GRAIN Growers Association has appointed two women as independent directors of its board.
They are Rural Finance Corporation of Victoria director Sandra (Sam) Andersen and UBS' compliance committee member Anne O'Donnell.
GGA members voted at the company's annual general meeting in February to allow the current directors to appoint two non-grower members to its board.
It is the first time women have been appointed to the board of GGA or its predecessors, Prime Wheat Association and Premium Wheat Growers' Association, since the company began in 1958.
GGA chairman John Eastburn said it was the "sizeable changes" over the past year which had led to a restructure of the constitution to allow non-grower directors to the board.
"Members acknowledged the need to broaden the depth of experience and skill on the GGA board and I'm very pleased to announce that following a comprehensive recruitment campaign, two non-grower directors have been appointed to the GGA board," he said.
Ms Andersen, 48, has a legal and accounting background, including 18 years in institutional and investment banking and finance.
Melbourne-based, she is currently the chair of Rural Finance Corporation's audit and risk management committee.
She has previously held senior positions with the ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank.
Ms O'Donnell, 47, grew up on a mixed farm in the central west of NSW.
She spent 20 years at ANZ Bank before taking a short stint at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
In 2000, she took up her first chief executive position with funds manager Australian Ethical Investment Ltd.
During her time at Australian Ethical Investments, the funds managed rose from $85 million to more than $600 million in 2009.
