Nominations have opened for this year’s Rabobank Leadership awards for outstanding leaders in Australia and New Zealand’s food and agribusiness industries.
The awards acknowledge the role played by senior leaders with the Rabobank Leadership Award, and up-and-coming young leaders in the sector with the Rabobank Emerging Leader Award.
Both peer-nominated awards are open to nominations from agribusiness participants, with judges seeking individuals who create sustainable growth and prosperity at both a corporate and industry level, while demonstrating a wider commitment to society.
Announcing the opening of the nominations process, Rabobank Australia CEO Thos Gieskes said with the food and agribusiness sectors serving such a vitally important role in the world, it was important to encourage and recognise the work of those who served in leadership roles.
“The world faces an enormous task ahead of us in feeding a growing global population, and the food and agribusiness sectors have a crucial role to play in meeting this challenge,” Gieskes said. “In Australia and New Zealand, this challenge also provides us with great economic opportunities, as we are in the box seat to help meet the world’s burgeoning food needs, providing that we have the right leadership in place and the strategic direction in our agri-industries to take proper advantage of these opportunities.”
Judging criteria for the Rabobank Leadership Award:
- significant achievement as a senior leader in building, rejuvenating or expanding a business in the food, agribusiness or beverage sectors
- development and communication of a clear vision and direction for sustainable growth and prosperity at both a corporate and industry level and
- outstanding corporate citizenship and demonstrated social commitment.
The Rabobank Emerging Leader Award is judged on the same criteria, but with the nominees required to have a tenure in the industry of 10 years or less.
Past winners of the Rabobank Leadership Award include Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin, pastoralist and company director Nick Burton-Taylor and chair of CSIRO’s Office of the Chief Executive Science team and former chief scientist Dr Jim Peacock.
Nominations for both awards are open until 12 June and can be made via Rabobank’s website.