Following a member vote, industry campaign group, Leather Naturally have announced changes to the management board and supervisory council, writes Leatherbiz.

In a change to her position as head of the communication team, Debbie Burton (Director of marketing at Pittards) was elected to chair of the management board and replaces Egbert Dikkers.

For the position of chair for the supervisory council, James Lang (Director at Scottish Leather Group) was elected and replaces John Clark.

Moving from an advisory role to the communications team, Claudia Spahr (Head of PR and communications for TFL) was elected to the position of management board communications team leader.

In the final vote, Chad Jensen (Senior Vice President of the beef division of Tyson Fresh Meats) was re-elected to the supervisory council for a second term.

In accepting the role as management board chair, Debbie Burton commented, “Perhaps this is a good time to reflect on how far we’ve travelled and the resource that Leather Naturally has become for designers, consumers, journalists and educators. The industry is pulling together to counter the mistruths about leather and there is a sense that people are starting to look beyond simplistic and greenwashing headlines. There’s a long way to go, for every win, another frustrating article is around the corner, but it feels like a moment of opportunity and I’m both pleased and proud to represent the Management Board in this new role”

The management board thanked the outgoing chairs for their passion, energy and dedication particularly in navigating the more recent challenging years.