The British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) has announced the appointment of two new board members, following the amendment of its articles of association to ensure greater transparency and involvement from its membership.
Stephen Wright, managing director of Thorite and Allan Dolby, managing director of Direct Air have been elected to the Board, following their roles as Distribution Committee members, increasing distribution member board representation to three seats.
These elections follow the amendment to the articles of association in 2016, voted for and approved by members, meaning elections now take place every two years, with all members able to cast a vote for the five available seats; helping to shape the future direction of the Society.
Vanda Jones, BCAS executive director explains the reason for the new structure and how it is helping the Society to evolve.
“In its 88-year history, the BCAS Board has been pivotal in providing timely, accurate information for our members and helping to lobby Government for legislative change that delivers the best deal for the industry.
“Historically, Board directors secured their posts as a result of their position as a Group member or, by nomination from the current Board of directors.
“As we continue to develop the Society to deliver best value and to be the main source of advice for the vacuum and compressed air industry, we felt we should modernise the Board structure to be more inclusive and representative of our members’ concerns.
“This significant change to the original articles of association is ensuring that we remain accountable and can continue to be viewed as a trusted and independent source of advice for the industry. It means that all committee chairs are now elected, and each Board member assumes a specific business role, such as finance, HR, marketing and technical support.”
Commenting on his new role, Stephen Wright, managing director of Thorite said, “I have been involved with BCAS for many years, particularly through my work with the distributor committee. The amendment to the articles of association, which allow distributors to sit on the Board, will bring an important and fresh perspective to the Society from those companies that are often involved directly with end-users. I’m very much looking forward to getting started.”
Allan Dolby, managing director of Direct Air added, “I am extremely proud to have been elected to this position alongside Stephen by our fellow BCAS members. I’m looking forward to working directly with the leading manufacturers and engineers in our industry, to ensure we can continue to deliver the highest level of knowledge and best practice to not only end-users, but future compressed air engineers also.”
Directors serve a two-year term before either standing for re-election or standing down.
To find out more about the work of BCAS and for the latest technical and legislative advice, please visit the BCAS website at www.bcas.org.uk
