Glenn Cooper, executive chairman of South Australian icon Coopers Brewery, has been announced as the new chairman of Australian Made campaign.
The Australian Made campaign is the not-for-profit organisation that administers the green-and-gold Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) logo. The organisation is directed by a national board consisting of ten directors who in turn are elected by the Australian Business community from the Australian Chamber of Commerce Network and the National Farmers’ Federation.
Allyn Beard, marketing director of Sydney based mattress manufacturer A.H. Beard, was elected as deputy chairman, and Neil Summerson was re-elected as treasurer.
Australian Made campaign’s chief executive, Ian Harrison said “Australian Made welcomes Mr Cooper to the position and we look forward to his leadership in directing this very important campaign to help businesses promote their genuine Aussie products both locally and internationally,”
Cooper has served on the Australian Made campaign Board of Directors for seven years.
“I am very passionate about local manufacturing and look forward to working with my Board colleagues and the team at AMCL over the next few years to lift the profile of this important campaign even further,” Cooper said following his election. “The famous Aussie Made logo is a very valuable tool for Australian consumers and businesses – our job is to spread that message.”
The full Board of Directors now consists of:
- Glenn Cooper AM (Chairman), Executive Chairman, Coopers Brewery Ltd (Adelaide)
- Allyn Beard (Deputy Chairman), MD, A.H. Beard Pty Ltd (Sydney)
- Neil Summerson FCA (Treasurer), Director and Former Chairman, Bank of Queensland (Brisbane)
- Peter Anderson, CEO, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) (Canberra)
- Nicki Anderson, MD, Demo Plus (Melbourne)
- Alf Cristaudo, Former Chairman of Canegrowers Australia (Townsville)
- Robert Gerard AO, Executive Chairman, Gerard Corporation Pty Ltd (Adelaide)
- David Gray AM (Chairman), MD, David Gray & Co. Pty Ltd (Perth)
- Robert Hutchinson, State Manager, Queensland, ParexDavco (Australia) Pty Ltd (Brisbane)
- Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research (Melbourne)
Earlier this month, the Australian Made campaign appeared before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture and Industry in Canberra and gave evidence to into its country of origin food labelling inquiry.
The Australian Made campaign's chief executive Ian Harrison, together with compliance and policy manager Lisa Crowe, made recommendations to the committee on how food labelling laws could be improved to support Australian growers and manufacturers.
Harrison and Crowe stated that an effective country-of-origin labelling system that is both understood and trusted by consumers, will help combat companies that are “attempting to mislead consumers regarding their products’ true country-of-origin.”
“Today we again recommended that the regulations under Australian Consumer Law fall into line with the more stringent rules for using the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo, thereby eradicating some of the loopholes that currently exist,” Harrison said.