AUSTRALIA'S growing stature as a significant beef exporter amid tough global trading conditions has been reflected in a shakeup of Meat & Livestock Australia's marketing structure announced today.
The overhaul announced by MLA managing director Scott Hansen will see a new global marketing general manager installed in late March, who will take responsibility for all of the company's domestic and overseas marketing activities.
The new role will be filled by Michael Edmonds, former general manager sales and marketing of Top Cut Foods, a Simplot Australia company and a leading provider of meat and protein-based meal solutions to foodservice and retail trade.
Originally from Colac in rural Victoria, Mr Edmonds has broad experience both within Australia and overseas for various confectionary and beverage labels.
Mr Hansen said one of his greatest strengths was in the area of brand management, which the MLA boss has signalled will be used as a key assault weapon in the future as Australian beef exporters look to claim more market share from their overseas rivals.
"There are new beef brands in the marketplace than ever before and we certainly see brand marketing as a key step forward for Australian beef," he said.
Mr Hansen said Mr Edmonds brought more than two decades of experience and a unique blend of marketing and industry expertise to the new role, having worked in both trade and direct consumer marketing of global food and beverage brands.
He will take up his appointment immediately prior to the 2012 MLA marketing taskforce meetings held from March 20-22 in Sydney, where industry representatives and MLA will finalise budgets and marketing activities around the globe for the year.
Mr Edmonds' appointment forms part of a structural change instigated by Mr Hansen that will see the formerly separate domestic and international marketing efforts now consolidated under a single marketing unit.
Mr Hansen said the restructure was a reflection of how Australian beef was now traded across the world.
"Today's announcement is about how commerce is responding to global conditions. Once upon a time you always sold in Australia first and then you looked to see what markets were available to you to take what was left," he said.
"In this day and age exporters and companies are looking both in Australia and around the world simultaneously to see where they will get the best return.
"It's a reflection that we've seen some rapidly emerging markets that are able to bid competitively for meat and by-products, which is a result of commercial companies showing the lead and demonstrating that our business starts on a global perspective and not in our back yard first.
"We're going to be constantly looking at our business to make sure we remain as relevant to our producers and stakeholders as much as possible."
While Mr Hansen would not be drawn on longer term plans, there are more short-term changes in the wind, with plans to create a new role called regional manager Australia.
This will match the other regional manager positions MLA currently has allocated for Australia's key export markets such as Japan, US, Korea, Europe and the Middle East.
All regional managers will report to Mr Edmonds instead of current international marketing services general manager Peter Barnard who will continue to look after live exports, market access and MLA's market reporting service in a new department to be called Information Trade Services.
"Given the amount of work in those areas at the moment that is an enormous workload and we're happy to have someone with Peter's skill and experience in charge of that unit," Mr Hansen said.
The consolidation of MLA's global and domestic marketing focus has left no room for MLA's general manager marketing, Glen Feist, who has left the business in the wake of the restructure. It is believed Mr Feist has plans to return to South East Asia where he has previously operated businesses.
Mr Hansen said Mr Feist had made a substantial contribution to industry's marketing programs including maintaining the positive momentum for domestic lamb as well as the delivery of a refreshed domestic beef marketing program.
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