New Managing Director of Accreditation Services International
FSC is pleased to announce that Sam B Ponder has been leading Accreditation Services International (ASI) as Managing Director since 1 November 2009. ASI is the independent accreditation body which delivers accreditation services to FSC. As Managing Director, Mr. Ponder will lead all activities related to ASI, including operational management, formal records, legal and financial affairs.
Mr. Ponder has thirty years of business experience in a variety of sectors including agricultural production, supply chain management, economic development and the not-for-profit.
Mr. Ponder was instrumental in conceptualizing and initiating the Water Stewardship Initiative (WSI) and served as its Director prior to joining FSC. Building on the experience of FSC and other steward and compliance schemes, WSI has been established to develop the adoption of responsible water use through multi-stakeholder social and environmental principles and criteria.
Mr. Ponder was also the General Manager of Agsafe Limited, a national, non-profit, industry stewardship organization that manages Australian accreditation and environmental initiatives in the agricultural and veterinary chemical market.
Mr. Ponder holds an MBA in Agribusiness and Marketing from the University of New England, Australia and is an active member of the Rotary Club of Canberra.
Mr. Ponder's appointment reenforces the FSC Group structure where the responsibilities of the three FSC subsidiary organizations are distinct from one another in management roles. FSC Director General Andre de Freitas had previously held the leadership roles in FSC IC, ASI and FSC GD as an interim measure. The roles of Managing Director for ASI and FSC GD are now filled by Mr. Ponder and Mr. Zoltan Paksy, respectively. Within the subsidiaries, the title Managing Director refers to the role previously reffered to as Executive Director.
You may find more information about ASI and the FSC accreditation program online at www.fsc.org/accreditation.html.
