INDUSTRY NEWS
ABA farewells chairman Peter Hayes , welcomes Alan Hoppe to the role
THE Almond Board of Australia ’ s independent chairman Peter Hayes is stepping down from his role at the end of the year . Mr Hayes announced his departure at the Australian Almond Conference in October . He ’ s been the chairman for the past five years and said he was disappointed his time with the Almond Board was coming to an end . “ This has been such a fantastic experience working with the board , as well as the energetic , able and focused executive , from Tim and Deidre right through to the whole team ,” Mr Hayes said . While leading the ABA Mr Hayes was able to draw on his background in viticulture , wine and irrigated crops , where he ’ s had a strong focus on R & D , innovation and extension . “ It ’ s been a different industry , with similarities to my past ones but has its own personality , its own energy and above all the engagement and innovation within it has been brilliant ,” he said . Mr Hayes said there are many highlights from his time as independent chairman . “ The emergence of more solid markets in India and other places has been terrific and you ’ d have to say that things like the Hort360 , the collaborative , coordinated works across several fronts like whole orchard recycling , the hull and stack management , there ’ s so many of them but they ’ re pretty evenly spread across the many areas of activity . As for and things like the R & D day and the launch of ACE , what can you say , they ’ re just fantastic ,” he said . Alan Hoppe has been appointed as the ABA ’ s incoming independent chairman and will officially take over in January . “ I ’ ve tried to give him my best distillation of where we ’ re at , what our issues are and where he might take it to ,” Mr Hayes said . “ Alan comes from a different background to me , very much agribusiness , the heavier end of investments and I think he ’ ll bring a different perspective ,” “ We need just a gradual succession
Almond Board of Australia Independent Chairman Peter Hayes will step down at the end of the year after five years in the role . Incoming chairman Alan Hoppe will start in the role in January .
in pretty much all areas , and the ABA needs to stay relevant , as new issues and opportunities emerge .” While Mr Hayes is stepping down as the ABA chairman he still plans to continue his involvement in a few other projects . “ At my age I should be trying to wind back a little bit ,” he said . “ Photography interests me , I like travel , I still enjoy engaging with people in developmental roles , so hopefully I ’ ll continue a bit of mentorship and alike and there ’ s grandkids , a wife , etc who would like a bit more of my time .” Mr Hoppe attended the Australian Almond Conference and he used the opportunity to introduce himself to growers , processors and industry service providers . “ I connected with a bunch of people who worked for me or I worked with over the years ,” he said . Mr Hoppe started managing farming operations as a 16 year old . This career has taken him to many parts of the world including Brazil and Rwanda . His agricultural experience stretches across many commodities including soybeans , corn , almonds , wine grapes , dairy and grain , beef , cotton , citrus and rice milling . From 2008 to 2010 Alan had responsibility for 1,100ha of almonds near Robinvale and as a kid he spent time in and around Manangatang in the Victorian Mallee . “ I ’ ve always loved that almonds are one of the most valuable commodity that we grow in Australia using our valuable water resources , so the opportunity to work with the growers and the marketers and the industry itself to grow that industry and foster those stakeholders , I thought it was a terrific chance for me to give back ,” he said . As the ABA ’ s chairman Mr Hoppe said he ’ ll be working with the directors to fulfill the board ’ s strategic goals . “ I ’ ll be helping to coordinate the communication between the industry and the board ,” he said . “ Helping the board make smart decisions and then like any good board following up the governance and making sure the strategy is being followed and that the board ’ s decisions are being carried out ."
industry . australianalmonds . com . au
21