AWI is looking to keep the skills of current director Noel Henderson on its board.

AUSTRALIAN Wool Innovation has declared it is looking to maintain the experience and expertise of Victorian director Noel Henderson with new blood on its board in the 2023 election cycle.

The wool research, development and marketing body’s board nomination committee has advertised that it is “seeking suitably qualified persons to become eligible for election as a non-executive director on the AWI board in the 2023 director election.”

And the advertisement placed in a range of newspapers states that to be successful, candidates will have a number of the following experiences and expertise – that match Mr Henderson’s accepted skills.

These include international commercial finance/CFO experience, global supply chain experience including marketing and/or digital transformation and interest in the agricultural sector. AWI said board experience is highly regarded as is an understanding of governance and board decision-making processes.

Mr Henderson’s biography on the AWI website says he has had an extensive career in the construction industry in Australia, and internationally, having been a long serving director of Multiplex as well as a director of other private and public companies. His experiences in these companies included finance and business management, legal and compliance, marketing and trade, people and culture management, technology development and implementation as well as quality assurance. He is currently on AWI’s audit and risk committee.

In November last year, Mr Henderson told Sheep Central he will continue as an AWI director until November 2023 when he will consider his future with AWI. Mr Henderson and his wife Lyndsay have also listed their 1196ha Macedon Ranges property Avington for sale with CBRE Agribusiness via an expressions of interest process on a walk-in-walk-out basis, including the superfine and ultrafine sheep flock, plant and equipment. Mr Henderson said he and his wife are looking forward to taking things easier in retirement and visiting family in the United States.

Long-serving AWI directors David Webster and James Morgan have confirmed they are retiring this year, and either Mr Henderson or fellow director and veterinarian Michelle Humphries must also retire to provide a third director’s position to meet the requirement of a third of the board retiring at each election. Three new board members will be elected at AWI’s 2023 annual general meeting on Friday 17 November.

Neither Mr Henderson nor Dr Humphries have publicly declared which will retire; however, it is also apparent from the advertised list of experiences and expertises that AWI is not looking for the key science, research and veterinary skills of Dr Humphries in this election cycle.

Dr Humphries was elected to the board with the strong backing of the Merino breeding sector, owns and operates a sheep artificial breeding company and is the chair of AWI’s research development education and extension committee.

AWI’s advertisement asks interested candidates to send their resume and covering letter in Word to [email protected] by Wednesday 12 July.

Three wool growers have already declared their intent to run for a seat on the AWI board this year: WA Farmers vice president Steve McGuire, Collinsville Merino stud principal George Millington and Western Australian grower Neil Jackson.

AWI’s board nomination committee, which includes Mr Webster and Mr Morgan, is responsible for:

• identifying necessary and desirable director competencies;
• considering candidates standing for election or re-election at any general meeting of the company; and,
• making non-binding recommendations to shareholders in relation to the election or re-election of candidates. Those recommendations will be provided to shareholders in October.

The opening date for receipt of member nominations is Friday 1 September and nominations close on Monday 18 September.

Click here for more information about the AWI board nomination process.

The advertisement which has been placed in a range of newspapers can also be found here AWI Non-Executive Director Election (wool.com)