Connor FitzGerald on charting a course to beef’s big time
Connor FitzGerald works in an office in the middle of Sydney, but with his rural childhood, career in agriculture and passion for the land, this is a guy who straddles the country/city divide with ease.
“I always knew I’d work in agriculture, but it took me a while to figure out how that would look,” Mr FitzGerald said.
Fast forward twenty years and Mr FitzGerald has spent much of that time in senior roles across the meat trading business.
He currently holds the role of the general manager of the Australasian division of Fulton Market Group (FMG), a large red meat supply chain company, tasked with procuring beef from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and for the McDonald’s system across 12 countries.
The company is a major player in the movement of Australian beef around the world and Mr FitzGerald is the first to admit he’s made it this far by taking a few risks along the way.
Mr FitzGerald grew up on his family’s sheep property in the NSW New England region, between Glen Innes and Tenterfield.
After finishing school as a boarder in Brisbane he went straight up to the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory to do some time as a jackaroo for the Australian Agricultural Company.
“That was one of the best things I’ve ever done,” he said.
“If anyone ever asks me for advice about how to get a start in agriculture, I’ll chew their ear off encouraging them to do a stint as a jackaroo, too.”
One of the many benefits of this experience, Mr FitzGerald said, is that gives young people an opportunity to adjust to new surroundings and demands.
“I think that at least once in your life, whatever you do with it, you should make a conscious decision to put yourself in a position where you are totally unfamiliar with your surroundings, to get out of your bubble,” he said.
“It’s a really great way to learn about yourself, work hard, learn new skills etc. Once you do something like that, anything else is possible.”
After his time on the Barkly, Mr FitzGerald turned south and went next to university, undertaking a four year Rural Science degree at Armidale’s University of New England.
“It wasn’t an easy degree,” he said.
“But it gave me options and it opened doors so was definitely worth it.”
Even at this point, with two years working in agriculture and four years studying it under his belt, Mr FitzGerald wasn’t a hundred percent sure what would come next.
“I’d always had a career in agriculture in mind, was always drawn to it,” he said.
“But there wasn’t much strategy going on in terms of a life plan. I was willing to work hard and try new things and I think those two things have really driven me forward.”
Eventually Mr FitzGerald found himself working in meat trading, and over the years has worked his way up to one of the top jobs in that game.
And when asked what it takes to do just that, he has a simple answer – be a good communicator.
He is a big believer that you need to put time into developing your relationships, “because in this industry they are your biggest asset.
“You might not know one end of a cow from the other at the beginning, but if you’re a good networker then you’ll thrive,” he said.
So communication is key. But one other attribute Mr FitzGerald believes to be important in this job is an appetite for risk.
“It was because I took a risk that I have this job,” he said, going on to explain how just a few years ago he left a good post as a trader to go out on his own and attempt to launch a feeder cattle futures business. Essentially this means he was trying to develop a ‘price risk management product’ for the cattle industry.
It was a highly specialised area and a gutsy move and as Mr FitzGerald said, “I spent twelve months and a lot of my own resources to understand that the market just wasn’t ready. My big idea wasn’t going to take off.”
But what did come out of this experience was a whole load of new contacts, experience and the deep learning that can only come from trying something new, regardless of its success or otherwise.
As educator, education advisor and author Sir Ken Robinson famously said, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”
Mr FitzGerald’s decision to try something new and original didn’t work out as planned but did put him on the radar of the owner of Fulton MarketGroup, who was impressed by his gumption and track record.
A conversation over coffee led to a job offer and the rest is history.
Looking forward to the future, Mr FitzGerald is excited about the role agriculture will play in feeding our growing population, in becoming ever more sustainable and employing ever more young people to help do just that.
“Honestly, if you want to make a difference, work with good people and really understand the idea of job satisfaction, then it’s a no-brainer! Agriculture is the way to go,” he said.