A PUSH to relocate wool-marketing operations to London is at the centre of a bitter boardroom dispute at Australian Wool Innovation.

As revealed last week by The Weekly Times, the eight-member board is very much divided on its marketing policies.

While the majority of the board and its chief executive, Brenda McGahan, are committed to joint venture marketing with major retailers and global brands, the issue was far from settled.

UK processor and AWI board member Laurence Modiano has been pushing hard for a generic program.

This week The Weekly Times also learnt that, at AWI's most recent board meeting a fortnight ago, Mr Modiano also proposed that AWI marketing programs be administered from a London office.

He proposed that this office should report directly to the AWI board rather than to chief executive Ms McGahan.

Sources within AWI said that the meeting, called specifically to finalise AWI's strategic and operation plans, was far from harmonious and that directors were almost evenly divided.

The source said reports of turmoil in the AWI board, reported in The Weekly Times last week were "just the tip of the iceberg".

Chairman Wal Merriman last week confirmed that opinion on the future of AWI's $24 million marketing program was very much divided.

Mr Merriman also said the next three-year strategic plan had to be finalised and presented to Agriculture Minister Tony Burke before June 30.

A report by former director Ken Boundy said AWI operations could be divided into three commercial entities - a research division, Woolmark licensing and wool marketing based in London.

Mr Modiano has continued to push the London move.

In other reports concerning AWI:

Director Chick Olsson and board members Meredith Sheill and Laurence Modiano are leading a marketing tour of Asia and Europe

AWI has leased an office in northern France for its European manager, Nagy Bensid, replacing AWI's Paris office. An AWI spokesman said as part of cutting the cost of doing business, AWI has removed the office from central Paris to a lower-cost regional location.

"We seek to meet customers in their offices and sales rooms rather than have year-round expensive space ourselves," he said.