23 April 2007

Bushfire CRC Chairman - Len Foster Takes the Helm

Further to the message from outgoing Chairman Ian Mac Dougall about his retirement, the changeover to incoming Chairman Len Foster has proceeded smoothly in recent weeks.

Len has visited the CRC office several times since taking over on 1 April, has met briefly with CRC Research Program Leaders and has had a very productive planning session with CRC staff. While Len has relinquished all formal roles with AFAC and the CFA (except his volunteer role at Boorolite, near Mansfield), it is clear his long experience as Chairman of the CFA, his knowledge of the industry, his institutional and political contacts, combined with his influential role in the establishment and early years of the CRC, will be very valuable to the CRC in tackling the challenges ahead.

Outgoing Chairman Ian Mac Dougall has retired from all official positions (he was also Chairman of the Australian Veterans’ Children Assistance Trust), but assures us that he will now even more fully engage with the active community in Marrawah on the northwest coast of Tasmania, and devote more effort to his part-time Bachelor of Arts studies through the University of New England. In his time as CRC Chairman, Ian took a personal interest in the welfare of CRC researchers, students and staff. While the CRC office team was able to catch Ian for a lunch on his next to last day (30 March), the timing of his retirement limited opportunities for CRC people to say farewell and we hope that an opportunity comes up for more people to say thanks and goodbye.

Kevin O’Loughlin
CEO