach Agricultural College)
Jo Shearn joined AMC in 2011 after moving to Queensland from the Northern Territory, where she was the Office Manager of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association with overall responsibility for the daily operations of the association as well as organisation of the annual industry conference and gala dinner. Jo also has administrative and operational experience with AACo, Elders, GrainCorp and as a station hand on Elkedra Station. In her role as Executive Assistant at AMC, Jo provides administrative support to the Managing Director, Executive Team and AMC staff as well as managing day-to-day functions of the Brisbane office.
Bob McClelland, Associate
Certificate in Animal Husbandry
Bob joined RMP in January 2003 and was responsible for leading the practical day-to-day operation of large-scale cattle properties under AMC management until retirement in 2011 where he is now involved on a project-by-project basis. He is eminently qualified to meet this challenge having worked on cattle stations throughout northern Australia for over thirty years and rose to the position of General Manager of northern interests for AACo. From 1991 to 2002, Bob had lead responsibility for seven AACo properties in the Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria and Peninsula regions of North Queensland. The properties covered 18,000 square km, running 150,000 head of cattle with a staff of 130 people including six station managers.
Bob has demonstrated skills in all aspects of cattle and infrastructure management as well as station accounting, budgeting and office procedures. Moreover he has had direct experience in the live cattle trade having supervised AACo's involvement since 1992 and toured Indonesia on many occasions.
Geoff Wormwell, Associate
Certificate in Animal Husbandry
Certificate of Agriculture and Property Management
Fellow of Australian Institute of Management
Fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors
Geoff Wormwell was engaged initially in July 2006 to assist in the identification and evaluation of potential investments across a range of agricultural sectors. Geoff's mandate is to provide advisory services in the cotton, grain and horticultural sectors, with particular emphasis on group operations, marketing, logistics and supply chain management.
Previously, Geoff has had roles as CEO of Stahman Farms Inc, General Manager, Operations for Queensland Cotton Ltd and General Manager, Marketing for Namoi Cotton Co-operative.
Duncan Ball, Associate
Advanced Diploma of Farm Management
Duncan Ball is an Associate of AMC's, managing the broadacre cropping and Cotton operations in NSW and southern QLD with AMC clients. Duncan is based near Burren Junction approximately 200km southwest of Moree, NSW in the heart of Australia's best cropping belt.
Duncan is responsible for the management of all cropping systems and operational requirements, including plant and equipment, labour management, financial management, marketing and crop planning. He has adopted the latest sustainable agronomic principles and best farming practices that relate to dry-land farming as well as adopting new technologies and GPS Guidance systems. His specialty crops include wheat, barley, durum, chickpeas, faba beans, canola, mustard, coriander, linseed, mungbeans, corn, sorghum, dryland cotton and sunflowers.
