Our people drive the success of our business each and every day and are our greatest asset. From Mareeba, in Tropical North Queensland to Sydney, in New South Wales we employ over 170 people in 14 different locations. We boast 100’s of years of combined industry knowledge and experience, delivering the very best service to our suppliers and customers.
Dr Geoff Gault
Chairman, Jetbest Group
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Dr Geoff Gault
Chairman, Jetbest Group
BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, GAICD
Geoff brings more than 25 years of Board experience to the role of chairing the Jetbest Group where he is a strong advocate for good corporate governance and compliance, and translating these to business performance.
Geoff’s extensive executive management experience in Australia and the United States includes managing human, financial, physical and technology resources, at all stages of company development. His career has encompassed senior positions in the mining industry and other diverse sectors including agricultural technology. Having served in a wide range of management and Board positions, Geoff brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Jetbest Group.
David Wood
Director
BBus (Mgmt)
David Wood recently celebrated 40 years of service with the business having joined J E Tipper in 1983 after graduating with a degree in Business (Management) from the Queensland University of Technology. He quickly identified the papaw and papaya industry sectors as key potential growth areas for the company and began to build this part of the business. Today, J E Tipper is Australia’s largest wholesaler of papaws and papayas and the company specialises in tropical and exotic fruit marketing.
David has strong family connections to J E Tipper. His father Ernie was the company’s long-serving general manager, having started his career at Tippers in 1950. Upon Ernie’s retirement in 1996, David and his partners became the company’s shareholders.
Read David’s story at HERE.
Contact David at dwood@jetipper.com.au.
David Holman
Director
David joined the Jetbest board in August 2023. Based in Melbourne, Victoria – David along with his brother Anthony started Tenfarms Pty Ltd, a business in Victoria and NSW driven around ripening infra-structure for Banana, Mango, Avocado and more conventional products such as Citrus, Pomme fruit, Stone fruit, cherry and Mango. Working closely with the team at the Jetbest Group has driven a passion for the tropical produce range.
David has had extensive experience in overseas markets working with some of the largest produce marketing companies in the world, and sees value in finding a home for the whole of crop by leveraging a broad range of off-take for growers.
Working in produce all of his life, David is committed to the industry and finding the best ways to maximise efficiencies as the world becomes more dependant on a lower carbon footprint and the future of the farming community depends on reducing costs to market while delivering a great product that consumers will love.
Contact David on holmand@tenfarms.com.au.
Stephen Barnes
Chief Executive Officer/Director
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Stephen Barnes
Chief Executive Officer/Director
Steve joined the Jetbest Group in 2018 and brings an extensive background in the Australian and international fresh food industry to his position as Chief Executive Officer of the Tipper Group. Commercially astute and a practiced leader, Steve is experienced in managing and mentoring diverse teams, strategic planning and implementation, international trade, financial management, and corporate governance.
Steve’s in-depth knowledge of the rapidly evolving food industry from a domestic and global perspective expedites Tippers’ response to ‘paddock-to-plate’ opportunities and helps forge effective partnerships throughout the supply chain. He has developed export opportunities to 18 countries and is skilled in identifying and developing new domestic and international markets.
As a former business owner in the hospitality and retail food sector, Steve appreciates the need to remain responsive and innovative to meet market demands, putting customer service at the heart of all initiatives.
Steve was recently appointed as a Director to the Freshmark board in April 2023.
Contact Steve at steve@jetipper.com.au.
Aidan Hutton
Director
One the company’s ‘young guns’, Aidan manages the Sydney operations and is responsible for sales of all tropical fruit lines in Tippers’ busy Sydney Market facility, servicing customers to ensure quality fruit is delivered on time and to specification. Aidan actively sources fruit from current and potential suppliers and identifies sales opportunities with a range of customers. Aidan became a Director in March 2024.
Young, hungry and quick on his feet, Aidan is a family man who loves sport.
Contact Aidan on aidan@jetipper.com.au.
Shannon Adolphs
Senior Sales Manager
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Shannon Adolphs
Senior Sales Manager
Dip Bus Mgmt
Shannon manages J E Tipper vibrant banana section at the Rocklea Markets in Brisbane and manages the popular Flavour First program. As well as primary sales responsibility, Shannon sources fruit from growing regions, liaises with growers, and maintains and develops a growing customer base.
With almost 20 years of market experience, including more than 15 years in the challenging banana market, Shannon uses his experience and expertise to develop marketing strategies for industry growth. He joined the Tipper Team in 2008, became a shareholder in 2010, and Director of Jet Direct in 2015.
Contact Shannon at Shannon@jetipper.com.au.
Adrian Buchanan
Tropical and Exotic Fruit Sales
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Adrian Buchanan
Tropical and Exotic Fruit Sales
Adrian began his career with Tippers at Rocklea in 2010. His leadership potential was quickly recognised and he was offered the opportunity to move to Sydney when Tippers expanded its operations there in 2013. He is now a shareholder.
Initially, Adrian handled all of Tippers’ product lines in Sydney, but he has since specialised in custard apples and is the ‘go to’ person for Tippers’ expanding portfolio of exotic fruit.
In his spare time, Adrian enjoys motor sport.
Contact Adrian on adrian@jetipper.com.au.
David Hatem
Senior Salesman
David joined the business in late 2018 and is a senior member of our sales team on the JE Tipper trading floor, based in the Sydney markets.
Contact David on davidh@jetipper.com.au.
Rodney Bird
General Manager
Rodney Bird joined the business as General Manager of the Jetbest Group in April 2022. Rodney joined us with over 34 years’ experience within the fresh produce sector at Metcash and Coles.
Rodney applies his skills and management experience across all our locations and business divisions to ensure that we are fully leveraging the combined strength of the group.
Outside of work, Rodney enjoys the great outdoors, with camping and boating being top of the list. Rodney is also a member of the Jetbest Senior Leadership Team.
Thomas Barnes
General Manager - Beemart
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Thomas Barnes
General Manager - Beemart
Thomas is one of the groups future leaders with experience and a bachelors degree in business maritime and logistics management.
Thomas began with JE Tipper in early 2019 on the sales floor under the companies longest standing employee and undisputedly one of the best salesmen in the Brisbane markets. After 3 years as Queensland Operations Manager, in 2025, Thomas was promoted to General Manager – Beemart. Thomas is responsible for managing all aspects of our Beemart business.
Thomas continues to be a prominent part of the future of the groups leadership and is a member of the Jetbest Senior Leadership Team.
Contact Thomas at thomas@jetipper.com.au.
Julio Bray-Formas
Group HR Manager
Julio joined the business in July 2024. Julio is based in Brisbane and has responsibility for all our group HR functions. He has over 15 years experience in a variety of HR and recruitment roles.
Contact Julio at julio@jetbestgroup.com.au
Jannelle Harris
National Account Manager
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Jannelle Harris
National Account Manager
Sydney based Jannelle joined the team in August 2020. Jannelle has been in the fruit & veggie industry for 34 years, starting at the tender age of 18!! Jannelle began her career in administration and progressed to managing warehouse operations for Moraitis. She then moved over to operations and management of prepacking facilities for approx. 20 years, firstly with Moraitis and then AAA. Jannelle has two beautiful kids (now adults), raising them on her own whilst working hard to achieve her goals in the industry.
Contact Jannelle at jannelle@jetipper.com.au.
Rod Griffith
Group Product Development Manager
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Rod Griffith
Group Product Development Manager
Rod joined the business in May 2023, after a 30 year career in national retail and national account roles. Rod is based in Brisbane and has responbility for our Passionfruit program, which is deleivering class leading new varieties into the market in partnership with our growers.
Contact Rod on rgriffith@jetipper.com.au.
Nicole Lenske
Group Marketing and Culture Manager
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Nicole Lenske
Group Marketing and Culture Manager
Nicole joined the team in May 2023 and leads, develops and implements total group marketing strategies across all business units and brand portfolios, as well as supporting the creation and implementation of sales and marketing initiatives. Nicole also leads our people and culture programs, including the Jetbest Development team.
Outside of work, Nicole enjoys spending time with family and friends and is currently undertaking a Graduate Diploma in Psychology.
Contact Nicole at nlenske@jetipper.com.au.
Daniel Pennisi
National Sales Manager
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Daniel Pennisi
National Sales Manager
Daniel joined the team in October 2021. Working for our Beemart business, Daniel leads our engagement with the independent retail sector and has extensive experience in fresh produce. Daniel is also a member of the Jestbest Group Senior Leadership Team.
Outside of work, Daniel’s passion is soccer, and he is currently the Assistant Coach at Peninsula Power FC, which competes in the elite National Premier League QLD.
Contact Daniel at daniel@beemart.com.au.
Mark Romeo
General Manager - International Trade
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Mark Romeo
General Manager - International Trade
Mark joined the team in October 2023. Mark leads our import/export division and is based in Sydney. Mark brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the business, having started his journey in the fresh produce industry in 2007. With a career encompassing various facets of the industry, Mark’s arrival is a significant milestone as the Jetbest Group continues to grow and expand our team.
Contact Mark at mromeo@jetipper.com.au