A sales professional with a diverse career in agriculture and a graduate in her first professional post in the industry are strengthening the team at 7 Worlds Ag.
Stephen York is thoroughly enjoying his role as sales manager for Victoria, Tasmania and the Riverina from his base at Yarrawonga, while Maya Wallens loves talking to 7 Worlds Ag customers in her customer service and administrative role.
Originally from Gippsland, Stephen brings extensive customer experience in working with resellers and growers, following different commercial roles in the wine industry, rural merchandise, large-scale irrigation and crop nutrition.
His strengths in building customer relationships for the long term is proving to be invaluable as 7 Worlds Ag continues its growth agenda to become a major supplier to the horticulture industry.
From working in vineyards and wineries in both Victoria and South Australia to a rural reseller in southern NSW, Stephen’s career expanded when he joined an irrigation supplier designing systems for broadacre farms in regions as far afield as Broome, Darwin and Mackay.
Across 15 years, he helped to grow the business into a major national supplier of irrigation systems.
In his next move, Stephen opted to join a liquid fertiliser company, performing several different roles in 11 years.
From his first role as a sales territory manager, Stephen worked his way up to commercial sales manager.
“While I have worked for several different rural companies, the common factors are building relationships with people and finding ways to help them achieve their objectives,” he says.
“And working with customers in the small, close-knit team at 7 Worlds Ag makes my current role so enjoyable.”
Meanwhile, customers calling 7 Worlds Ag will be greeted by the bright young voice of Maya Wallens who looks after customer service and administration.
Several months into her new role, Maya enjoys talking to customers from all over the country, learning about their businesses and looking after their horticultural needs.
“My job feels likes being part of a family, talking to customers from so many different regions and listening to how they use our products,” she says.
Maya joined 7 Worlds Ag from the University of Melbourne, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Agriculture degree, majoring in economics, and formalising her life-long interest in food, plants and soils.
In an interesting twist, Maya is highly proficient in German after studying the language for a decade and graduating with a Diploma in Languages.
While at university, she spent seven months in Germany on an exchange program, putting her agriculture studies to good use while working at a Rhine Valley winery during the busy harvest period.
