COVID taskforce gun to help AWI board’s election run-up

Experienced board director Samantha Hogg will swap her role troubleshooting COVID-19 issues for helping Australian Wool Innovation run its board election process this year.

Ms Hogg was named AWI’s board nomination committee chair on Tuesday, two months after finishing on the National COVID-19 Commission Advisory Board.

The group helped to troubleshoot the crisis management phase of the pandemic but was disbanded by the Federal Government in May.

An experienced executive in the resources and infrastructure sectors, Ms Hogg will spend the next four months determining what skills potential AWI directors should have.

She will also consider candidates standing for election or re-election ahead of the AWI annual general meeting on November 19.

A big part of her role will be to make non-binding recommendations to AWI shareholders about which directors or aspiring directors they should vote for.

She will lead the group of five board nomination committee members, which includes two non-executive AWI directors, Noel Henderson and James Morgan.

Tasmanian woolgrower Simon Cameron will also serve on the board as an independent of the wool industry after being nominated by AWI’s Wool Industry Consultation Panel.

A representative from management consulting firm Heidrick & Struggles will also serve on the board after being nominated by AWI chief executive Stuart McCullough.

Ms Hogg has chaired Tasmanian Irrigation for the past four years and previously served as chief financial officer for ASX Top 20 company Transurban Limited.

Ms Hogg was appointed to the AWI role by an independent executive search company.

Director nominations close on September 20, with AWI’s AGM set to be held on November 19.