Mauro Balzarini was chief executive of Wellard from 2004 to 2019. He joined the family business in 1985 as a marine technical superintendent and progressively moved through to an executive role and took over the management of the shipping arm in 1994. Mr Balzarini bought out the family interest in 2004 and grew Wellard into the largest marketer and exporter of live cattle in Australia and a significant seaborne livestock exporter globally. The company went public in 2015, listing on the ASX. Mr Balzarini ceased to hold any shares in Wellard following the transfer of his final 12.75 per cent shareholding in April 2020.
Mr Balzarini no longer holds any Australian interests and now resides in New Zealand. He has founded a new company NextSeaWell, which seeks to design and produce 'next generation' LNG-powered livestock carriers, with the ships to be built in Italy.
