IN AN internal promotion, Meat & Livestock Australia has this week appointed Japan/Korea region manager Andrew Cox as the industry service delivery company’s next general manager for international markets.

The move follows the recent resignation of Michael Finucan from the GM international markets role. Mr Finucan will shortly take up a new senior meat marketing position with JBS Australia (more on this below).

Andrew Cox

Mr Cox has spent 13 years with MLA, working in a variety of regional marketing and market research roles.

He will officially take up his new Singapore-based responsibilities in January.

Working with MLA’s central marketing and insights team, Mr Cox will lead the business unit responsible for the implementation of the industry’s global marketing and market access strategies across overseas markets, in order to grow demand for Australian beef, lamb and goat meat.

In this role, he will also focus on strengthening connections and collaboration between the international in-market teams in Asia, North America, the Middle East and Europe with other MLA business units.

Mr Cox gained extensive experience across international market analysis and consumer research over a six-year period before becoming MLA group marketing manager for consumer programs in 2012.

He moved to Tokyo in 2014 to manage MLA’s Japan office, taking on additional responsibility for Korea in 2016. He studied economics and marketing at the University of Sydney. Before joining MLA he spent eight years at multinational consumer research agency Millward Brown, managing consumer insights projects for clients such as Unilever foods, Campbell-Arnotts, Kellogg’s and Ferrero.

“With his extensive knowledge of the industry and international markets combined with a strong background in marketing and consumer insights, Andrew is well placed to lead MLA’s international markets team,” managing director Jason Strong said.

New commercial role with JBS

Meanwhile it has been confirmed that Michael Finucan will be moving to the commercial red meat sector, taking up a newly-created position with JBS Australia based out of the company’s northern beef operations in Brisbane, when he leaves MLA at year’s end.

Michael Finucan

When Mr Finucan’s departure from MLA was announced in August, he signalled that he would remain within the red meat industry, but no details were provided at the time.

JBS Northern chief executive officer Anthony Pratt said with expanding export markets around the world, Mr Finucan would fill an important senior executive role in export sales and marketing, within the company’s northern business, including JBS’s grainfed beef production.

“He will assist JBS’s current expansion into core markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America,” Mr Pratt said.

“Mr Finucan comes with deep experience in a range of key Australian export markets, and will be a valuable addition to the team,” he said. Mr Finucan will report directly to Mr Pratt.

Mr Finucan has spent 12 years with MLA, holding a number of key roles, including managing the live exports program, managing the Korean and Japanese regional offices and since 2015, leading MLA’s International Markets business unit.

At different stages he has worked out of offices in Sydney, Seoul, Beijing and Singapore, where he established MLA’s office in 2017.

During this time, Mr Finucan has lead major changes in MLA’s international market operations, including the adoption of market intelligence, data and insights to underpin the development and execution of strategic market, channel, segment, customer and consumer programs.

He also oversaw the targeted roll-out of the True Aussie campaign in key markets – somewhat controversial at the time, given that it replaced the broadly-respected and widely-known Aussie Beef symbol. MLA claims True Aussie generated an estimated $61 million in incremental brand value in Japan, Korea and the Middle East North Africa region in 2017/18.

Mr Finucan has also worked closely with other RDC’s, including leadership of joint programs with LiveCorp, market access initiatives with AMPC and AMIC and led the establishment of a joint MLA, Dairy Australia and Wine Australia marketing program to amplify the features, attributes and benefits of ‘Brand Australia’ produce within the fiercely competitive China market.

His work has seen him travel the length and breadth of Australia – and also the world – attending hundreds of events, meeting countless producers, exporters, importers, distributors and customers all in pursuit of the best opportunities for the Australian red meat industry.

MLA will shortly commence a recruitment/selection process to appoint a new Japan/Korea region manager, to replace Mr Cox.