John Warlters – Chief Executive Officer
John was appointed chief executive officer in February 2020 having previously led Fairfax Media’s national agricultural business and being integral in the transformation and modernisation of its regional media assets in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Northern NSW. Previously, John was the editor and then general manager of iconic agricultural masthead Queensland Country Life. Throughout his media career John always championed the “bush” and agitated for a fair go for primary producers and their families. He has deep connections across the Australian agribusiness sector and a genuine affinity with rural and regional communities.
Megan Armstrong – Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary
Megan joined Rural Aid as the Company Secretary in May 2019 and as the Chief Financial Officer in July 2019, bringing over 20 years’ experience in finance, accounting, governance and business transformation. She is a Chartered Accountant with post-graduate qualifications in Corporate Governance. Megan has previously held roles as the CFO and Company Secretary for both listed and unlisted corporations. She was also a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 6 years, focused on finance and governance transformation across a range of industries.
Brian Morton – Operations Manager
Brian was appointed the Operations Manager of Rural Aid in October 2019. Coming from his previous role as Chief Operations Officer in a national agriculturally focussed construction company, he has a robust background in business management, operations management, human resources management, strategic planning, people leadership and culture change management. He has extensive experience in building and developing strong teams and a history of implementing dynamic and effective changes to organisational operations. His career began when he joined the Australian Army at 17 years old and went on to serve for 20 years deploying numerous times overseas until his discharge in 2008. Brian sees his role as a continuation of a journey started many years ago within the defence force, just that instead of deploying overseas, he now directly supports Australians, in particular Farmers and Rural Communities.
Jaimie Robertson – Fundraising, Marketing and Communications Manager
Joining the Rural Aid team in September 2020, Jaimie has over 30 years of strategic marketing expertise across private and public sectors with demonstrated success in delivering strategic marketing projects for a number of high-profile brands.
Jaimie has worked in a variety of fundraising environments including commercial lotteries, donor and giving programs and has a special interest in the charitable giving sector and in the delivery of brand development and marketing campaigns, new products, events and infrastructure projects.
Mat Fisher – Director of Philanthropy
& Development
Mat joined Rural Aid in January 2022 as Director of Philanthropy and Development. Working most recently with the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and the Westmead Hospital Foundation, he has experience in leading sales, marketing, fundraising, and engaging teams both nationally and internationally to help values-based organisations achieve their mission. With a passion for health equity and a determination to ensure all Australians get their ‘fair go’, Mat’s drive to help our farming families and their communities get the support they deserve is centered around a deep sense of pride and optimism in the Aussie spirit. With formal qualifications and experience in Theatre and Business, Mat enjoys working with all stakeholders to co-create programs that make sustainable impacts.