IN preparation for the 2022 member director elections, the CBH Group has implemented a candidate assessment panel (CAP) to assist the co-operative in its pursuit of the highest standards of governance.
Prospective candidates for the CBH board are strongly encouraged to go through the CAP process, which will assess the candidate's skills, attributes and experience before providing a report to CBH members ahead of voting.
The CAP process is the latest of several initiatives to be introduced in the past year following the CBH board's governance review that was carried out in 2020.
Chairman Simon Stead said strong grower engagement in the governance review had provided the board with clear feedback.
"Throughout the review, growers have shown there is support for change to our governance which included the introduction of a candidate assessment panel for member director elections with 65 per cent of growers surveyed supporting the initiative," Mr Stead said.
"The candidate assessment panel will assess a candidate's experience, skills and attributes relevant to the role of a CBH director against the desired skills and attributes sought by the CBH board".
"This process has been designed to encourage a high calibre of candidates to stand for election and promote merit-based voting by providing members with factual information about the candidates for their consideration when deciding which candidate to vote for."
The CAP is a three-person, majority independent panel, composed of the CBH chairman and two panel members external to CBH.
The inaugural panel includes respected, independent members in the field of governance, Terry Agnew and Suzanne Ardagh, who will work with Mr Stead.
While all member director election candidates are strongly encouraged to participate in the CAP process, it is only mandatory for incumbent directors.
The panel will assess and deliver a report in respect of all candidates who participate in the CAP process against the skills and attributes sought by the CBH board in its directors.
This information will then be provided in the voting materials and will include a rating and assessment comments for each candidate who took part in the CAP process, however it is important to note that the CAP will not recommend a preferred candidate or candidates.
Nominations for CAP process candidates open on October 7 and close on November 4.
For candidates who do not wish to participate in the CAP process, nominations will open December 13 and close on January 4.
