The Governance in Action program was at SunRice’s Sydney office and involved various sessions and presentations about corporate structure and principles.
The group also met with SunRice CEO Rob Gordon, chairman Laurie Arthur and other rice industry directors.
RGA president Jeremy Morton, who is one of the program’s participants, said it was a ‘‘pretty intense’’ three days.
‘‘We spent a lot of time on culture, governance and how to use powerful different thinking tools when dealing with complex issues,’’ he said.
‘‘There was a mock board meeting where we were put in as new directors with various challenges straight away, so we were thrown right into the deep end and needed to establish those different thinking tools.
‘‘During the session with Rob and Laurie, the discussion was about strategic planning and thinking.
‘‘For example discussing how you can go from an 800,000 tonne crop to 60,000 and, as a company, the other challenges they face.’’
Mr Morton said he was able to take away different strategies he can use in the future in particular with issues around water.
‘‘It challenged us to think about how we deal with issues around water, competition and politics.
‘‘Trying not to be reactive and try taking the longer term view on having a rice industry and not getting run over.’’
The Established Leaders program is part of the Rice Industry Leadership Program established by RGA, Rice Extension, AgriFutures Australia, SunRice and the Rice Marketing Board for the State of NSW (RMB).
The Rice Industry Leadership Program is comprised of three different leadership tiers — Established Leaders, Foundation of Leadership and Introduction to the Rice Industry.
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