The APPMA membership has spoken: In what has proven to be the most competitive voting round to date for the highly prized seats on the board of Australia’s peak body for the packaging and processing machinery sector, Mark Emmett, Rym Kachouri and Mark Hollingsworth have retained their positions.
This year there were seven candidates vying for three seats, and the heightened level of campaign activity signified just how esteemed an APPMA Board role is, albeit in voluntary capacity. The results were announced at the AGM held today, 10 October.
All three successful candidates were up for re-election in line with the constitution, which sees a candidate’s seat vacated after a three-year term, and the candidate having the option to stand again. Candidates are representatives of APPMA member companies.
Over 50 per cent of the membership voted in this round, via an electronic voting system implemented since 2019. Prior to that, as APPMA CEO Michael Moran explains, the APPMA Director voting process was restricted to those members attending the AGM in person.
“The updating of the constitution enabled us to run elections electronically prior to the AGM, which in turn has encouraged more member nominations to be forthcoming and a greater level of engagement from members in the voting process,” Moran said.
“The use of Big Pulse, a world renowned, robust, secure and independent voting system, has provided the guaranteed security, auditability and integrity of the voting process and results. The outcome of these changes are self-evident, with the APPMA Director ballots in the 2019 to 2022 years seeing the appointment of four new directors to the Board, all of whom have played pivotal roles in the ongoing development of the Association and APPEX 2024.”
And it is APPEX 2024 that was central to this vote. All three incumbent Board members had been active in the transition from AUSPACK to APPEX, and during the campaign run-up all expressed they were keen to see the project through to fruition.
Mark Hollingsworth, CEO of Rhima Australia, said, “It’s great to be re-elected to the APPMA Board to ensure we can continue the work already started in delivering APPEX 2024 to be a successful and true all- of-industry event.
“I look forward to being part of the Board's continued growth plans for our industry association and thank our members for their continued support in re-electing me.”
Rym Kachouri, GM of Service and Agency Products at Foodmach, campaigned alongside Hollingsworth as both are actively involved in the APPEX steering committee, which she chairs.
She said: “I'm thrilled and honoured to continue my role on the APPMA board and lead the APPEX working group, with a focus on taking APPEX 2024 to a more global scale, this time with the entire processing and packaging industry.
“We've had an exceptional pool of motivated candidates with – for the first time – real social media campaigns. Therefore, I'm proud of my previous involvement in revising the APPMA constitution to enable online voting that over the last three years has enhanced the competitiveness and democracy of our elections. This year's re-election was very stressful, but it's a significant step forward for our industry. Exciting times ahead!”
Incumbent APPMA Treasurer and MD of HMPS, Mark Emmett, expressed his gratitude to every member who voted for him in this re-election.
“I was up against some tough competition,” he acknowledged. “I am excited for the next chapter of APPMA and, in particular, the upcoming APPEX. I look forward to continued collaboration and advancement of the process and packaging industries as we grow the sector together.”
