CEO Margo Andrae and Tony Hegarty.
CATTLE Council of Australia president Tony Hegarty has announced the Council will initiate a leadership transition process ahead of CEO Margo Andrae’s commencement as the new CEO of Australian Pork Limited.
Mr Hegarty said he reluctantly accepted Ms Andrae’s resignation, but was buoyed by the significant progress achieved during her tenure as CEO and the significant professional opportunity which had presented itself to Ms Andrae with APL.
“Cattle Council is in a very good space in terms of our ongoing advocacy work and the respect with which we are held across Government and industry,” Mr Hegarty said.
“Ms Andrae’s leadership over the past two years has been critical to Cattle Council’s strong position and, as a result, we are very well placed for the future.
“In particular, Ms Andrae’s commitment to a consensus-driven restructure of the Council and broader industry representation has meant those reform processes are well progressed and we’re on track to deliver stronger grass-roots representation for producers.”
Ms Andrae, who will commence with APL in August, said she found her work as Cattle Council CEO incredibly rewarding.
“It has been a great privilege to work on behalf of Australian beef producers and I would like to thank our members, the Cattle Council Board including current President Tony Hegarty and past President Howard Smith, and Cattle Council’s staff for their support and passion over the past two years.”
Ms Andrae joined Cattle Council in March 2017 and was appointed interim CEO in July of that year. She was confirmed in the role on a permanent basis at Cattle Council’s AGM in November 2017, becoming the Council’s first female CEO.
“I’m pleased to reflect on the strong focus Cattle Council is placing on addressing the key strategic issues facing the industry around biosecurity, trade, improved consultation with industry and positioning Cattle Council as a strong advocacy organisation representing beef cattle producers,” she said.
“I’m passionate about research and development as a crucial pathway to ensuring Australian livestock producers remain innovative and globally competitive and I’m excited about continuing to work with this focus with APL.”
Mr Hegarty said Cattle Council had commenced a transition period and that a recruitment process to appoint a new CEO would begin in the coming days.