Dairy Australia members voted at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) to elect candidates to the Board of the organisation.
Professor Paul Wood – Adjunct Professor at Monash University, and Chair of the Agriculture and Foodtech Committee for AusBiotech, has been elected for the first time and will fill the research and development skills vacancy.
Mr Jeff Odgers, who was first appointed to the Dairy Australia Board in 2013, has been re-elected as a Director to fill the milk producer vacancy, and Mrs Jan West, who was first appointed to the Dairy Australia Board in 2014, has been re-elected as a Director to fill the finance and accounting skills vacancy.
Professor Wood has been successful as both a research scientist and as an R&D leader. He is internationally recognised for his research in veterinary immunology and tuberculosis and is the inventor on seven patents. He has led increasingly larger R&D teams from CSIRO, CSL and Pfizer. He has been responsible for bringing a number of innovative products to the market, receiving recognition for his work including the Clunies Ross medal. He has served on several boards with both R&D and commercial entities.
Dairy Australia invited applications for the vacancies earlier this year. An industry selection committee conducted the formal process, leading to the nomination of these three candidates by the Dairy Australia Board.
“It is my pleasure to welcome Paul as a new Director to the Board and I congratulate Jeff and Jan on their reappointments,” Dairy Australia Chair Geoff Akers said.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank retiring Director Dr Alan Grant for his service to the Board and industry over the last six years.”
Mr Akers also noted the resignation from the Board of Mrs Lisa Dwyer and thanked her for her contribution during her two-year tenure. He said Mrs Dwyer’s resignation leads to a further Board vacancy.