INDUSTRY NEWS
Farewell to INC chairman
ABA director and ofi global almond chief Damien Houlahan, incoming INC chairman Ashok Krishen, outgoing INC chairman Michael Waring and ABA CEO Tim Jackson at the official handover at the INC Congress gala dinner.
MELBOURNE ' S Michael Waring has just wrapped up a six-year stint as chairman of the International Nut and Dried Fruits Foundation Council. Michael has been involved with the INC for over 30 years, initially as a member under MWT Foods and then later becoming the ambassador to Australia and taking on a position on the INC Executive Committee, including a term as the Foundation ' s vice chairman. He has followed in his father’ s footsteps as a trailblazer for the Australian nut and dried fruit industries. John Waring founded Jorgenson- Waring Foods in 1965, sourcing nuts, coconut, tea and coffee. Michael established MWT Foods in 1990 with brother Andrew, while his other brother Christopher ran the family’ s agricultural enterprises and MWT Foods. The three Waring Brothers now have worked together for some 34 years. In its early years, MWT Foods pioneered the export of Australian macadamias and almonds throughout Europe and Asia. Today the company continues to promote Australian foods around the world, while adding the highest quality international products, to deliver global, multi-product solutions and create opportunities for buyers and suppliers. Michael had the opportunity to thank the INC membership at a memorable gala dinner in front of some 1,500 guests. Emphasising the strong leadership within the INC executive at Reus, Spain and led by Goretti Guasch, Michael went on to express some highlights for INC during his tenure. These included the initiation and participation in creating and developing the Global Outreach Program, the Global Dissemination Program, the formation of the INC Sustainability Institute and its newly launched sustainability accreditation program. Included in these comments was his pleasure in the INC continued leadership position on nutrition research, and specifically the Nuts 2022 and Nuts 2025 agenda, and the commencement of the ground breaking NUTPOOL research project. Singapore’ s Ashok Krishen from ofi was presented with the silver-plated chairman’ s chain at the INC Congress in Mallorca, Spain in May. In his acceptance speech, Mr Krishen shared his enthusiasm for taking on the role of INC Chairman and outlined three top strategic priorities for his chairmanship:
• Accelerate the global consumption of nuts and dried fruits
• Continue to champion the health benefits of our products
• Lead the INC in pioneering sustainability within the food and agriculture sectors
The ABA looks forward to working with Mr Krishen who is a frequent visitor to Australia, in his role as managing director and CEO of ofi’ s nuts business.
industry. australianalmonds. com. au
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