I am pleased to announce that AILA has appointed a new CEO, Ben Stockwin.
 
Ben is an experienced CEO and leader within government, education and not-for-profit sectors. Ben was most recently CEO of the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA) for nine years. This role saw him lead a national tripartite membership network from the government, industry and education sectors to transform the primary industries education landscape.
Through previous roles, Ben has gained not only a tremendous skill set in managing a diverse national organisation, but he has also gained an appreciation of the intersect between the natural, managed and constructed environments. Issues around sustainability, nature deficit disorder, increasing population and climate change were at the forefront of Ben’s work and he looks forward to integrating these into his new role as CEO of AILA.
 
Ben’s key personal and professional motivation is to assist organisations and societies drive change that allows individuals to be the best version of themselves. Having functional and aesthetically supportive spaces is critical to this.
 
Outside of his role as a CEO, Ben has undertaken a number of volunteer roles as diverse as head national judge for the Junior Landcare Awards and President of Surfing Tasmania, with a broad range of interests including surfing, stand up paddle boarding, touch football and cooking.
 
Ben was appointed following an open recruitment process with five candidates being interviewed. He was appointed on the strengths of his experience as a CEO, his proven ability to lead an organisation with members across Australia, his education background as well as his common cultural values, dynamic energy and emotional intelligence expressed in successive interviews. 
 
Initially working primarily from AILA’s national office in Canberra as he relocates from Tasmania, Ben will lead an examination of the AILA working environment, and will specifically focus on how we can more effectively service a national audience using IT, flexible service delivery and a variety of communication methods to better engage with members, partners and stakeholders.
 
Underlined by a core focus on strategic outcomes, Ben will work with the AILA board and staff to look at a range of options for this from the status quo, a fully remote workforce or a hybrid approach.    
 
Ben was able to demonstrate that a remote approach functioned with great success for PIEFA and he brings to AILA knowledge of what worked well, potential pitfalls and key learnings from such a transition. It is also aligned to our flexible workplace practices already successfully embraced by AILA staff across Australia.
 
Ben will officially commence his role as CEO of AILA on the 6 April 2020, however has already started the transition process. He will be travelling across Australia in the next six weeks with his current work and will endeavour to touch base with state chapter executives and members, where his schedule allows.
 
We are delighted that Ben will be joining us in the next chapter of AILA’s progression. Our cities and regions are facing unprecedented social, cultural and environmental challenges. We firmly believe Ben’s extensive experience will help provide leadership to the Institute to continue to raise our membership profile, our engagement with allied organisations and partners and our advocacy to all levels of government. 
 
In the interim, don’t hesitate to contact Catherine Horner, National Manager, Finance and Business Operations on operational matters at (02) 6248 9970 or Shaun Walsh, National President on 0407 640 678 on more strategic matters.

 
Regards.


Shaun Walsh, AILA National Director