Our team

Richard Simonaitis has broad experience in export-focused commodities industries, having worked in logistics and product quality roles in the iron ore industry and in senior management roles in the grain industry across logistics, operations and marketing and trading.
Richard has a track record of leading teams and effecting change by fostering an effective and high performing culture.

With the CBH Group, Richard led the national Accumulations Team for five years.

He has a strong understanding of grain growers, the grains industry across Australia and of the markets Australian grain is sold into. Richard also has international experience developing a number of grain infrastructure projects in Indonesia.

Richard is a former Chairperson of the Country High Schools Hostels Authority, an inaugural board member of the Australian Grains Institute capacity building project, a fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has a Graduate Certificate in Business with the University of Western Australia. He is on the Grain Trade Australia Trade and Market Access Committee, and is part of the Grains Industry Market Access Forum.

Prof. Ross Kingwell

BSc (Agric) (1st Hons); MSc (Agric); PhD; Dip Proj Mngt; GAICD

Ross is a respected agricultural economist. He is the author of more than 100 journal articles and book chapters, and more than 220 conference papers and policy reports. In addition to leading AEGIC’s Economics and Business Analysis team, Ross is a professor in the School of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UWA and was formerly chief economist in the Department of Agriculture & Food.

Ross chairs the Australian Farm Institute’s (AFI) research advisory committee. He has been a co-editor of the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AJARE), and is a former president and distinguished fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES).

Click here to contact Ross.

Larisa is a cereal chemist and grain researcher, well versed in the wheat quality requirements of Australian international markets. Larisa is internationally recognised as an expert in the field of wheat quality and end product requirements. Larisa possess a unique set of skills combining scientific, technical and market expertise.

Larisa transferred to AEGIC from DAFWA, where she had worked since 2008 in the role of enhancing the Department’s capacity to support industry development and ensure the WA wheat industry is internationally competitive.

Before joining DAFWA, Larisa worked as an Asian Product Specialist with AWB Ltd. from 2005 to 2008.

Click here to contact Larisa.

Mary Raynes is responsible for AEGIC’s barley market insights program.

The program aims to identify the barley quality attributes preferred by customers of Australian barley. The information gathered from the program helps the Australian grains industry breed, grow and supply grain that meets the quality requirements of consumers.

Ms Raynes has extensive whole-of-supply chain experience in cereals and pulse crops across the Australian dryland grain production industry and their suitability for export markets.

Her wealth of knowledge and understanding of the Australian grains industry, from production to customer requirements, has been built through her experience working for Grain Trade Australia, Pulse Australia and the Victorian Government.

Ms Raynes has, with other barley industry stakeholders, recently contributed to improving malting barley access to India.

Barry Cox is a Program Leader in the Economics and Market Insights team, focusing on Australia’s key grain markets in China and the Middle East / North Africa.

Before joining DAFWA in 2011 and transferring to AEGIC, Barry had a diverse career in agriculture. For the first 15 years of his career he worked with the Grain Pool of WA (now CBH Grain) where he learnt many facets of grain accumulation, marketing, shipping and regulatory/technical aspects. Barry then moved to the canola industry at Davison Oils before working in the plant breeding and seed commercialisation industry at Seed Grain and Biotechnology, Nugrain and the Council of Grain Grower Organisations.

Click here to contact Barry.

Sean Cowman is a key specialist in the Economics and Market Insights team, focusing on South East Asia.

Sean has significant experience in a range of senior roles at Australia’s biggest bulk grain handler, CBH Group, most recently as Marketing Manager – International. Prior to CBH, Sean represented Australian agriculture and food in various sales, marketing and business development roles into markets in Asia and the Middle East.

Click here to contact Sean.

Matt Yamamoto is a Program Leader in the Economics and Market Insights  team, focusing on Australia’s key grain markets in Japan, Korea and China.

Matt started with AEGIC in July 2013 and he supports long-standing, high-value markets for Australian grain.

Before joining AEGIC, Matt worked in a number of roles with DAFWA/DPIRD from 1997 including his appointment as Grains Industry Trade Development Manager and Trade Development Manager (Japan and South Korea).

Matt has developed a profile of WA agriculture and trading and investment opportunities for a number of agricultural products. During his career Matt has developed extensive networks across private companies, industry organisations and governments.

Click here to contact Matt.

Hayfa Salman is the Business Manager of AEGIC’s Analytical Labaratory in Sydney.

Hayfa graduated from the University of Jordan with a BSc in Agricultural Science and received her PhD in Cereal Chemistry from the University of Sydney. Prior to undertaking her doctorate, she had several appointments in the flour milling and baking industry covering a wide range of areas in agriculture, cereal chemistry and biochemistry, giving her extensive knowledge of analytical chemistry. She is currently enrolled at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management on a Graduate Certificate in Management and is a Senior Honorary Fellow at the University of Wollongong.

Click here to contact Hayfa.

Click here to contact Wendy.

For all media enquiries:
Keir Tunbridge
0409 991 817