SGS Societe Generale de Surveillance : APSCA Announces the Appointment of the Executive Director

June 13, 2016

The Association for Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA) is pleased to announce that Rona Starr has been appointed as the Executive Director.

All founding members are excited to welcome Rona Starr on board - founding members include: Arche Advisors, Bureau Veritas, Elevate, Intertek, Rina, SGS, TUV Rheinland, TUV Sud, and UL. 'We are delighted to have such a passionate, experienced and energetic individual take on the role as Executive Director,' said Greg Gardner, a founding member and APSCA Interim Board member. 'Rona has extensive experience within the supply chain and auditing fields, mixed with an easy way and commanding presence which stakeholders will welcome. Her strong vision and guiding hand is exactly what APSCA needs at this crucial time in our development.'

Starr spent 21 years with McDonald's in various roles. She was part of the roll out of McDonald's social compliance program within Asia in 2002; and became the global lead in 2009. She gathered the audit firms used by McDonald's together in 2010 to form an advisory board to focus on improvement within the industry. From there, numerous projects were undertaken, which included the implementation of a train the trainer program for auditors where she travelled the world every second year to ensure calibration and continuous improvement among the McDonald's service providers - which included many of the leading firms.

'I am thrilled to join the team at APSCA,' Starr noted. 'The Association is aiming to bring a vital level of quality and credibility to the industry and this is the right time to drive this agenda forward. I've been passionate for years that this mission can be achieved and am honored to have the opportunity to lead this Association. I am thankful to the interim Board for the outstanding work they have done to set the stage for the next wave of change in the industry, and look forward to jumping in as quickly as possible to build on that foundation.'

Starr will take her fulltime position from August 1, 2016. Prior to this, she will spend time connecting with stakeholders throughout the month of June.

APSCA is an initiative launched in 2015 to enhance the professionalism and credibility of the individuals and organizations performing independent social compliance audits.

For further information, please contact:

Emilie Viengchaleune-Phan
Consumer and Retail
Global Marketing Coordinator, Supply chain Assessments & Solutions
SGS-France
29, avenue Aristide Briand
94111 Arcueil Cedex
France
t: +33 1 41 24 87 49