Hort Innovation board candidates announced

Hort Innovation has announced four candidates have been nominated for three positions on the grower-owned research and development corporation’s board.

The 2023 candidates are re-nominating directors Michael Nixon and Victoria Taylor as well as Ian Halliday and John Said.

Hort Innovation voting members will vote online, by telephone and in-person for the directors at the Brisbane at the Annual General Meeting on 24 November.

Hort Innovation chair, Julie Bird, said each candidate had been shortlisted by the Director Nomination Committee during a rigorous selection process and had been nominated based on their relevant skills and experience.

The Director Nomination Committee was comprised of the Hort Innovation chair, together with three independent members – a levy payer, a nominee of the secretary of the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, and an ‘independent eminent person’, in keeping with the Hort Innovation constitution.

“With the value of Australian horticulture projected to increase, equipping growers with the necessary knowledge and tools is of critical importance,” Bird said. “Hort Innovation is attuned to the needs expressed by growers, and we are adapting to address them.”

Michael Nixon was first appointed to the board in 2020. Nixon previously owned and grew a broad range of horticultural crops his Carnarvon-based business, River Lodge and is passionate about Australian Horticulture. He grew up in agriculture, with his family farming sheep, cattle and wheat.

Victoria Taylor was first appointed to the board in 2020. Taylor has more than 20 years’ experience in agricultural policy, governance and communications. Taylor is an experienced board member, being the current chair of the Rice Marketing Board for the state of New South Wales, chair of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology at the Australian National University, and a non-executive director of WaterNSW.

Ian Halliday is an experienced non-executive director, managing director and chief executive, having worked for numerous organisations, primarily in the Australian food and agricultural sectors. Halliday has also worked in the UK/European food industry and has lived and worked in the Middle East, supporting Australian agricultural exporters, including horticulture.

John Said has established and successfully managed a thriving fresh produce company for the past 30 years developing great strength in strategy and business management. Said is an experienced board chair and director, servicing national and global horticultural associations.