Our Team

Chris Tonkin

Director

Chris grew up on the family farm at Coomberdale in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. He’s been immersed in the grains industry since 1995 and has held numerous roles in research, extension, sales, marketing, and consultancy. With a deep knowledge and passion of the grains industry and a solid reputation for working for farmers, Tonks founded Ten Tigers in 2004 as a dedicated grain marketing advisory business.

He is an Authorised Representative (AR No. 290288) of AFS License 329063

Tonks is a mad Phantom fan (hence Ten Tigers) and loves hockey, and travelling – sometimes even with his children.

Ken McCartney

Client Manager – Grain Marketing

Ken is a Geraldton born and raised local, who is kept busy raising his two young daughters with his wife Jasmine.

Ken’s Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University and CPA designation lead him down the path of accounting and banking however in 2018 he opted to move into a more fulfilling industry and started with Ten Tigers as a grain marketer.

He comes from a long line of farmers; with his family having pioneered land in Chapman Valley where his father still farms today.

Outside of work Ken enjoys following the AFL (a long suffering Fremantle supporter!), playing local football and, when time permits, he enjoys playing guitar in local bands.

Carmel Westbrook

Office Manager

Carmel joined Ten Tigers in 2016 having previously worked in the veterinary and banking industry as well as seasonal stints with the (then) Department of Agriculture. She spent her childhood on a farm in Grass Valley and her extended family farm at Cadoux.

Carmel thrives on a busy workload with strict deadlines and attention to detail.

Away from Ten Tigers Carmel is just as busy, with involvement in many local clubs including basketball, soccer, hockey, and footy.

Mel Salter

Administration Assistant

Mel joined the Ten Tigers team in May 2021 coming from a career as a Veterinary Nurse.

She is a Geraldton local with family in town, Mel completed her schooling at Geraldton Grammar School then went on to study vet nursing.

Mel has a keen interest in agriculture and excellent attention to detail.

Outside of work Mel likes to spend time with her family and friends or relaxing outdoors with her two dogs.

Chris Teakle

Data Analyst

Chris grew up in Northampton.  She studied Science Ed at UWA and taught maths in high schools and at TAFE for several years.  She started tinkering with computer programming and database design as a hobby.  The hobby turned into a second career.  After some years working for Divisions of General Practice organisations, she started her own business as a database designer.  Ten Tigers was one of her longest standing clients.  In 2018, she became part of the Ten Tigers team on a more permanent basis, continuing with database design, branching into data analysis and more recently, web development.

Outside of Ten Tigers, Chris’ time is spent enjoying “grandmotherly” activities including sewing and crochet for her growing number of grandchildren.

Corey Lee

Client Manager - Client Manager - Grain Marketing

Corey, originally from Newdegate, has many years’ experience in the grains industry. After a stint with Laconik and a short break from the Ag Industry doing FIFO Corey has returned to Ten Tigers with renewed passion. Corey has lived and studied around Western Australia, from Narrogin, to Albany to Perth. Prior to completing a Bachelor of Business at Muresk, Corey worked as a shearer, truck driver and seasonal farmhand. He knows agriculture!

With his comprehensive knowledge of all levels of the WA supply chain and his marketing expertise, Corey is a valuable addition to Ten Tigers.

He’s a bit of an expert vegie gardener but would really prefer to be fishing.

What our customers have to say
In the seventeen years we have been working with Chris and his team there has been a huge transformation in grain marketing in our business. Ten Tigers has made these steps a comfortable journey instead of the hill climb they appear to be when we receive correspondence from all different grain identities and our legal obligations we need to meet. Ten Tigers has assisted us to achieve higher daily prices regularly with good communication and sound advice. Ten Tigers has been an important member of our business allowing us to concentrate on growing our grain with the knowledge that Ten Tigers is there to worry about the marketing, optimisation and filling of contracts. The very detailed information that is supplied to us makes record keeping and entering  details into our accounting program very simple and quick.
Ten Tigers is a business that specialises in grain marketing and consulting. We use Ten Tigers to help us achieve the best price for our grain, to find out what is happening in the world’s grain market to date and to help with marketing strategies. The best thing is, all this can be achieved by just a few text messages per day and / or a quick phone call while I stay busy growing as much grain as I can. I find them a great deal of benefit to our grain farming business.
We decided to engage the services of Ten Tigers because we found we were becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the grain marketing decisions we had to make. We were sometimes making poor decisions because we had become indecisive and didn’t have clear target prices in place. We have found the staff at Ten Tigers an absolute pleasure to deal with. They are proactive in keeping lines of communication open and the paperwork they provide us with is easy to understand and very useful. The advice Ten Tigers has provided exactly what we needed. They have helped us set and reach targets and we have already seen the benefits of the grain marketing strategies they helped us put in place.
Ten Tigers has helped our grain operation grow through a well-balanced marketing program of all our grain types in the current season and beyond. Ten Tigers has given me a greater understanding of our grain business through a fully transparent summary at the completion of each marketing season. Ten Tigers has given our business confidence to expand grain production by allocating achievable pricing target levels on all our grain types. Our business can better allocate time towards the production side knowing that Ten Tigers is managing our marketing in a professional, unemotional manner.
Ten Tigers has been my grain marketing advisor now for a period of 17 years. I have entrusted Chris Tonkin and his team to assist and direct me in the selling of my grains to suit my needs. With their experience, knowledge and regular contact and updates, I have been able to concentrate on the physical and practical side of farming without the added stress of watching the markets and possibly making wrong decisions. Allowing Ten Tigers to be my “personal broker” has put me in a position where I can relax, travel and profit from my every day farming life.
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