A new board for Vinehealth Australia has been appointed following an independent selection process, with Roseanne Healy elected as chair.
Ms Healy has broad experience of the wine and grapegrowing industry and has been re-appointed for a second term on the board.
She is joined by new members, Anna Hooper, Prue McMichael and Andrew Clarke, former members Marc Allgrove and Nigel Blieschke who were reappointed for a second term, and Ashley Chabrel who has been reappointed for a third term.
The board also includes acting executive director of Biosecurity SA, Geoff Raven, and University of Adelaide viticultural expert Dr Cassandra Collins.
For more than a century Vinehealth Australia has been protecting the State’s clean-green status by successfully overseeing industry initiatives, education and influencing policy to keep vineyards free of phylloxera and other pests and diseases.
A key role of the board is to oversee implementation of the organisation’s five-year strategic plan which is aimed at safeguarding South Australia’s $1.78 billion wine industry well into the future.
Ms Healy is an experienced chair and director with considerable expertise in strategic planning and corporate governance. She is a former CEO of SA Great and has held commercial and industry board appointments in the wine and grapegrowing sectors in SA’s Riverland and nationally.
The three new board members all have extensive industry experience:
Ms Hooper has expertise as both a winemaker and vineyard manager. She owns Cape Jaffa Wines with husband Derek in the State’s Limestone Coast where she is also active on various industry bodies.
Dr McMichael is a plant pathologist whose career has focused on biosecurity and plant health management in horticulture and viticulture. She has worked as a consultant and serves on a range of industry and government committees.
Mr Clarke is the chief viticulturist for Yering Station in the Yarra Valley and has first-hand experience in managing phylloxera. He worked in South Australian vineyards for six years and is a member of various regional biosecurity committees. He was a 2015 Nuffield Scholar.
Ms Healy said the new members were joining Vinehealth Australia at an important period for the organisation as it strengthens its leadership in wine and grape biosecurity.
“A strong board and management team with a great diversity of skills and clear vision will ensure that Vinehealth Australia continues and elevates the organisation’s impressive legacy through a national focus on vineyard protection,” she said.
“We will be working closely with operators, government and the community for the purpose of generating ‘biosecurity buy in’ to protect the long-term future of one of our state’s most important industries.”