David O’Brien, managing director of Doboy Cold Stores, Hemmant, Queensland, Australia, is the 2017-18 chairman of the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses’ (IARW) board of directors. Elected unanimously during the trade association’s recent convention in California, he is the first Australian to chair the board in decades.
O’Brien plans to focus on the “Lead the Cold Chain” aspect of the Alexandria, Virginia, USA-headquartered organization’s strategic plan. He will specifically focus how the cold chain can be developed and employed to maximize food rescue and help feed less fortunate populations around the planet.
David Chairman O’Brien (third from left) is applauded upon being installed as the new IARW chairman. At his right is Eben James, outgoing chairman.“After learning that the world produces enough food to feed 10 billion people, yet there are 800 million people chronically undernourished, I realized the tremendous impact that cold chain development can have on feeding the hungry,” O’Brien said. “Too often food is lost because of an underdeveloped cold chain, and we can change that. I look forward to driving food rescue efforts forward during my term as chairman.”
IARW is the third-party temperature-controlled warehousing core partner of the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). It dedicates itself to promoting best practices in the temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics industry through research, industry benchmarking, networking and education. Members work closely with the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), another GCCA core partner, to improve food systems – specifically in relation to the safe, efficient, and reliable movement of perishable products to the global community.
O’Brien has been joined on the board by Vice Chairman Doug Harrison of VersaCold Logistics Services, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Treasurer Andy Janson of Hanson Logistics, St. Joseph, Michigan, USA.
Elected to serve three-year terms as directors-at-large on the IARW board are Harry Halpert of MTC Logistics, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and Neal Rider of AGRO Merchants Group, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Rich Bauer of South East Cold Storage, Miramar, Florida, USA, was elected to represent the organization’s Southeastern Chapter.
