Ross Hampton
Ross Hampton has resigned as CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) after 10 years in the position. Mr Hampton, who is moving to the United Kingdom, will remain as CEO until early next year. Source: Timberbiz
Former MP and AFPA director Joel Fitzgibbon will act as interim CEO during the search for Mr Hampton’s replacement.
“AFPA and the whole industry was very fortunate to secure Ross 10 years ago when AFPA was less than two years old,” Chair Diana Gibbs said.
“Ross has overseen the growth of our Association from modest beginnings to being truly the influential, pan-industry, advocacy body the founders envisaged.
“Ross has led AFPA into a deep and mutually supportive relationship with agriculture and helped place forest industries in the centre of the vital work of climate mitigation,” she said.
“Under his guidance, AFPA helped secure more than $300 million in new commitments for forest industries in the last election, including $100 million for a National Institute for Forest Products Innovation in partnership with UTAS.”
Mr Hampton said it had been a great honour and privilege to work with the AFPA team, its dedicated directors and the hundreds he had met in the AFPA’s member companies.
“To a woman and man, they believe passionately in the place for sustainable forest industries in the environmental, social and economic life of our nation,” he said.
“There are some 80,000 people employed across the full value chain of forest industries from the truck drivers and machine operators to the scientists in their lab coats.
“Every morning I have gone to work thinking of them and how we can better their lives and help secure their futures.”
Mr Hampton said that if the past decade had one overriding theme it had been that Australia’s national leadership, processes and systems needed to better recognise the “miracle of forestry”.
“Done sustainably, as we do in Australia – with every tree we use replanted or regrown – our nation and the world, has access to the ultimate renewable and a big part of the solution to the greatest environmental challenge of our generation in climate change.”
He said his work had necessarily involved deep and ongoing connections with federal politicians and he indebted to all of them as they listened to the AFPA’s arguments and helped us co-create outcomes which were for the good of Australia.”
