Although 2020 has been a year like no other, the industry must be commended for its resilience and continued ability to adapt and deliver, in the face of adversity.
Like most businesses across Australia Freshcare has not been immune from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have worked to provide practical alternatives and adjustments to ensure participating businesses could continue operations and maintain their certification despite the disruption to supply chains, air travel and border closures that impacted the availability of auditors.
2020 also marked the twentieth anniversary of Freshcare’s establishment. Freshcare would not be the organisation it is today without the significant efforts of the Freshcare team – past and present. The team’s focus on ensuring our standards meet not just the needs of businesses today to deliver safe, quality, sustainable Australian produce but to ensure those standards continue to be relevant in to the future. Without the contribution of the Freshcare team and a number of key people across the industry, the Freshcare program would not be the success it is today.
Freshcare is an example of what can be achieved when as an industry we come together to achieve a common goal. As an organisation Freshcare exists only to ensure that our participating businesses can continue to demonstrate their capacity to grow, pack and distribute what is recognised globally as some of the highest quality produce in the world.
As the custodian of Australia’s most widely used standards across the horticulture and viticulture sectors, we have an obligation to position Freshcare for a sustainable future. This means ensuring as an organisation that we have the right corporate structure and the financial capacity to continue to deliver in the long term.
To assist with these goals, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Siebum as Freshcare’s CEO joining the Freshcare team in January 2021.
Jane brings a wealth of non-profit experience to the organisation, and joins Freshcare having recently wrapped up her role as CEO of Scouts NSW. Jane’s experience extends to technology transformation projects at major Australian Businesses, and also includes time as the President of Bowen Pastoral Agricultural Association along with a range of voluntary roles as a non-executive director and committee member at other non-profits.
I’d like to thank Yvonne Diab for her work as Interim CEO over the first 9 months of 2020 and wish her well for future roles.
As 2020 draws to a close, we wish you and your families health and happiness for the festive season, and look forward to a substantially less complex and challenging year in 2021.
Allan Dall,
Chairperson
Freshcare Ltd.
