Departing Printing Industries CEO Jason Allen has cleaned out his desk at the PIAA headquarters in Chatswood, Sydney and will not be returning.
Allen, appointed midway through last year, announced his shock resignation just before Christmas but said he would work out his three months notice and leave the association at the end of March. However, as pressure mounted from an angry members action group who had called for his immediate exit, Allen left his office last Friday and the PIAA has been forced to appoint an interim CEO as a stop-gap measure until a new leader is appointed.
The PIAA is now putting together a press release to make an official announcement.
“Jason has physically left and is currently seeing out a couple of weeks of leave and he will not be returning to the office,” said new PIAA chairman Ross Black. “We will be appointing an acting CEO from within the organization for the short term as we move ahead with the search for his replacement.”
Former CEO Bill Healey has been tipped to step into the role of acting CEO.
Allen had reshaped the focus of the peak industry association during his brief but tumultuous tenure, firing and forcing the resignations of a number of senior staff across the country and angering a large group of members. The change in strategy coincided with the resignations of PIAA president David Leach and honorary secretary Susan Heaney (both in December) and the new honorary secretary Steve Edwards (late January). Earlier this month, former PIAA deputy Black, of BJ Ball in Melbourne, was named the new president, ACT-based director Kieran May stepped into the role of deputy president and Tasmanian board member Craig Pearce became honorary secretary.
Allen’s exit comes just days before a Special General Meeting (SGM) called by the board in response to an ultimatum from a disgruntled members action group (MAG) who had demanded the board act on a broad range of issues and called on Allen to leave his job immediately.
Black said the SGM would go ahead as planned next Tuesday at Mascot in Sydney but insisted that the PIAA board would be setting the agenda and that the meeting would not be addressing issues raised by the MAG.
“The board sets the agenda and has chosen not to enter into a debate around these issues,” he said.
The members group last week made an official complaint to the Fair Work Commission over the PIAA’s actions.
Update from PIAA:
MEDIA STATEMENT
17 February 2016
Bill Healey confirmed as PIAA interim CEO
PIAA can confirm that Bill Healey will be the interim CEO until the new CEO is appointed. Outgoing CEO Jason Allen is currently on leave until his contract expires.
The Board is committed to implementing the new PIAA business plan to set the PIAA on the right path to drive profitable growth for members, embrace operational excellence, and refocus the Association on the PIAA core business – to lead the print industry and help members grow profitability.