UPDATE: A DYSFUNCTIONAL Australian Wool Innovation board has forced the resignation of its chief executive, Brenda McGahan.

Ms McGahan resigned on Monday but has yet to decide on a departure date.

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Her resignation follows three months of turmoil in the AWI board over the direction of its marketing programs.

    TROUBLED TIMES
  • Nine years, 21 directors, four chief executives, four chairmen
  • January 2001. Australian Wool Innovation established to administer research  and innovation.
  • May 2002. AWI, chaired by Maree McCaskill, recruits former NSW policeman and forestry industry executive Col Dorber as managing director.
  • November 2002. Former federal minister and South Australian grazier Ian McLachlan gains control of the board.  Mr Dorber resigns.
  • March 2003. Former Victorian departmental research veterinarian Dr Len Stephens appointed chief executive.
  • November 2003. AWI board proposes changes to the election process to make it easier for candidates to nominate for the AWI board.
  • November 2004. AWI backs industry decision to end surgical mulesing from December 2010. NSW stud Merino breeder Wal Merriman elected to AWI board.
  • January 2005. AWI launches federal court action over disruptive action by  PETA and animal activists.
  • September 2006. Len Stephens' contract not renewed
  • December 2006. Former Coles Myer executive Craig Welsh appointed chief executive.
  • November 2007. Candidates opposed to the mulesing deadline, Roger Fletcher and Chick Olsson, elected to AWI board.
  • June 2007. AWI settles out of court with PETA
  • November 2008. Dr Meredith Sheil and Laurence Modiano elected to AWI board giving the anti-mulesing deadline forces control of the board.  Wal Merriman succeeds Brian van Rooyen as chairman.
  • February 2009. Brenda McGahan appointed chief executive.
  • June 2009.  AWI abandons support for the December 2010 mulesing deadline.
  • October 2009. Producers in WoolPoll give resounding support for 2 per cent levy and AWI proposal to spend 70 per cent of levy funding on marketing and market developments
  • February 2010. Brenda McGahan resigns.

"It's been a very difficult and impossible situation," Ms McGahan told The Weekly Times yesterday.

She agreed with AWI chairman Wal Merriman's comments that she was frustrated at the ongoing differences of opinion among board members, particularly since AWI's annual general meeting in November.

Delays to the current marketing programs and the failure of the board to re-establish a market intelligence department also compounded Ms McGahan's frustrations.

"Everything The Weekly Times has written in the last few months has been spot on," Ms McGahan said in reference to reports of a split within the board.

Ms McGahan was championed by Mr Merriman and appointed exactly 12 months ago.

"If I do nothing else the one thing I can be proud of is to appoint Brenda McGahan," Mr Merriman told the AWI annual meeting in November.

"I know I will be just one of many wool growers who will be disappointed at Brenda's decision," he said yesterday.

"She created a great sense of excitement and hope for the future of the wool industry in what has been a very tough environment over the past couple of years," he said.

Ms McGahan, a former marketing executive with the Coles Myer group, joined Australian Wool Services in October 2004 to head up Woolmark and its licensing business.

It was a position she held until the Woolmark business was acquired by AWI in October, 2007.

She replaced Craig Welsh, who quit AWI in December 2008, following the fiery board elections in November where the pro-mulesing directors led by Mr Merriman won control of the then nine-member board.

Ms McGahan, despite her enthusiasm for marketing and her strong rapport with wool-grower groups, found herself at odds initially with AWI director and UK processor and exporter Laurence Modiano last August over the direction of AWI's marketing programs.

While Ms McGahan was a strong advocate of the board-backed $28 million program of working directly with global retailers and brands, Mr Modiano wanted a commitment to generic promotion.

In recent months, Mr Modiano has been able to garner support from two or three other directors, including the outspoken Chick Olsson.

However, The Weekly Times understands that at last week's board meeting in Sydney the directors were divided 4-4 on the marketing direction.

The resignation also creates uncertainty for Mr Merriman's hold on the chairmanship.

"I'll stop on as the chairman if the board wants me," he said.

The resignation caught industry organisations off guard.

WoolProducers president Don Hamblin said he was disappointed but not surprised with the resignation of Ms McGahan.

He blamed the turmoil within the board on the election process.

"You just can't elect directors to the board through a popular vote," he said.

"Challengers, to win a seat have to, in effect, discredit existing board members, which is neither good for the board or the industry."

Mr Hamblin had favoured the appointment of a skills-based board rather than an election.