Laura McBain

Laura McBain is an Australian business woman and media commentator. She is the former CEO and managing director of Bellamy's Australia and is known for her leading role in transforming family-run Tasmanian business Bellamy's Organic into a major Australian and international organic food producer.

Laura McBain
Born
Laura Nelson

Sydney, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales and University of Tasmania
Known forFormer CEO of Bellamy's Organic

Background and education

Born and raised in Sydney, McBain worked for a number of years as an accountant with Crowe Horwath (formerly WHK) and regional accounting firms in Launceston, while completing bachelor's degrees in Commerce and Business at the University of New South Wales and the University of Tasmania;[1][2] and in 2013 completed the IMD Leadership Challenge.

Bellamy's Organic

Prior to joining Bellamy's Organic Laura McBain practised as an accountant, specialising in the provision of business advisory and taxation services. She joined the then-struggling Launceston-based food and baby formula company in 2007 as general manager just prior to the buyout of the family owned business by Tasmanian Pure Foods.

McBain is widely credited[3][4][5] as recognising the potential for Bellamy's in the nascent Chinese organic infant food and formula market, making the decision that turned the company into a major Chinese food brand.[6][7] With McBain as general manager, the company reported a growth rate of 70% per annum over the period 2008 to 2013, with revenue growing by 900% over those five years to reach an estimated $50 million in the 2014 financial year.[8] Latest company reporting has the business forecasting increased sales to China of 264% in FY2015.[1]

In June 2014, Tasmanian Pure Foods was renamed Bellamy's Australia with McBain subsequently appointed as managing director and chief executive officer. Following a highly successful July 2014 IPO, Bellamy’s Australia Limited (BAL) listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in August 2014.[9]

On 26 August 2016, Laura McBain sold 165,000 shares in Bellamy valued at $14.54 (total value $2.4 million) on top of the 400,000 shares sold at $10.49 (total value $4.19 million) on 17 March 2016.[10]

In December 2016, Bellamy's Australia suspended trading of shares following a tumultuous fortnight for the organic group, which had half a billion dollars wiped off its value on Friday, 2 December.[11] The share price dropped from a height of $13.58 to $5.98 after the company have revealed its report outlining that the company have had shrinking market share in China for the past few months.

In January 2017, she was replaced by Andrew Cohen as the CEO of Bellamy's Organic.[12]

Awards and recognition

The company's expansion into the Chinese market and associated rapid growth have garnered significant attention within both media and academic circles, both in Australia[3][13][14] and internationally.[15]

In 2013 McBain was named as the 2013 Telstra Tasmanian Business Woman of the Year,[16] and went on to be named Telstra Business Woman of the Year for 2013 (Private and Corporate).[17]

Awards
  • Telstra Tasmanian Business Woman of the Year (2013)
  • Telstra Australian Private and Corporate Business Woman of the Year (2013)
  • Telstra Tasmanian Private and Corporate Business Woman of the Year (2013)
  • Telstra Tasmanian Business Innovation Woman of the Year (2013)

McBain appears regularly in local and national Australian media, providing commentary on the Australian organic industry, local and international markets and state politics.[18][19][20]

McBain's role in the noteworthy transformation of the Bellamy's Organic business and the company's rapid and continued growth has been the subject of a chapter in influential marketing textbook Principles of Marketing.[15]

References
  1. "Prospectus". www.asx.com.au. Wilson HTM Investment Group. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  2. "Laura McBain". www.bloomberg.com/. Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  3. Thomson, James (16 December 2013). "Big baby steps: Tasmanian formula group Bellamy's Organic rides China wave towards $50m in sales". Business Review Weekly. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  4. "Bellamys managing director Laura McBain". www.abc.net.au. ABC. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  5. "Bellamys Organic AUSBUY Builder & Makers – 2UE Interview". www.ausbuy.com.au. AusBuy. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  6. Heaney, Claire (3 June 2014). "Tasmanian accountant Laura McBain took Bellamy's Organics to a Chinese export bonanza". Public Accountant (June/July 2014). Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  7. Vallely, William (14 March 2014). "'Hippie' baby product captivates China". Stock and Land. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  8. Thompson, Sarah (2 May 2014). "Tasmanian Pure Foods gears up for ASX listing". No. 2 May 2014. Australian Financial Review.
  9. Briscoe, Tony (8 August 2014). "Successful list for Tasmanian milk powder company Bellamys on the ASX". No. ABC Rural. Australian Broadcasting Commission. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  10. "Bellamy's Share". www.investogain.com.au. Investogain. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  11. "Bellamy's Australia suspends trading of shares". www.examiner.com.au. Fairfax. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  12. "Bellamy's stands down CEO Laura McBain". Financial Review Australia.
  13. "Laura McBain: 2013 Telstra TAS Business Woman of the Year". Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  14. "Chinese babies looking for more Aussie organic milk". Australian Broadcasting Commission. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  15. Lewis, G.K. (2014). 'Bellamy's Organic: Providing babies and young children with a pure start to life'. In G. Armstrong, S. Adam, S. Denize & P. Kotler. Principles of Marketing (6 ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson, Australia. ISBN 9780133084047.
  16. "Telstra Business Women Awards". www.telstra.com.au. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  17. "Launceston CEO picks up national award". Tasmanian Examiner. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  18. ABC News. "Election Eve Fourm". www.abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  19. Bird, Isabel (13 April 2014). "Hopes of a boost for dairy industry". No. 13 April 2014. The Examiner. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  20. "Laura McBain: 2013 Telstra TAS Business Woman of the Year". www.womeninfocus.com.au. Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
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