Frank Costa has retired as a non-executive director of Costa Group with immediate effect, 60 years after he bought the horticulture company with his brother.
Commenting on his decision, Costa said “now is the right time” to step back from formal engagement with the business but will remain as an advisor to the board
In recent years Costa stepped back as an executive at the fruit and vegetable wholesaler.
“I have been delighted with the growth and quality of the business as it has become the country’s leading horticultural group which continues to set new standards in technology and sustainability across its portfolio,” Costa said on Friday.
”Now is the right time for me to step back from a formal engagement whilst retaining an active involvement in the company’s future progress as an advisor to the board.”
Costa and his brother Adrian bought the Geelong Covent Garden fruit shop off their parents in 1959 before expanding it into a wholesale business.
Costa chair Neil Chatfield thanked Costa for his “invaluable contribution” to the board, and what the company called a “lifetime’s work” building the business into a major force in Australia’s fresh produce industry.
