Co - Operatives Federation - Sam Byrne And Richard O'Leary - 2021 - 08 - 30 CoCan

Align in the Sound - New Economy Network / Radio BTL / CoCanberra

At this month's CoCanberra / NENA Canberra Regional Hub we welcomed Sam Byrne, secretary of the Co-op Federation, and Richard O'Leary, Chair of the Co-op Federation. The Co-op Federation is a peak body co-operative representing and servicing co-operative enterprise in Australia. They do a great job of providing on the ground, practical support for their members, including extensive training for board members. Find out more about co-op federation at https://fed.coop/ Sam has been an active member and director in the co-operative sector for more than 25 years. He became a director of the Federation in 2013 and secretary in 2016. He is also a former Mayor, and a director of Local Government Super. Sam holds a Masters of Management from the University of Technology, Sydney and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is passionate about the co-operative enterprise model that delivers benefits to members and their communities rather than simply profit to often distant shareholders. Richard has more than 50 years of experience in all forms of co-operative enterprise and apart from Chairing the Co-operative Federation, he is Deputy Chair of Regional Development Mid North Coast, a member of the Executive Council of NSW Farmers, and a Fellow of both the Institute of Public Accountants and the National Tax Agent's Association. He has had extensive involvement in local community organisations, where he has a commitment to provide an independent voice and good governance.