HE grew up with the co-operative being a part of his family's farming business and now the Williams farmer's son will lead CBH while the board hunts for a new chief executive officer.
Ben Macnamara was announced at the end of May as the one to take over the reins of the co-op on July 1, after current CEO Jimmy Wilson departs for the greener pastures of retirement.
The board said its search for a new boss could take six to nine months, with Mr Macnamara one of the candidates they will consider as part of their internal and external search.
Mr Macnamara said while it's an acting role at this point in time, he is incredibly proud to be leading an organisation like CBH that has such a long history over 87 years.
"I love agriculture, it's in my DNA and I think this role is a great way to bring all of my history together," Mr Macnamara said.
"Whether that be from growing up in regional WA, my corporate background and my experience over the past seven years with inside CBH, including as chief operations officer.
"I'm really excited to lead all parts of our business - the operations teams, marketing and trading team, and our corporate functions."
So far the board has been very clear on what outcomes they're seeking from the management team after Mr Wilson leaves the co-op.
Mr Macnamara said they had a clear strategy that was in place and a tactical plan to bring that to life for the front line.
"We will continue to focus on the core of the business, getting the 2020/21 crop out and receiving what is likely to be a large harvest at the end of the year," he said.
"We've brought forward our planning for an above-average harvest and have already looked at acquiring additional equipment and tarps above what we normally would.
"Some of that equipment needed to be brought in from overseas and we've made those orders already, plus we've also brought forward the planning process to build emergency storage."
While emergency storage is usually built around August or September, the likelihood is that it will be brought forward to June or July this year.
While Mr Macnamara steps up into the top job, Esperance zone general manager Mick Daw will fill the role of chief operations officer.
He has 30 years worth of experience with CBH, has been a zone general manager for the past 17 years, has had exposure to all parts of the State and comes from an agricultural background, having grown up in the Ravensthorpe area.
When it comes to his own leadership style, Mr Macnamara said he likes to think of himself as inclusive and collaborative.
"I would like to think I'm a people person," he said.
"I like to empower my team, provide clear guidance and set them up with the autonomy to get on with their job."
