The board of Cotton Australia has appointed a new chair and two new board members after its annual general meeting this month in Toowoomba.
Leeton cotton grower Liz Stott was elected as chair after serving as deputy for two years under Nigel Burnett, who served for four years as chair, and was on the board for 12 years.
Stott said it was an honour to be elected chair as she thanked Burnett for his service to the cotton industry in Australia. Burnett is now retiring.
In accordance with the constitution, three positions were declared vacant, and the successful nominees were Tony Geitz, Gavin Dal Broi and Robert Dugdale.
Geitz was recently appointed as CEO of Northern Cotton Pty and was previously the Australian managing director of Louis Dreyfus Company – the company which now owns Namoi Cotton Limited following a shareholder takeover.
Dal Broi is an irrigated grower from the Southern Valleys. He is also chair of Rivcott Ginning.
Prior to declaring the new appointments, the AGM was presented with the financial results by the Corporate Governance Committee chair Rob Dugdale.
According to a media release from Cotton Australia, the meeting acknowledged the tireless efforts of Burnett, who has served on the board under three past chairs. Outgoing director Arthur Spellson was also thanked for his contributions.
Stott and her husband Dallas manage an irrigated farm near Leeton in the Riverina region of NSW. Their first cotton crop was in the 2010/11 season when they planted 120 hectares, eventually planting up to 1000 hectares of cotton when the conditions were suitable.