CBH ELECTIONS: Two directors face no competition but John O’Neil set for contest with Merredin farmer

Two of three CBH Group directors up for re-election this year have retained their seats unopposed, but Mukinbudin farmer John O’Neil is set for a two-man race with Merredin’s Mick Caughey. The co-operative this week unveiled candidates for Districts 1, 2 and 4 in its member director elections, with all of the hopefuls opting to take part in a candidate assessment panel process. Just four growers — three directors and one new candidate Mr Caughey — went through the CAP process, which is mandatory for sitting directors and voluntary for new candidates to determine if they have the “desired skills and attributes” for the board. Among them were incumbents Ken Seymour of Miling (District 1), Mr O’Neil (District 2) and Royce Taylor of Lake Grace (District 4), as well as new candidate Mr Caughey — who has thrown his hat in the ring for District 2. Mr Seymour and Mr Taylor faced no opposition for their roles when nominations closed on January 3, but Mr O’Neil and Mr Caughey are set to go head-to-head for their position with the result set to be announced on February 13. Mr Caughey is one of three District 2 representatives on CBH’s grower advisory council, a 16-person group which aims to improve communication between growers, the board, and management. Mr Seymour and Mr O’Neil both joined the board in February 2020, while Mr Taylor was named a director in June 2021. Mr Seymour replaced Rod Madden, who retired after 12 years, while Mr O’Neil beat board veteran Vern Dempster after 12 years. It has been a short two-year term for Mr Taylor, who filled a role left vacant for more than a year after former chair Wally Newman dramatically resigned in April 2020.  The lack of contest in the 2023 election comes after growers last year voted incumbents Jeff Seaby and Helen Woodhams for Districts 2 and 4 and replaced retiring director Kevin Fuchsbichler with Barry West in District 3. It has been a relatively quiet two years for the CBH board, with no major dramas made public after years of unrest that came to a head with Mr Newman’s resignation. The CAP process was introduced in 2021 as part of changes to how the board election process was run, at a time when CBH was trying to improve its corporate governance after a period of board turmoil. The panel is made up of three people — CBH chair Simon Stead and high-profile Perth corporate leaders Terry Agnew and Suzanne Ardagh. While the panel does not provide a recommendation to growers on who to vote for, it gives candidates a confidential “rating” on how the panel believed they would fit into a directors’ role. CBH also implemented a strict electioneering code of conduct to highlight “minimum standards” for candidates’ behaviour — allowing them to present their skills, attributes and experience while ensuring their conduct was carried out in an “honest and fair way”, protecting the “commercial interests of CBH” and the “standing and reputation of CBH’s officers, employees and members”. MEET THE CBH BOARD Member Directors Simon Stead, Cascade (District 5) Elected February 2015, appointed deputy chair April 2019, appointed chair April 2020 Natalie Browning, Kondinin (District 3) Elected February 2018, appointed deputy chair in April 2020 Jeff Seaby, Mukinbudin (District 2) Elected February 2019 Barry West, Kulin (District 3) Elected February 2022 John O’Neil, Mukinbudin (District 2) Elected February 2020 Ken Seymour, Moora (District 1) Elected February 2020 Gareth Rowe, Walkaway (District 1) Elected June 2021 Helen Woodhams, Kojonup (District 4) Elected August 2020 Royce Taylor, Lake Grace (District 4) Elected June 2021 Independent Directors Alan Mulgrew Appointed February 2015 David Lock Appointed February 2019 Paul Sadlier Appointed February 2021