Leadership Team
John Klepec
Chairman & Director
B.Comm, MAICD
John possesses considerable expertise in commercial management, business development and finance across a wide range of industry groups including agriculture, logistics and commodities.
He has considerable public company experience, including, most recently, as a non-executive director and alternate director of Ten Network Holdings Limited for three years.
Mr Klepec manages his private agricultural developments and was previously the Chief Development Officer for Hancock Prospecting from 2010 to 2016, and prior to that held senior management positions with major Australian publicly listed companies BHP Billiton Limited, Mayne Group Limited and with the BGC Group.
During his time at Hancock Prospecting he was responsible for developing Hancock’s substantial agricultural portfolio, including acquisition of 50% of Bannister Downs Dairy, three major Kimberley Beef Pastoral Stations (Fossil Downs, Liveringa and Nerrima) and two premier Wagyu herds. He also led the sale of a 30% equity interest in Roy Hill to Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese interests for $3.5billion; the rationalisation of Hancock’s coal interests; and was integral to securing the $7 billion of project finance for Roy Hill.
John Stevenson
Finance Director
FCA, GAICD, BBus.
John possesses considerable experience in the agribusiness sector, notably as CFO and Director for Australia’s largest privately owned pastoral company, Consolidated Pastoral Company. He has also worked for one of Australia’s largest cattle producers, Heytesbury Beef Pty Ltd.
His experience working in Asia, particularly Indonesia, Singapore and China, is of considerable value to Wellard given the Company’s extensive operations in those markets, and he has worked for both listed and private companies. He has considerable expertise in debt and equity markets.
Michael Silbert
Director & Company Secretary
B.Juris, B. LLB, B.A.
Michael was appointed as General Counsel and Company Secretary on 17 October 2016, and became a Director after Wellard’s delisting from ASX in December 2025. Michael has extensive experience in equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance and general commercial matters.
Michael has strong legal and company secretarial experience, having been general counsel and company secretary for a significant Western Australian and ASX-listed engineering and mining services business, an iron ore miner, and a listed winery business.