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The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) has welcomed Dr Paul Bannister and Liza Taylor, onto its Board of Directors following its Annual General Meeting (AGM) last week.

A number of changes have also been made to AIRAH’s constitution, facilitating a change to the Board’s number and make-up.

AIRAH CEO Tony Gleeson, said Bannister and Taylor both bring unique skill sets that add to and complement the Board’s present capacity.

"Their skills will help shepherd the Institute as we navigate the next challenging yet exciting stages of our development," he said.

Bannister and Taylor replace former president Ania Hampton, who stepped down due to ill health earlier this year, and Nathan Groenhout, who retires as a director, having served the maximum number of years on the Board, including as president.

One of the world’s leading authorities on energy efficiency, ACT-based Bannister is responsible for the Projects & Advisory Services division of energy management services consultancy Energy Action.

“It’s a great opportunity to contribute to the operation and direction of an organisation that I have been working with for more than 10 years,” Bannister said.

A regular contributor to the Institute’s training courses, seminars and publications, Bannister has also chaired two AIRAH conferences committees. He’s a member of the ESD Special Technical Group.

Hailing from Sydney, Taylor has considerable experience in the HVAC&R industry, having held senior leadership roles before establishing her own consultancy, Global IQ Group.

Since joining the Institute, she has been involved in the NSW division committee, and was founding co-chair of the Resilience Special Technical Group. She’s looking forward to helping to raise the profile of Women in AIRAH.

“Making the industry more visible is one of my objectives,” Taylor said.

“As an industry of quiet achievers, we play such a pivotal role in enabling life, the economy and our environment.

“By celebrating diversity and raising the profile of the good work we do, I hope that this will encourage future generations of HVAC&R leaders.

“AIRAH is in a really strong position, and I’m looking forward to building on the strengths of its almost-100-year history.”

At the AGM a number of changes to AIRAH’s Constitution were passed.

This includes increasing the number of Board Directors from five to six and to remove the limitation of the number of Directors that may come from Special Technical Groups.

Another change is to allow for three Directors to stand for election each alternative year.

Changes to the constitution can be found at www.airah.org.au/AGM