August Iwanski bids farewell to the CGCSA

In a heartfelt message to colleagues and clients, he cited the constant and stressful commute between Cape Town and Johannesburg and its impact on his health as a main contributing factor in his decision.

"It is therefore both with much sadness, but also excitement that I will be leaving the CGCSA," Iwanski said in his message. "Much sadness because of the fact that working for the FMCG industry and the CGCSA was without any doubt the most enjoyable, stimulating and fulfilling years of my business life. I enjoyed the culture and the people, made some real friendships and have learnt and grown an enormous amount. I will miss the 'CGCSA and the industry vibe' (the culture and the people) and the corporate feel. Excitement, because the new opportunities will hopefully combine something that I am very passionate about, and which will play both into both my skills and strengths."

He also highlighted a few of the successes achieved by the CGCSA team during his time there, such as the rollout of the Crime Prevention Programme, the introduction of the Food Safety Initiative, the rollout and industry acceptance of the PDC.za data catalogue, and the substantial growth in Global Standards including EPCglobal and the Alliance Programme, to name a few.

"I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to the Board and the Management and all the staff at CGCSA for their personal friendship and support," Iwanski said.

"Although I don't have firm plans for the years ahead, after a good holiday I would ideally see the future where I can combine my ability of dealing with people with my passion for cooking."

Michael Broughton will step in as an acting replacement until a permanent appointment is made.