Gypsum industry news
Knauf's Australian and New Zealand wallboard unit chiefs resign 10 November 2014
Australia/New Zealand: The Australian and New Zealand chiefs of Knauf's wallboard operations have resigned. Additionally, the New Zealand business is under review, having posted a loss in its first nine months of operations.
The head of the New Zealand wallboard unit, John Russ, has confirmed to local media that he has resigned and will leave the company in two weeks. Meanwhile Mark Norris, managing director of Knauf Plasterboard in Australia, resigned with immediate effect on 6 November 2014.
Knauf has struggled to gain traction in the New Zealand building market, which is dominated by Fletcher Building and it took Knauf longer than expected to gain approval for its products from BRANZ, a local independent research and testing institute, before it could start to sell to consumers. Even then, the company said that it faced resistance getting its products into stores, which had established relationships with Fletcher.
US: The Fifth Federal Reserve District member banks have elected CEO Tom Nelson to serve as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. His three-year term begins on 1 January 2015.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is one of 12 district banks that work with the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors to strengthen the economy and communities served by the banks. The Richmond bank includes the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and most of West Virginia.
Nelson will be one of nine board directors of the Richmond institution. He has been chairman, president and CEO of National Gypsum since 1999. He also serves as a director of Belk Inc, Carolinas HealthCare System and Yum! Brands Inc.