ACO Board Members
Georgia Beattie
Chairwoman, ACO Certification Ltd
Georgia Beattie is an agribusiness CEO and non-executive director. Her governance experience covers food systems, certification and national sport.
Georgia has chaired ACO Certification Ltd since November 2025. She is now leading the board through ACO’s five-year strategic plan, with a focus on protecting the core organic business, profitable growth in food safety and international certification, and investing in technology to make ACO easier for operators to deal with.
She is Vice President of Rowing Australia. She has previously served on the boards of SecondBite and the Australian Mushroom Growers Association.
As CEO and Managing Director of Bulla Mushrooms, Australia’s largest organic mushroom farm, Georgia leads a team of around 80 people, supplies the major supermarkets nationally and is building an export market. She has turned the farm into a zero-waste growing operation. Bulla Mushrooms is certified by ACO for Organic, Freshcare and HARPS.
Before agriculture, Georgia built her career in venture-backed technology businesses. She founded her first company at 21 after completing a degree in entrepreneurship in the United States, and has had multiple successful exits.
Georgia is a Nuffield Scholar. Her research asked whether Australia can feed more people without needing more land. She was named Organic Female Farmer of the Year and works with Farmers for Climate Action.
Wayne Shields
Director, ACO Certification Ltd
Wayne is the farmer/director/founder of Peninsula fresh organic, a Certified organic vegetable production farm & retailer of our own produce based on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula along with growing sites at Bullarto in Central Victoria & Barham in the NSW Riverina.
Wayne has worked in many progressive horticultural businesses both conventional & Organic, starting as an apprentice to labouring farmhand & operations manager’s at farms like Taranto farm’s, Rocky Lamatina & sons, Clays farm, Northern Citrus, Mt Alma farming & Spring Creek Organic before starting PFO.
Outside of farming Wayne is into his 4th term as President of the Victorian Farmers Market Association – a 700 plus member organisation advocating for small farmers, farmers markets & artisan producers, while administering the VFMA’s farmers market accreditation program.
Rick McDougall
Director, ACO Certification Ltd
Rick has been a farmer for almost 50yrs and has operated the family livestock and cropping farms as certified organic for the past 20yrs. He also has extensive experience working with various committees and industry associations. He has been a director on Co-operative and company boards and participated in company directors courses (AICD). He is a past member of the National Standards Subcommittee.
Rick is a former long serving councillor on the Goondiwindi Regional Council, and a former director of Australian Organic Ltd.
Andrew Francey
Director, ACO Certification Ltd
Andrew has over 20 years’ experience in horticulture in commercial, operations and supply chain executive roles working as Chief Commercial Officer at OneHarvest, focusing on innovation and growth.
In 2014-2017 Andrew was a Non-Executive Director and Chair of PMA-ANZ (now the International Fresh Produce Association).
Andrew is now General Manager Industry Services at Hort Innovation, delivering research, development and innovation for Australia’s 37 horticulture industries.
He has formal qualifications in Business, Applied Finance and has completed an AICD Company Directors Course.
Chantale Millard
Director, ACO Certification Ltd
Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance), Fellow of CPA Australia, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD)
Chantale is an experienced Non-Executive Director, Chair and senior executive with experience across ASX-listed companies, financially regulated institutions, large private enterprises and not for profit organisations. Her executive career spans CEO, Managing Director and CFO roles, where she led successful business turnarounds and transformation, driven revenue and profitability growth, and increased stakeholder value.
From her role as Managing Director and CEO of Maggie Beer Holdings (ASX: MBH), Chantale has a deep understanding of FMCG and the food and beverage industry including organic and biodynamic dairy. Chantale transitioned to a Board portfolio career in 2022 and now serves as a Director across several industries including wine and food retail, fashion retail, agriculture, automotive and employment & community services. She also advises businesses on operational improvement and is an Executive Coach.
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