Having participated in the Association’s management transition process in 2013, Derkvan Mackelenbergh of the Netherland stook over as president of the European Cold Storage and Logistics Association (ECSLA) on 1 January. An industry veteran who has rich experience of the international association world, van Mackelenbergh’s experience will be telling as the Association sets about innovating, while nevertheless conserving the best of what is already in place. Notably, this includes the affiliation with the US-headquartered Global Cold Chain Alliance, where ECSLA’s new president isa frequent and well-known participant

“We are a modern industry and we want a modern organisation to defend our interests in Brussels, Strasbourg and in national capitals,” says van Mackelenbergh (inset), CEO at Eurofrigo, “We are going to build that fast, strengthen our voice at EU level and work to get a joined up approach across the EU’s member countries.” Austrian national Christine Weiker is the new secretary general of ECSLA,responsible for both the critical EU representation and lobbying brief, as well as for member services. These roles were split following the integration of the GCCA European Division into ECSLA in 2012, until the retirement of the long-serving former managing director Theo van Sambeeck at the end of 2013. Strategy development and day-to-day running of ECSLA is now handled by association services and EU government relations firm Eamonn Bates Europe in Brussels, after acompetitive tender process in mid-2013.

“It’s an exciting prospect to steer ECSLA towards new relevance for its members and greater prominence in Brussels,”says Weiker (inset). “Top priorities will be to help CEO’s across our industry better understand the impact of EU decisions on their business operations and on their bottom lines and ensure ECSLA becomes a more pro-active and influential player at EU level.”   She is supported in her role by newly-appointed strategy and business development advisor, Eamonn Bates, a Brussels veteran with thirty years of experience of both association management and EU government relations strategy. “In the old days, managers in companies controlled all the critical elements that would make their businesses a success,” says Bates.“That’s no longer true. We live in a super-regulated society where political or policy decisions can make or break a business. These are decisions that company executives don’t control. So the best top managers today are also effective lobbyists. We hope to make ECSLA the meeting place and training ground for the temperature controlled supply chain.

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