The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) elected three board members to the 9 member board at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 27 October 2022.
COSBOA welcomes back to the Board for a further three-year term:
Christine Pope, Director at the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society (ATMS)
David Gandolfo, Chair of Advocacy at the Commercial & Asset Finance Brokers Association of Australia Ltd (CAFBA)
Elected to the Board for the first time, COSBOA welcomes:
Simon Foster, former President, Digital Service Providers Australia New Zealand (DSPANZ)
The COSBOA Board members join Matthew Addison, Executive Director of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers; Elizabeth Skirving, CEO at Rural Business Tasmania; Colm Maguire, Group Executive Pharmacy Transformation at the Pharmacy Guild; Jos de Bruin, CEO of Master Grocers Australia Ltd; Ben Kearney, Chief Executive Officer of Australian Lottery and Newsagents’ Association (ALNA) and Wes Lambert, Director Australian Foodservice Advisory Board.
Matthew Addison, Chair of COSBOA said the organisation has an outstanding group of experienced directors to lead the organisation and support Alexi Boyd, CEO to advocate for small business.
“This is a critical time in representing the interests of small businesses, especially in a post-COVID era where we have significant issues to address such as cyber security and digitalisation, migration, workforce shortages, VET and skills, and industrial relations reform.
“COSBOA is privileged to have a Board of extremely capable and knowledgeable leaders who together with our members, are representing a broad spectrum of industry sectors for the betterment of family and small business.
“I’m excited to see what we can achieve for all Australian small businesses,” said Addison.
After eight years serving on the Board, Dominic Schipano, National Executive Officer, Communications and Information Technology Training Ltd (CITT) Australia, will continue to support COSBOA and provide his expertise as Chair of the Expert Panel, Vet and Skills.
Expressing his gratitude, Addison said, “On behalf of our Board, CEO, members, and their small businesses around Australia, I would like to personally thank Dominic for his service to COSBOA. Dominic’s skills and experience particularly in the vocational education space have been and will continue to be invaluable.”
Following the AGM, COSBOA hosted a Members Council Meeting, themed “Gearing up for 2030”. The Council Meeting provided members with an update from the CEO on recent projects and a review of the budget outcomes for small business. The meeting considered matters including the digital future, climatic impacts and regulatory updates. Policy matters were discussed as the foundation to develop further advocacy and planning for Small Business.