ATA CEO resigns

The ATA, the peak body for call centre industry, has lost its CEO Michael Meredith, who held the position for 12 years, has resigned to pursue other business activities.

The ATA, formerly known as the Australian Teleservices Association, is a lobbying, education networking organisation. The call centre industry in Australia employs more than 150,000 people.

ATA Chair Derek Finch said “Michael has lead the ATA through many years of development, change and growth, including the introduction of the Contact Centre Standards and Accreditation (CCSA) Program and transforming the ATA National Awards and Conference into one of the highlight recognition events in the Contact Centre industry calendar.”

Meredith's immediate replacement will be Fiona Keough, an experienced practitioner in the industry who has served as Chair of the ATA's NSW Chapter.

A spokesperson for the ATA said it was “fortuitous” that Keough was available to step in as interim CEO and that a formal recruitment process for a permanent successor to Meredith will soon commence.

The ATA and the Customer Contact Management Association (CCMA)  last year entered discussions about a possible amalgamation. A joint working party is working through a “roadmap of activities required” to bring about an amalgamation, but no progress has been announced since August 2011. ®