It hasn’t taken long for news of Jason Strong’s decision to call time on his term as managing director of Meat & Livestock Australia for speculation to begin about who might replace him in the high-profile role.

It seems unlikely a replacement will be selected and announced until at least April or May next year at the earliest, but the industry telegraph is already buzzing with conjecture about who may be next to step into the Australian red meat industry’s top leadership position.

Purely for the sake of reader interest we’ve pulled together a list of some of the names that have been emerging in early conversations Beef Central has had with people across the industry over the past 24 hours.

We’ve stuck only to names already familiar to the industry. A successful candidate may ultimately come from outside the red meat sector, but that’s way too big a paddock and well beyond our meagre mustering abilities.

This list is not intended to be a form guide – although some are already talking about launching a Calcutta – just some early light-hearted speculation shining light on names of possible contenders doing the rounds for curiosity’s sake.

And it is also important to stress that we’ve thrown the names below into the public discourse below without their knowledge or any indication of whether they have any interest in applying for the MLA role. (Should any complaints arise, please return at a later date by which time hopefully the complaints button on this page may be working)

Potential contenders (in no particular order):

John McKillop  (Current RMAC chair, Former MLA director, extensive CEO experience across agribusiness supply chain)

John Maher (Senior ag corporate leader with experience across many publicly listed and private companies)

Andrew Metcalfe (Recently stepped down after serving as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, former EY consultancy partner)

Dr Jane Weatherley (Long serving senior MLA executive team leader, current MLA General Manager of Communications and Adoption)

Michael Crowley (A former senior MLA executive leader, currently CEO Herefords Australia)

Tracey Hayes (Former NTCA CEO, chair Royal Flying Doctor Service and Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility)

Andrew Cox (MLA General Manager international markets)

Lisa Sharp (Former MLA chief marketing and communications officer, former CEO Herefords Australia, current GM marketing and innovation Stockyard)

Patrick Hutchinson (CEO Australian Meat Industry Council, former MLA manager, Production Integrity and Assurance)

Anna Speer (Managing Director Greenstock – Woolworths Meat, Former CEO AuctionsPlus, former COO AACo)

Hugh Killen (Former AACo Managing Director, currently with UK ag fund manager Climate Asset Management)

Elizabeth O’Leary (Global Chair of Agriculture and Natural Assets for Macquarie Asset Management (MAM). Under her leadership, MAM Agriculture and Natural Assets has become one of Australia’s largest diversified agriculture portfolios)

Editor’s note: A regular reader who preferred not to post publicly via our reader comment portal offers the following:

• Matt Brand, who resigned as CEO of Horticulture Australia last year, and earlier CEO of NSW Farmers, and a senior executive with Rugby Australia.  Currently involved in consulting.
• David Goodfellow, presently CBRE managing director, previously chief executive with Rifa Salutory Pastoral Co and Elders Group General manager.

Any potential contenders we’ve missed? Share your thoughts in the comments section below