Anyone hoping, or fearing, that Ian White was hired as chief executive officer of the Canadian Wheat Board to preside over the dismantling of the organization’s single desk could be in for a surprise.
Some farm groups and politicians have speculated that, given his role in ending the single desk marketing authority of Queens-land Sugar Ltd. in his native Australia in 2005, White would bring the same agenda to the CWB.
But in his first interview since assuming the job March 31, the new president and CEO said that’s not the case.
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“I didn’t come here to be a deregulator,” he said April 4. “I think that’s the way I’ve been portrayed.”
White spoke favourably about the benefits of single desk selling and the board’s ability to use that advantage to extract the best possible price from the market.
“In a market where you have large customers with significant power, it does stand to reason that a single desk seller should be able to extract greater values,” he said.
“What we have to do as an organization is demonstrate to farmers that we do add significant value for them. If we do a good job and we add value for farmers, that should also satisfy the government.”
White spoke highly of the board’s reputation internationally, saying the quality of its product and customer service “stands it apart” from just about anybody else in the wheat-selling world.
And he said he was impressed after meeting the board’s senior executives and other staff members.
“This is a very comprehensive and competent marketing organization that really knows what it’s about, understands its customers and understands how to extract the best prices.”
Despite that, he said, a CWB without single desk powers would have difficulty competing against multiple sellers in an open market, mainly because the agency owns no elevators and would have to rely on competing grain companies to provide logistical services.
“It would be very difficult for the organization to be very effective in that environment without having access to the things that will allow it to compete well,” said White.
As for his role in the deregulation of the sugar industry, White said the situation and circumstances are different with the CWB than they were in Australia, where there was widespread agreement between government and industry on the need for change.
“You shouldn’t draw any conclusions on what will happen here based on what happened there,” he said.
Based on his experience, White said, deregulation can be successful only if there is widespread support among all stakeholders.
“If you don’t want to end up in chaos, you have to have everybody in the industry prepared to move that way,” he said.
He added he hasn’t been here long enough to judge whether that is the case with the Canadian grain industry.
Larry Hill, recently elected chair of the CWB, spent several days in meetings with White last week and came away impressed.
“I think he’s going to be an asset to the CWB and I look forward to working with him,” Hill said.
“He’s going to have a steep learning curve but it appears to me he’ll get up to speed on the organization pretty quickly.”
Hill said the new CEO has a good understanding of the Canadian grain industry because of his years spent working in Canada as executive vice-president of the Australian company Elders Grain, and then as CEO of AgPro Grain, a subsidiary of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
The full board of directors will meet with White as soon as possible, perhaps this week. The agency is also trying to arrange a meeting with CWB minister Gerry Ritz.
“I think things are off to a good start,” said Hill, adding both he and White addressed the full CWB staff last week in a question and answer session.
“I think the staff was quite pleased with his answers.”
White said his role as CEO is to work for the board of directors, not the government, in the best interests of the board and to run the organization successfully in whatever circumstances it finds itself.
“I would rather stay out of the political debate, but obviously I’ll be happy to lend any knowledge and experience I have to any debate that does take place,” White said.
He added it’s crucial that any discussion of the future be objective and based on facts, not emotion or ideology.
