I read with interest the article on the Planet Vending website about the departure of Jonathan Hart, Chief Executive at AVA.  Personally, I wish him well for the future.  On initial reading of the headline and the article, it may appear to the outside world that there are troubled times ahead at AVA, especially because it also reports that two other staff members are scheduled to leave soon. I certainly don’t think this is the case.

Jonathan’s decision to leave was a surprise, however he has served AVA well since 2015, but as an employer I know that change is inevitable and ambitious people do like to accept new challenges and opportunities.

On the other hand, the departure of Anna Mason and Katy Packer is not news to AVA members; both were in temporary positions and were scheduled to leave in the coming months and we wish them every success in the future.

Change is inevitable, successful businesses and organisations don’t fear change, they embrace it.  Indeed, over its near 90 year history – yes, 90 years! – the AVA has not only embraced change, it has been instrumental in bringing about change and making the vending industry what it is today.  So, the personnel changes at AVA should be viewed as an opportunity to continue the evolutionary process that has served us well for the past 90 years.

There are many exciting things happening in our sector; Reverse Vending is, or should be, at the forefront of our minds, Micro Markets are opening all kinds of new opportunities to widen our market place and advances in technology are providing vending operators with the opportunity to provide an unrivalled level of service, reporting and transparency to our clients.

The internet has changed the way that we communicate and the way that we market our services; as we enter a new era at AVA, we must embrace all of these changes and leverage the technology so that we are able to not only continue to support members of the vending industry, but also to remain the voice of the industry for the next 90 years.

Equally, I see AVEX as an important part of the development of our industry; it is going to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2019!  It will be a celebration of vending, highlighting what we have achieved and a fantastic showcase for what is to come. More importantly, it will be a chance to meet our fellow industry professionals and experience the undoubted benefits of peer-to-peer learning and networking. I firmly believe we are stronger together; we can achieve a great deal by knowledge sharing and open communication, AVEX 2019 should be the event that promotes closer collaboration as it looks forward to its next 50 years.

AVA will begin the process of finding a new Chief Executive, and under the expert guidance of David Llewellyn, Chairman of the Board, I look forward to playing whatever small part I can in helping AVA and AVEX to seize this exciting opportunity to strengthen their existing position at the very heart of the vending industry.