The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) welcomes and congratulates Australian Forest and Wood Innovation's (AFWI's) newly appointed Executive Director, Dr Joseph Lawrence to the role ahead of an exciting phase for forestry sector research and development, Chief Executive Officer of AFPA, Diana Hallam said today.
"AFPA and the broader forestry sector are excited to have Dr Lawrence start as AFWI's Executive Director this week. Dr Lawrence brings extensive experience in research, innovation and industry development through an array of roles at universities, government agencies and across a number of industries, including manufacturing, agrifood, health, digital, energy and construction," Diana Hallam said.
"Dr Lawrence's appointment marks an important new phase for AFWI as it embarks on a program of transformative research that will help Australia's forestry sector find new avenues of innovation and enterprise, at the same time the world is looking for ways to decarbonise.
"There are enormous opportunities for our industries to hone the scope of use for sustainable timber and wood fibre - and AFWI has a central and exciting role in this space."
Dr Joseph Lawrence holds a PHD in Engineering Management from the University of Canterbury, a technical MBA (MEM) and a Bachelor of Engineering. He's held roles as Pro Vice-Chancellor at Federation University and Deakin University. Over his career his focus has included research on business models for collaborative research centres and execution of strategic research and innovation initiatives.
During his time at Monash University, Dr Lawrence established the Monash Food Innovation Centre and in New Zealand he helped grow the Centre for Electric Power.
"AFPA had a key role delivering AFWI and we're looking forward to working with Dr Lawrence as he takes the reins to facilitate research and development that matters for the Australian forestry industry. Part of the formula for success is to ensure local industry participation, so forestry can get the most from AFWI as a research and development institution for our future-focused sector," Diana Hallam concluded.
