September 24, 2003

Grain Pool Pty. Ltd. Managing Director, Peter Reading has been appointed Managing Director of the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC), commencing February 1 next year.

Announcing the appointment, GRDC Board Chairman Terry Enright said an international executive search began in May for a successor to John Lovett after he announced his intention to retire from the GRDC, which annually invests more than $100 million in grains R&D on behalf of grain growers and the Federal Government.  

"Peter's change management skills, most recently exhibited when he helped guide and manage the merger of the Grain Pool's $750 million a year business with CBH, will invigorate the GRDC as it advances R&D to meet the challenging dynamics of the grains industry and helps maximise benefits for Australia¹s 34,000 growers," he said.

Mr Reading (53yo) stood out in an outstanding field of candidates, with his powerful and rare mix of domestic and international experience in agricultural science and R&D, grains marketing and grower and government liaison and management.

Mr Enright noted that as the GRDC increasingly operated globally where domestic stakeholder benefit could be demonstrated, Mr Reading¹s overseas experience, including more than a decade in senior management positions in the agricultural chemical and gas industries in Asia and the USA, would be valuable.

After graduating from the University of Sydney with an honours degree in agricultural science, he commenced post graduate studies in agronomy before leaving university to work for American Cyanamid in Australia, Asia and the USA, Incitec in Australia, British Oxygen Group in Australia and Asia and then Grain Pool in WA (2001-2003).

Mr Reading said he had always had a professional and academic interest in grains R&D, which he described as a key driver of Australia¹s $8 billion grains industry.

Emeritus Professor Lovett joined the GRDC in 1990 and was Managing Director for nine years.

Mr Enright paid tribute to Professor Lovett who had provided great leadership and played an important role in devising and implementing the GRDC¹s current five-year plan,'Driving Innovation", which signalled, among other things, its intention to further develop relationships between the private and public sectors.