The Independent Brewers Association (IBA) held its annual general meeting (AGM) this week, which saw two new full board member appointments – Corinna Steeb from Prancing Pony Brewery and Clare Clouting from Gage Roads Brewing Co
Steeb and Clouting were elected by the membership for a three-year term. The AGM also saw the nomination of two casual directors to the board for one-year appointments with the board asking Peter Philip from Wayward Brewing Co to serve a final one-year term as Chairman and Jonny Latta from Nomad Brewing Co to continue to lead the Trade Marketing Group.
IBA Treasurer, David Kitchen from Ballistic Brewing Co., described how the association has fared in 2020 and its direction for the next 12 months.
“The last year has been a massive challenge for the association and every indie brewery out there. Now we need to shift our focus from survival to recovery and growth – there is a lot to do so I’m looking forward to helping to lead the organisation through the big list of priorities we have for the indie beer industry,” Kitchen said.
“With our General Manager Kylie Lethbridge now in place and a cohesive and driven team, I really feel that the association is up to the challenges that 2020 has presented us.”
Kitchen also noted the great skills and experience included in all four board appointments.
“The IBA has greatly benefited from having Peter serve as our chair through what has been an incredibly challenging year and the board unanimously felt that continuity while the industry recovers would be the best thing for the association and the entire indie beer industry. I’d like to thank Peter for agreeing to serve out another year on the board to lead the industry into this year of recovery,” Kitchen said.
“I am also very pleased to see the election as a full board member of Corinna Steeb who brings a tremendous amount of business and governance experience and Clare Clouting who has deep experience in beer quality, manufacturing and production. The reappointment of Johnny Latta follows on from the great work that Johnny has been undertaking for members in the Trade Marketing project team that the board felt was important to continue.”
The AGM news comes ahead of IBA’s annual Independent Beer Awards on November 19, which this year will be broadcast from a studio in Melbourne to viewing parties across the country.
To find out where you can tune into the Independent Beer Awards, head to the IBA socials.
Read more about the awards and other experiences of independent brewers in the November issue of National Liquor News, where IBA General Manager Kylie Lethbridge writes of the sector’s positives and negatives in a hectic time.