David Goodfellow named 2018 Hawkesbury Alumni Award winner

According to a statement from the university, even back during his days at Hawkesbury Agricultural College, Mr Goodfellow gained himself a reputation as being a smart, entrepreneurial and talented people manager, running the campus bar with nearly 30 students working for him.

“Since then, David has built an incredible career in Australia’s leading agricultural businesses and created billions of dollars of corporate value and thousands of jobs in a rapidly-changing industry,” said the statement.

“In 1992, David was awarded the prestigious E.A. Southee Scholarship to pursue his Masters in Applied Science (Agriculture), a scholarship that enabled David to further develop his leadership and technical skills in agriculture.”

Mr Goodfellow – now CEO at AustOn – has worked at Aroona Farms in South Australia, where more than $120 million has been invested into some of the world’s most productive almond orchards.

He also worked at Paraway Farms, where in 2008 he transformed Macquarie Bank’s initial farming investment into a corporatised company worth hundreds of millions of dollars that manages more than 4.5 million hectares of land and produces more than 20 million kilos of prime beef every year.

“When I look back on my career, the same values that have provided me with so many amazing experiences were there at Hawkesbury even at the start,” said Mr Goodfellow in a statement.

“Success is driven by fairly basic fundamentals: respect and care for your colleagues, dedication and commitment to your cause, and a spirit of optimism that sees you through the darkest days.”

The annual Hawkesbury Alumni Award is usually awarded at Parliament House, but this year the event was held at Hawkesbury Campus to celebrate the enduring legacy of Hawkesbury’s new generation of young agriculturists.