Andrew Leighton has been appointed Chief Executive of Trans-Tasman plantation forestry and sawmilling group OneFortyOne, ending his four-year run as CEO of Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) and succeeding interim Chief Executive Michael Barbara in the top job from July.
That is according to OneFortyOne Chair John Gilleland, who confirmed Leighton’s appointment after a comprehensive selection process, with FWPA Chair Craig Taylor’s member statement yesterday confirming that a new recruitment process will be opened for Leighton’s successor within the week.
Wood Central understands that Leighton’s four-year FWPA term covered the delivery of the 2023-2028 strategic plan, a focus on industry collaboration and research uptake, and his appointment as a Director of Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) during the period.
Before joining FWPA in February 2022, he served seven years as Regional President of Norske Skog Australasia, as General Manager Strategy and Business Development at Ingham’s Group, and as Vice-Chair of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) — bringing more than 20 years of senior executive experience across forest products, manufacturing and agribusiness.
The OneFortyOne Board described Leighton as a leader whose work at FWPA had demonstrated the capacity to bring stakeholders together, set strategic direction and deliver organisational results. “I am excited about the opportunity to work with the team,” Leighton said, adding that he looked forward to building on the business’s strengths and community connections as he stepped into the role.
Taylor acknowledged the loss whilst signalling urgency on the succession search. “Naturally, the Board is disappointed to be losing Andrew,” the Chair said, confirming recruitment would commence within a week and that the Board was aiming for an overlap between the incoming CEO and Leighton before his departure in early July.
OneFortyOne is a vertically integrated Trans-Tasman wood fibre business with a 105-year lease on roughly 80,000 hectares of South Australian Green Triangle plantation estate, integrated sawmilling at Jubilee in Mount Gambier, and forest estates and timber manufacturing at Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island.
The group directly employs more than 400 people and supports approximately 1,000 indirect jobs through its contractor workforce, placing it among the largest private employers in the Green Triangle.
