Meet the team
Get to know us a little
Support team
Kara Johnstone
Head of Customer Experience
Learn more
Kara's drive for helping people and the community started in rural Gisborne on a lemon orchard. Kara has a passion for kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga, pushing her to study environmental studies, geography and education at Victoria University. She strives to lead her team forward and support our farmers through any challenges.
Adam Richards
Technical Support Specialist
Learn more
Adam is a Technical Support Specialist for both FARMAX and FarmIQ, supporting customers with technical issues and running online training sessions. He also manages the FARMAX accreditation programme, supporting rural professionals and farmers to level-up their FARMAX skills and knowledge.
Ava Bake
Customer Support Specialist
Learn more
Ava grew up in the Hawkes Bay on a sheep and beef farm and has worked a variety of jobs in the agriculture and horticulture industries including tractor driving, goat farming and apple picking. She still works on the family farm, in addition to her role at FarmIQ, and loves the fact that she is in contributing to the farming industry in multiple ways - on and off the farm
Hamish Ahern
Customer Support Specialist
Learn more
Hamish grew up in Raglan in the rural Waikato, and this lead to his desire to gain a Strategy and Agribusiness degree at the University of Waikato. He has a knack for understanding complex issues and believes anything can be solved by thinking outside the box. Hamish is passionate about FarmIQ's purpose and is always happy to pick up the phone and give farmers a hand with whatever they need.
Louise Broad
Customer Support Specialist
Learn more
Lou was born and raised on sheep and beef farms in the Mangamahu, Akitio and Maraetotara (she still plays farmer on a lifestyle block outside of Wellington!), and went on to gain a Bachelor of Science majoring in genetics and molecular biology. She has been at FarmIQ since 2015 and loves helping out farmers on the support desk.
Tara Hegarty
Customer Support Specialist
Learn more
Tara is a Technical Support Specialist for FARMAX, helping customers with any questions they have about the FARMAX products. Additionally, she works with the product team on upcoming features and hosts training workshops around the country. Tara is currently completing her Master's in Environmental Science, looking at land use conflicts in forestry and agriculture.
Customer operations team
Nicholas Crosse
Head of Customer Operations
Learn more
Nicholas grew up on the family sheep and beef farm at Weber, and after attending Fielding High School, he moved to Wellington to pursue commercial law and management studies. Nicholas has spent the last five years working to improve our customers' experience at FarmIQ, ensuring that every interaction our external and internal stakeholders have with FarmIQ is positive.
Irene Le Fleming
Inbound Sales & Onboarding Specialist
Learn more
Before joining FarmIQ, Irene gained a Bachelor of AgComm and two diplomas, in Ag and Farm Management Systems from Lincoln University, and worked on farms in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. She has been fully immersed in the industry with hands-on experience and farm office management, and, as a result, brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the complexity involved in running a day-to-day farm system.
Libby Ensor
Inbound Sales & Onboarding Specialist
Learn more
Growing up as a country kid on a sheep and beef farm, Libby's appreciation for farming began with a strong passion for the land, the environment and the animals. Libby studied at Massey University, majoring in Animal Science and Zoology and joined the FarmIQ Support team in November 2021. She is now an Inbound Sales & Onboarding Specialist, helping farmers to meet their goals and face all the challenges related to regulations and compliance.
Sales team
Russell MacKay
Head of Sales & Marketing
Learn more
From a 150 year old family farm in eastern Southland, Russell MacKay has lived and breathed farming and agribusiness, with roles including fencing, shepherding, agri-tourism, farming and rural banking - as well as a stint dog sledding in Canada for a change of scenery. As Head of Sales and Marketing, Russell is passionate about showing farmers how FarmIQ can take their business to the next level.
Craig Trotter
B2B Channel Specialist
Learn more
Craig has a background in ruminant nutrition and farm management consultancy, and has spent the past 15 years working with farmers to improve and sustain animal and business performance by measuring and managing farm data. He is passionate about helping farmers create more efficient, productive and resilient farm businesses using FarmIQ and FARMAX.
Tom Botica
Rural Professional Channel Specialist
Learn more
Tom joined Farmax in 2016 as a Technical Specialist, and following the merger with FarmIQ in 2021, became a Rural Professional Channel Specialist. He supports rural professionals in using FarmIQ and FARMAX products within their businesses, and also plays a vital role in the ongoing development of FARMAX Dairy, FARMAX Red Meat and FARMAX DSM.
