Bob McKay
Greater Sydney Area, Australia
Chief Executive Officer at Digital Commodity Finance | Chairman at AgriDigital
Summary
Bob grew up on his family farm in Warren, NSW where he managed the family partnership’s wool and livestock enterprises. In 1992 Bob founded Agfarm, a grain agency for the Australian Wheat Board and then expanded to include a cotton accumulation business for Colly Cotton. Bob’s success at Agfarm saw him recruited to the privatized AWB as General Manager of AWB (Australia) Ltd – AWB’s domestic trading and non-wheat grains export division. He was later appointed to the role of General Manager, Grower Services overseeing 40+ offices across Australia’s grainbelt, 100+ people in the field and was tasked with the national management of all AWB’s grain acquisition and grower servicing activities. In 2004, Bob returned to Agfarm seeing an opportunity to expand the business to create Australia’s first national grain broker. Agfarm’s activities spanned WA to Southern Queensland and included the development of innovative pooling products such as Agfarm Advantage and later the seasonal finance offering Agfarm Accelerate. In 2008, Bob also founded and established what is now known as Clear Grain – Australia’s first online grain exchange and clearing house – later sold to the New Zealand Stock Exchange. Bob is a well-known grain industry and agribusiness leader and innovator. He has designed and developed multiple commodity contracting and management systems and has a passion for technology and leading industry best practice in this space. In late 2015, after having divested Agfarm completely in 2013 to ASX listed agribusiness Ruralco Limited and CHS Inc (the largest grain grower cooperative in the US), Bob co-founded Full Profile to be Australia’s leading provider of SaaS commodity management software systems for agribusiness. Bob is a Co-Founder of AgriDigital and draws on his proven leadership and visionary skills as well as his in-depth technical agribusiness knowledge and strong networks across the agriculture, finance and technology industries.
Chief Executive Officer
Digital Commodity Finance
1 Oct 2023 - Present
2yrs 10mos
Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia
Co-Founder
AgriDigital
1 Oct 2015 - Present
10yrs 10mos
Sydney, Australia
As Chairman of AgriDigital, Bob undertakes all financial management and investor relations as well as providing key product development and design support and liaison with industry. At AgriDigital we develop solutions to real world problems in the agriculture sector. We bring transparency, efficiency and trust to farmers and the post-farmgate ecosystem. AgriDigital was founded by a small group of agriculture industry experts with almost 80 years combined agri-experience. Our SaaS commodity management solutions and agri-blockchain applications are industry leading. We help connect farmers, brokers, buyers and site operators, putting them back in control of their business. AgriDigital is developing flexible supply chain finance for commodity buyers and simple on-farm and harvest management tools for farmers. See what’s happening right now at AgriDigital www.twitter.com/agri_digital PRODUCTS AgriDigital is an integrated commodity management solution for the global grains industry. We combine high end technical and industry expertise with beautiful design and intuitive workflows to provide seamless solutions to complex commodity, logistical, risk and customer management issues. We are a global leader in software platforms designed to assist in the transaction and settlement of agricultural commodities and to manage supply chain risk. Through applied blockchain technologies, distributed ledgers and smart contracts, AgriDigital provides real time payment to growers, increased efficiencies for brokers, flexible supply chain for buyers and financiers, and paddock to plate transparency for consumers.
Managing Director
Agfarm Pty Ltd
1 Jan 1992 - 31 Jul 2015
23yrs 6mos
Sydney, Australia
Bob founded Agfarm in 1992 as a grain agency of the then Australian Wheat Board. He later expanded the business to included cotton accumulation activities for Colly Cotton. Initially based in Bob's home town of Warren, NSW; the deregulation of the export wheat market in 2008 provided a unique opportunity for growth and under Bob's leadership Agfarm became Australia's first and pre-eminent independent national grain broker. As well as expanding its geographic footprint, Agfarm also increased its product offering to growers. Known for its values of innovation, being like noone else and grower focus, Agfarm introduced its pooling product Agfarm Advantage in 2010 and later seasonal finance product Agfarm Accelerate to much acclaim. In 2012, Agfarm was recognised as Australia's fastest growing agribusiness debuting at #57 on the BRW Fast 100 list. Agfarm is committed to providing its clients with the highest level of customer service and expertise, coupled with transparent, reliable processes. Over time, Agfarm has developed strong partnerships across Australia and its staff have close relationships with their clients and local communities. Today Agfarm is a 50/50 joint venture of ASX listed agribusiness Ruralco Holdings Limited and NASDAQ listed grower cooperative CHS Inc. After 23 years at the helm in July 2015 Bob left Agfarm to pursue other opportunities.
Show all 5 experiences
Similar People
Discover professionals with a similar profile — sign in to view.