AFTER more than five months acting in the job, Ben Macnamara, a farmer's son from Williams, has officially been appointed to the top job at CBH Group.
The co-operative announced on Monday that Mr Macnamara, who took over from Jimmy Wilson on July 1, had been appointed as the permanent chief executive officer after an extensive international recruitment process that included an impressive field of internal and external candidates.
Since joining CBH in 2014, Mr Macnamara had been instrumental in bringing a strong commercial focus to the business and establishing a planning function to ensure network investment is prioritised based on the growing size of the crop and growers needs.
He also led the operations division, in his role as chief operations officer, through a period of significant network investment and planning for this year's record crop.
Mr Macnamara said he was humbled to have the opportunity to lead CBH and serve WA graingrowers.
"Growing up in a farming family in the Wheatbelt of WA, I recognise the significant role our co-operative plays in the livelihoods of thousands of graingrowers across the State, and I am proud to be a part of that," Mr Macnamara said.
"It's an honour to be appointed as CEO and to work closely with the growers and to lead our people through a really exciting time for agriculture in the State."
With the role permanently his, Mr Macnamara plans to take a longer-term focus going forward and will anchor his strategy around the co-operative's centenary in 2023.
The key focus of that strategy will centre around key stakeholders, the growers, CBH staff and customers, including both users of the supply chain and the end users of WA grain.
"In terms of the three key focus areas, we will be looking at continuing to enhance the network to be able to deal with the growing task," Mr Macnamara said.
"Secondly we will look at enhancing our systems and processes which is about improving information and driving productivity and efficiency gains through the supply chain.
"The third and most important aspect will be focusing on our people by continuing to develop them and enhance their capability for the future - we've got great people, I'm really proud to lead them and we'll all go on the journey together."
On top of his seven year's experience at CBH, Mr Macnamara also had more than 20 years' experience working across an investment advisory firm and an international professional services firm.
He also holds a Bachelor of Business and is a Chartered Accountant.
CBH chairman Simon Stead said the board was pleased to appoint Mr Macnamara as the group's 11th chief executive officer.
"Ben's strong track record and proven leadership capabilities, further demonstrated in recent months as acting CEO, made him a clear choice in the board's final decision to fill the CEO position on a permanent basis," Mr Stead said.
"His experience across these various disciplines make him the ideal person to lead CBH as we continue to invest in our network, focus on service to our growers and customers, improve our systems and develop our people.
"In selecting a new CEO, the board's priority was to identify someone who will remain steadfastly focused on the core of CBH - an efficient and cost-effective supply chain, finding the highest value markets for your grain and leveraging the co-operative model to continue to return value to WA growers."
With the role of chief executive officer now filled, the board and Mr Macnamara plan to turn their attention to the roles left vacant by his promotion.
Mick Daw had been holding the seat of acting chief operating officer for the past five months which also meant someone was filling in as the Esperance zone general manager while he sat with the leadership team.
"Mick has done a sensational job getting us in a position for a record crop and it's been really pleasing to have him step up," Mr Macnamara said.
"That also meant that we've had a number of others that have stepped up and over the coming weeks, filling those roles will be a key area of focus."
Want weekly news highlights delivered to your inbox? Sign up to the Farm Weekly newsletter.
