The chairman of the ANSTO Board, Dr Ziggy Switkowski, announced today that the Chief Executive Officer of ANSTO, Dr Ian Smith, has decided against accepting an extension to his contract and therefore his term of appointment will end on 16 May, 2008.
Dr Smith plans to return to New Zealand with his family and resume a non-executive career which has been deferred by his four year commitment to the leadership of ANSTO.
Dr Switkowski thanked Dr Smith for his dedication and effective leadership which lifted ANSTO to higher levels of performance in the key areas of nuclear research, production of radiopharmaceuticals, and industry partnerships as well as positioning the organisation at the forefront of debate about future nuclear strategies for Australia.
Dr Smith said that he had enjoyed the challenge of leading ANSTO during the four year period, which had seen Australia’s new research reactor, OPAL, reach full power producing its first neutron beams for research and with an increased capacity to meet Australia’s nuclear medicine needs.
He was also proud of the creation of new research institutes and the establishment of a structure that would allow researchers from Australia and overseas merit-based access to state-of-the-art neutron beam instruments.
Dr Smith looked forward to OPAL being recognised in the top three research reactors worldwide and opening up new areas of research. He felt very confident in leaving the organisation in the hands of a capable management team which would build upon his work.
Dr Switkowski announced the appointment of Dr Ron Cameron, presently Chief of Operations to the additional role of Acting Chief Executive Officer.
A global search will be undertaken to identify Dr Smith’s successor, a process expected to take some months.
Published: 05/05/2008