But when he took the top job at ProWay Livestock Equipment there was another item that Mr Gianniotis was told he needed.

“The chairman of the board actually said during the job interview two years ago that I think you need to a MBA,” Mr Gianniotis said.

So while the Wagga company has grown during his tenure, with jobs as far away as Port Hedland, Mr Gianniotis has gone about securing a Master of Business Administration to complement his existing skills.

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” he said.

“I thought it was something you could get from a Corn Flakes box, maybe not that easy, but I didn’t think it would be anywhere near the work it was.”

With more than 40 MBA degrees on offer from universities across Australia, Mr Gianniotis knew he wanted to be in a classroom despite remote options being available.

“I didn’t want to do it online, because you learn as much from your fellow students as your lecturers by being face to face," he said.

“It just opens your eyes and you look at things from a different perspective because I was a bit rough around the edges.” Mr Gianniotis has regularly done the 266-kilometre round trip from Wagga to Wodonga’s La Trobe University to undertake his MBA.

The civil engineer completed his last leg with a three-day session last week and is expected to graduate later this year.

“I’ve knocked it over in two years, it’s nearly killed me but I’ve done it,” Mr Gianniotis said.

MBAs are designed to enhance decision-making, administrative skills and problem solving.

Mr Gianniotis believes while his business is enjoying a “purple patch”, having gained a $3 million contract for work at Wagga’s saleyards, the skills from the MBA will boost it further.

With the average age of farmers 61 there was likely to be more demand for equipment incorporating technology to avoid “back-breaking” work, Mr Giannitois said.

He gave examples of remote data gathering for stock weights and pneumatic gates.