Ken Commins, essentially the founder of IOAS, officially retired as Executive Director (Business) as of April 30, 2019. Ken was the sole employee of the IFOAM accreditation programme when it started in 1994 and when the IOAS was established in 1997 and led the organisation as Executive Director until 2011 when he moved to a part-time role and David Crucefix and Jan Deane took over as joint EDs. Ken’s unstoppable passion for the integrity of organic production and infectious sense of humour are well known throughout the organic movement and we rather doubt he will stop now. It seems he may slow down slightly and do some decorating but has at the same time committed to supporting the new IOAS initiative of the Alliance for Organic Integrity and may yet still turn up at the door of a certification body for an audit. Thank you Ken for an amazing contribution. David Crucefix takes over as sole ED of the IOAS.
