Before entering parliament, O'Brien was a national manager with Elders IXL and held senior executive positions with the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) and University of Adelaide.
In his maiden speech, O'Brien reflected on the short history of his electorate, which was born from the Playford Government's drive to establish a strong manufacturing sector in South Australia.
[5] As Minister for Agriculture, O'Brien established an Agribusiness Council comprising high-level business and industry leaders to advise the government on policy issues and opportunities for growth.
[6] O'Brien advocated strongly on behalf of the state's apple industry after the Federal Government lifted restrictions on the import of New Zealand fruit.
[7] He also led a national push to introduce mandatory stunning of livestock killed according to Hal-lal and Kosher traditions, which won acclaim from animal welfare activists, however the proposal failed to gain the support of all states and the Commonwealth.
[10] Later in November 2010, Foley and Premier Mike Rann required a police escort to enter the Labor Party State Convention as union anger with budget cuts boiled over.