David Brook, OAM

Chairman

David is a founding Director, a shareholder and the Chairman of the OBE Organic group. David and his wife Nell own and operate 30,000 square kilometres (3 million hectares) of certified organic farms in the pristine Channel Country grasslands region of central Australia. Together, they’re proud to have raised six children on their farming properties.

David was born and raised in the iconic Australian outback desert town of Birdsville (population 100 people) and continues to live there to this day. David’s family is a famous part of the history of farming in Australia. His maternal greatgrandparents were married in Birdsville in the late 1880s, and his father Bill Brook purchased their first property, Adria Downs Station, in 1939. In addition to his organic farming operations, David is owner of the world famous Birdsville and Innamincka Hotels. Regardless of the remote location of David’s properties and investments, he is exceptionally widely travelled and takes an active and energetic role in the management and fortunes of OBE Organic around the world.

The vast scale of David and Nell’s business enterprise is enhanced by their operation of two aircraft, a Cessna 182 and Cessna 210. Both hold private pilots licenses, with David having logged over 12,000 hours as a senior pilot. Two of David and Nell’s children are currently involved in the OBE Organic supply chain.

In 2002 David received one of the nation’s highest civilian honours, the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his contribution to the community, local government and the establishment of organic agricultural production. David has been active in local government for over thirty years, and was elected as Mayor of the Diamantina Shire (second largest shire in Queensland) for thirteen consecutive years. He has been a board member of the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, and in 2009 was elected to the position of Chairman.

In his spare time, David enjoys his passion for breeding and racing thoroughbred racehorses..