Swettenham In Good Hands

Many of you are already aware that Chris Belli will be leaving Swettenham at the end of the month to relocate back to the United States with his family.

Chris met his wife Erica in Southern Indiana/Northern Kentucky in 2002 and soon after moved to Australia. After 13 years and with the arrival of their third child in December they have decided to return to the United States.

Chris has held the position of General Manager – Sales and Marketing for the past four years at Swettenham, responsible for nomination sales and all of the marketing activities.

The decision to not only leave Swettenham, but to also relocate to the USA was made with careful consideration toward the end of 2015.

For my wife, the pull of her family ties in the USA have been ever present and after 13 years in Australia we have made the decision to return to the USA.

Perhaps the greatest influence on the decision was the timing, as my eldest daughter turns five in March, and a small window of opportunity presented itself prior to her commencing primary school.

Although I will be leaving Swettenham with a heavy heart, I am comfortable in the knowledge that I leave the business in the best possible position to continue its impressive recent growth.

I first joined Swettenham at a time when Adam was transitioning the business from the old Swettenham to what you see today.

I was present at a time when some difficult decisions were made, and was fortunate to see and understand the vision that Adam has for the business.

It has been an honour to work with Swettenham and experience the passion that Adam has for this business and the Victorian industry. Quite simply there is no other more passionate person in this industry than Adam Sangster.

Combining Adam’s passion with immensely talented staff such as Brian Gorman and Tim Jones has meant that Swettenham are the foremost authority in many aspects of commercial thoroughbred breeding.

I am proud to say that I have played my part in the growth of Swettenham as the leading Victorian operation.

Our increased marketing activities have us clearly at the forefront of the industry. Those marketing activities have resulted in increases across the broad spectrum of Swettenham services, from sheer sales volume, to record breaking results at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale in both 2014 and 2015.

With a carefully constructed stallion roster, Swettenham continues to provide access to the world’s leading bloodlines, accessible through some of the world’s most remarkable racehorses.

Headlined by the very impressive Toronado (175 mares in 2015), Swettenham remains the one stop shop for world class stallions capable of meeting the needs of any client.

As one door closes for me, another opens for a talented passionate industry professional to join Adam and take Swettenham to the next level.

The timing of this opportunity for the right candidate couldn’t be better, as the youthful roster will only be further strengthened with the return of the home bred and dual Group 1 winner Trust In A Gust.

I’ve loved sharing the journey with many of you, and I thank you for allowing me to play a small part in the story of one of world racing’s great family names.

Chris Belli

More information on the vacant position of General Manager – Sales and Marketing can be found by clicking here.