Community
30 May, 2025
Dr Shaffer to lead Dairy Australia
DR Matthew Shaffer will take on the role of chief executive officer of Dairy Australia from July 16.
Dr Shaffer has held the position of CEO at DataGene since its formation in 2016.
DataGene Chair, Tim Jelbart, said that while the move created a vacancy at the organisation, he was delighted that, as a farmer, Matt would continue to contribute to the dairy industry through his new role.
“Matt (along with key stakeholders) set up DataGene from scratch and he has been the driving force behind its vision and achievements,” Mr Jelbart said.
“We are immensely grateful for his inspiring leadership, passion for the industry and ability to create a collaborative culture.
“He leaves the organisation well-positioned to continue to deliver value to the industry.”
Mr Jelbart added that under Matt’s leadership, DataGene had made a major contribution to a significant increase in the rate of genetic gain in the Australian dairy herd.
“A recent benefit-cost analysis found that every dollar invested in DataGene returns $16 of benefits to the industry,” he said.
Some of DataGene’s key achievements under Matt’s leadership included delivering the Improving Herds project which demonstrated the value of genetic improvement to dairy business profit and redeveloping the industry’s genetic evaluation IT system.
This system was a complex, multi-year project that provided the foundation for a central data repository and industry access portal (DataVat).
Under Matt’s leadership, DataGene also saw an increase in the number of genetic evaluation runs from 11 times a year to 41 while halving the turnaround time for providing genomic test results from eight weeks to four.
Dr Shaffert said he was grateful for the support from the DataGene board, employees and stakeholders.
“I am incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together. As I begin the next step in my journey, I continue to be excited about what the DataGene team will deliver for the industry in the future,” he said.
A recruitment process for a replacement has begun.
