Mr McLachlan retires from AWI Board

01 Jul '08

2 min read

Australian wool industry stalwart and primary industry leader, Ian McLachlan, has announced his retirement from the Board of Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).

Mr McLachlan has served on the Board of AWI since being elected by growers as a Director in November 2002. He was elected by fellow Directors as Chairman at this time.

Standing down as Chair in April 2008, Mr McLachlan said it was purely his own his decision to retire from the Board and is in line with his earlier plans and statements to retire this year.

“Brian van Rooyen is a very good Company Director and will be an excellent Chairman. I am sure that he will provide outstanding leadership as the company grows following the integration with Woolmark," Mr McLachlan said.

“I am also particularly pleased that AWI has appointed three new professional Directors in Dr John Keniry, Robyn Clubb and Ken Boundy, all with excellent commercial credentials in agribusiness, finance and marketing that will assist in the continued building of an international marketing company. These attributes were needed to round off the expertise of the Board. The executive search process for these new directors was exhaustive, and very professional," Mr McLachlan said.

Mr McLachlan says with the new addition of Directors and Craig Welsh, CEO and his Executive Team, completing the integration of AWI and The Woolmark Company, the recent appointments to the international regions of Nagy Bensid (Europe), Edwin Nazario (Americas) and Pascal Senkoff (Asia) the company will continue building demand for Australian Merino wool.

Mr McLachlan says a number of key achievements have recently been made:

• Integration of AWI with the industry's marketing arm – The Woolmark Company
• Changing the direction of the business to a product marketing focus
• Developing a business that has partnerships with over 200 international retailers worldwide
• Preventing animal activists from affecting the price of wool over the last 4 years or so.

“The industry will always go through change whether that be driven by customers' needs or the environment in Australia, but one thing is certain – Australian woolgrowers have always and will in the future meet all these challenges through innovation and tenacity.”

Australian Wool Innovation Limited

More Australian Wool Innovation Limited News... More Textiles News - Australia...