Meet the Team

Ole Houe

CEO

Ole Houe has been involved in International Trading and Risk Management for more than 15 years in a number of different roles with experience in grain, sugar and steel.

Ole has held international trading roles in the steel industry as well as the grain industry, and has lived in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia. Most recently he was Senior Manager with FCStone Australia Pty Ltd heading up their advanced risk management division in Australia. Prior to that Ole was employed by GrainCorp for 7 years in various trading roles.

Ole has been a member of the Grain Trade Australia commerce committee and is also a Grain Trade Australia arbitrator.

Ole has been a director on the board of Barley Australia and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).

Ole holds a BA in International Business from Southbank University in London, a Masters of Applied Finance from Kaplan and an MBA from the  Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) in Sydney.

Sam Sloane

Director – Brokering

Sam joined IKON Commodities in 2013, initially focusing on advisory and risk management. In 2016, he transitioned into brokering and has since leveraged his extensive industry knowledge and relationships to help facilitate value-added solutions for clients in the commodities market.

Prior to his time at IKON, Sam spent four years working in advisory for ASX-listed companies, gaining significant insights into client relations and investment strategies. His agricultural background fuels his passionate advocacy for Australian agribusiness.

Sam holds a Bachelor of Business with a finance major from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and the University of Miami (US).

Peter Camilleri

Commodity Broker

Peter Camilleri comes from a farming background and has been involved in the financial markets for the last 7 years having obtained experience in the Australian and global markets. Peter has knowledge in the foreign exchange, commodity futures and equities markets. Peter has held sales and trading roles in the aforementioned products with Commodity Broking Services and Saxo Capital Markets Australia.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics, majoring in Agribusiness, with a certificate in cotton production from the University of New England. Peter also holds a Diploma in Financial Services as part of his ASIC RG146 compliance course.

Alistair L’Estrange

Commodity Broker

Alistair works with IKON Commodities as part of the brokering team after first spending several years working in on the advisory/ risk management side of the business. Prior to joining IKON, Alistair spent three years working Emerald Grain based in Melbourne in both logistics and trade support roles. In the process gaining a significant understanding of the domestic grain market & associated trade processes. Alistair’s passion for agriculture comes from his family’s strong links to farming in the central-west.

Alistair holds a bachelor of Agricultural Economics (Finance Major) from the University of Sydney. During his time at university Alistair worked at ANZ in their Global Markets & Corporate Agribusiness divisions providing research and documentation solutions.

Alistair has completed a number of GTA courses including ‘Trade Rules & Contracts’ and ‘Grain Standards’ and has completed the RG146 ASIC compliance course.

Alexander Macdonald

Commodity Broker

Alex joined IKON Commodities in August 2021 to work in the brokerage side of the business. Prior to joining IKON, Alex spent a year working for Advantage grain as an analyst whilst completing his undergraduate degree. Before working for Advantage Alex completed an internship in Newcastle with Newcastle Agri Terminal (NAT).

Alex holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with specialisation in economics and has just recently finished his thesis on Rainfall and population changes and their impact on wheat, canola and chickpeas in east Australia.

Bill Chen

CFR Broker

Bill brings over 18 years of extensive international trading experience to IKON Commodities, with a strong focus on CFR and FOB transactions. Bill developed a deep expertise in a wide range of products for both feed and human consumption, including grain and forage hay most recently out of Australia

Bill has a unique expertise and understanding of the China market, leveraging strong relationships that he helps source product out of Australia and North America. Bill also services the wider south-east Asian and sub-continent markets for IKON’s CFR business.

Bill finished high school in Toronto, Canada and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Flinders University in South Australia.

Josh Lawrence

Advisory Consultant

Josh has more than 15 years of extensive experience in the grain and food industry, ranging from being on the Executive Team of Allied Pinnacle, Australia’s largest integrated flour mill and specialty baker, to being a member of various industry committees. As a General Manager with Allied Pinnacle, Josh was responsible for areas as diverse as grain origination, wheat breeding, supply chain, price risk management, technical bakery support and commercial ingredient sales to bakery and food clients across Australia and Asia.

With this in-depth experience, Josh has the expertise and knowledge to add value to our clients with supply chain cost saving and grist optimisation initiatives, through to trading strategies and risk management plans.

Prior to joining Allied Pinnacle, Josh work in trader and customer management roles at Cargill and the GrainCorp / Cargill JV Australian Grain Accumulation. He has been a member of the Wheat Classification Council of Wheat Quality Australia, and is a current member of both the Commerce Committee, and the Trade & Market Access Committee of Grain Trade Australia. Josh holds an MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management, in addition to completing a Bachelor of Agribusiness from the University of New England.

Sarah McIntosh

Financial Controller

Sarah joins IKON with 6 years working experience in bookkeeping and accounting with NYK Line and AWE Group. She also has a further 6 years oversea experience as roles of project manager and office administrator in China. Such diverse experiences have given Sarah a wide range of accounting knowledge and skills which she utilises with vigour and passion in her role at IKON.

Sarah has industry experience as a Bookkeeper, Assistant Accountant and Payroll Officer. She has extensive hands-on experience in Accounts payable, Accounts receivable, inter-company accounts, reconciliations, financial reporting and the full function of payroll.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Business and Commerce (Accounting) from Western Sydney University, and has also achieved a diploma of accounting, bookkeeping and business administration certificates from TAFE. She is now working towards gaining her CPA.