CCA chairman, David Gonski, said “Alion has a highly successful operations and management background across many industries, having delivered impressive results across the food and beverages, retail and finance sectors and has significant experience in developing and managing businesses and people.
“I believe Alison’s skills and background will assist CCA to deliver strong performance outcomes from our existing operations and progress the strong development opportunities in our emerging businesses.”
Earlier today, Watkins announced her resignation as CEO of Australia’s largest publicly-listed agribusiness, GrainCorp – a position she’s held for three and a half years.
“I am excited by this opportunity. I believe my career and experience to-date puts me in an excellent position to lead CCA in its next chapter of growth, building on the successes achieved under the leadership of Terry Davis,” she said.
Watkins has experience across alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, food processing, agriculture, retail, consumer goods and financial services. Prior to GrainCorp, her roles included CEO of Berri Limited, non-executive director of Woolworths Limited and she’s currently a non-executive director of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, however Watkins intends to resign from this position in April 2014 as a result of her new appointment at CCA.