The Western Hog Exchange is looking for a new general manager just weeks after hiring its third general manager in a year.
Michael Greba stepped down after just a few weeks on the job. The hunt is on for his replacement.
Edwin Spruit, chair of the hog marketing agency will step into the role temporarily while the organization looks for another general manager.
Spruit said the organization is in good shape financially, has “endless opportunity” and offers great value to its members. The challenge is finding a manager who can find new opportunities within a successful organization.
“What we have is great, although we think we need to get more value for our producers. What you have is a start-up organization inside an existing organization and you have to be that guy to start a new organization.”
The Western Hog Exchange was established in 1996 after the transition from a single desk selling system to an open market system. The number of shareholders has shrunk along with the number of hog producers in the province.
Spruit said he believes they bring value to members through their on-line portal, forward contracting and in-transit insurance.
“Our search is for something we can offer just to our members,” he said.
“The other thing we do is industry advocacy. We often talk to people from Olymel or Britco and different packers to find out what they want and also to push them to do what we would like them to do.”
While the search is on for a new general manager, all fees will be eliminated.
The head office move from Edmonton to Red Deer will continue to go ahead. A new logo will also be created and will be introduced when the new general manager is hired.
“We have endless amounts of opportunities. The new general manager has to be able to figure out what extra value we can bring to our members.” •
— By Mary MacArthur