General News
5 July, 2023
Terang Co-op announces new chief
THE Terang and District Co-op board has announced the appointment of its new chief executive officer, with incumbent leader Kevin Ford set to retire later this year.
THE Terang and District Co-op board has announced the appointment of its new chief executive officer, with incumbent leader Kevin Ford set to retire later this year.
Tasked with leading the Co-op in to the future will be experienced retail manager Gary Tempany, who currently heads the Mt Barker Co-op in Western Australia.
Mr Tempany will officially start at the High Street operation in November 2023.
Co-op chair Geoff Barby said Mr Tempany was well-known among the community of retail co-operatives, having spent the last six years at the Mt Barker Co-operative in Western Australia.
“Although there’s more than 3200km between our own co-operative here in Terang and the location of his current role, Gary has, for the past six years, had a genuine interest in our operation and its growth under Kevin’s stewardship – simply out of an awareness, as a committed Co-operative manager, in who we are and what we do,” he said.
“He was one of the first potential candidates to reach out when we began our search for Kevin’s replacement in the second half of last year.”
Mr Barby said one thing which stood out in the Co-op’s dealings with Mr Tempany was how ‘at home’ he clearly was amongst the Terang and south west community.
“Gary is originally from Kyabram, and so has a passion and sensibility for regional communities that is clearly in his bones,” he said.
Mr Barby said Mr Tempany’s experience in both a regional community and retail – including spending time as a national category manager for Coles Supermarkets; group manager of merchandise and marketing for Metcash Trading and general manager of merchandise and marketing for Tradelink – made him an “ideal choice to lead the Co-op into the future”.
He said while he was excited to announce Mr Tempany would be joining the Co-op, he also acknowledged the announcement came with some sadness as it signalled Kevin Ford’s final months at the organisation after six and a half years.
“It does mean that it’s the end of an era for a great CEO who has achieved much in his time here,” Mr Barby said.
“But, that said, we are also pleased that Kevin’s final months at the Co-op will be spent overseeing a crucial final project in his transformative time with us: helping to complete the implementation of a new operating system.
“His work is not done yet, and he has indicated he intends to be very hands on until his last day at 30-38 High Street.”
While Mr Ford oversees the new system install, Mr Tempany is expected to be working with him on a number of projects and activities to facilitate as smooth a transition as possible when the changeover occurred.
“Thanks to technology, and the capacity of our team developed in recent years, this will be done by Mr Tempany from his current post in Western Australia, as he does there what Mr Ford will be doing here – finishing off important projects and ensuring his exit is smooth,” Mr Barby said.
He said the board looked forward to sharing more information with Co-op staff, members and the local community about Mr Tempany over the coming months to ensure that he was a familiar face by the time he arrived in Terang later this year.
Mr Barby also acknowledged the cooperation and forward planning offered by Mr Ford to ensure the transition between CEOs would be as seamless as possible.
“Rest assured we will also be saying and doing more later this year to acknowledge Kevin’s valuable and impressive contribution to our organisation and wider community,” he said.