Turnbull has been a member of the APAL Board since 2006, initially joining as the Director for pears and becoming an Independent Director in 2015, he also sits on the newly-formed APAL Commercialisation sub-committee.

APAL Chair, Michele Allan, says Turnbull is a great candidate to replace outgoing CEO, John Dollisson, as he is familiar with the APAL business structure and also understands what the growing industry requires from their representative body. “Philip brings a strong commercial understanding and growing background to the business. He has a familiarity of the apple and pear industry, as both an APAL board member and an industry member. He comes from a growing family and knows the challenges and opportunities we have.”

Turnbull has worked in marketing with Pacific Brands Food Group and Nestlé Dairy Products, managing a number of iconic Australian brands. More recently, he was Managing Director of his family business, Turnbull Estate Pty Ltd, including an online gift retail and real estate solutions business.

He says that he is looking forward to working more closely with the apple, pear and horticulture industries. “I’m really enthusiastic to take on this role at APAL. I see our challenge as developing a strategy for the future that creates genuine value for stakeholders and then delivering on this.”

Turnbull will commence as CEO Tuesday, 4 October, he will replace outgoing CEO, John Dollisson, who completed his role with APAL on Friday, 23 September to pursue other opportunities.