Two new directors have been voted on to the Board of the Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association – Ben Windeatt from Tetra (above left), and Kevin Rose from Lynchford Aquatics Ltd (above right).
Members of OATA have been voting to fill six places on the trade association’s Board of Directors with the results announced at its AGM.
Four familiar faces were voted back on the Board and they have been joined by Ben and Kevin who have not been on the OATA Board before.
The returning Board members are Robert Edgecock, from Independent Aquatic Imports Ltd; Simon Langdale, Maidenhead Aquatics; Andrew Stagg, NT Laboratories Ltd; and Paul West, Tropical Marine Centre.
OATA’s Board of Directors is made up of 18 people who represent the whole of the industry, from wholesalers and manufacturers to importers, pond and aquarium consultants and retailers. Before each AGM, six directors step down and nominations are invited. This year, seven names were put forward, sparking the need for a member vote.
“We’re very pleased to welcome these new faces to the OATA Board, as well as the returning directors,” said chairman James Allison.
“We pride ourselves on the breadth of experience we have on the OATA Board, which really helps the staff team in their work representing the whole of the industry. There are some big issues facing us at the moment, from forthcoming EU legislation on Invasive Alien Species to campaigns from powerful groups whose aim is to ban trade in pets, so it’s vital to have a strong and diverse Board to support the work of the association.
“We also run a system called New Blood where members who are interested in getting involved in the Board can come to meetings over the year to see what’s involved in being an OATA director. We’re very pleased that Philip Lawton from Kidsgrove Tropicals and Water Garden Centre will be joining us in this capacity. We’re always keen to see new people within the industry get involved in our work so if there are those who’d like to find out more about our New Blood scheme then we’d encourage them to get in touch with OATA. Maybe we’ll have even more new faces next year.”
The complete OATA Board of Directors is now made up of:
- James Allison, Aquapic Solutions
- Kevin Barton, ALF (Aquatic Distributors) Ltd
- Matthew Bubear, CASCO Europe
- Pete Carey, Pets at Home
- Robert Edgecock, Independent Aquatic Imports Ltd
- Mark Evenden, Devotedly Discus Ltd
- Jane Flaherty, JMC Aquatics Ltd
- Richard Hale, Berry Ring Herpetological and Aquatics Supplies Ltd
- Neil Hardy, Neil Hardy Aquatica Ltd
- Simon Langdale, Maidenhead Aquatics
- Ruth Low, Gordon Low Products Ltd
- David Pool, FishScience
- Kevin Rose, Lynchford Aquatics Ltd
- Andrew Stagg, NT Laboratories Ltd
- Paul West, Tropical Marine Centre
- Peter Wheeler, Aquajardin Ltd
- Ben Windeatt, Tetra
- Mark Winter, Aqua Pacific UK Ltd
