At their General Assembly meeting held in Brussels on 14 June, Henry Mott was elected Chairman of Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA).
Previous two years as Vice Chairman This move to chairman follows Henry Mott’s two year term of serving as Vice Chairman of CEPA. He succeeds Bertrand Montmoreau who stands down after a four year term as Chairman, a role Henry was quick to congratulate Bertrand for. Frederick Verwilghen remains as Honorary Treasurer. Words of thanks |
Henry Mott, right, newly elected CEPA Chairman thanks outgoing Chairman, Bertrand Montmoreau, for his contributions over the past four years. |
Henry went on to explain some of his own feelings by relating a short story. “A few days ago I was speaking with a friend, who was nothing to do with pest control, who was asking if I would like to go and watch a cricket match today. Clearly I had to decline and he naturally asked why.
“After informing him on what I was doing and briefly what CEPA does he made a comment as to why do I bother working for an organisation that didn’t pay me anything and surely I would be better off spending the time and effort in my own business making money for myself.
“I then explained that in my opinion without organisations like CEPA, and the various associations around Europe, I probably wouldn’t have a business to make money with at all.
“But it’s not actually the associations that protect our industry and livelihood, it’s the people within them. It’s the countless hours put in by often unpaid members running meetings, organising events, or dealing with the day-to-day issues that make things work,” he explained.
From companies large and small On that note I would genuinely like to thank all those members of CEPA here today who have taken up the various board positions. We all lead busy lives and whether you are working in a large or small organisation the pressures on time are ever present. In particular I would like to thank those individuals who sit on the board, or regularly attend meetings, who come from, or own, small companies. “I realise that giving up time to help your industry progress can directly impact on your earnings and your continued support is recognised. Let’s not forget that average size of a European pest control business is just four staff – so you are their voice. “We will no doubt have many challenges ahead of us but I know with the support of the team around me we are more than capable of dealing with them and continuing to improve the image of our industry both in Europe and across the globe through the Global Pest Management Coalition,” he concluded. |
One of Henry’s first activities was to present the Association of the Year award to Catarina Carvalho, Secretary General of Groquifar, from Portugal. Henry congratulated Portugal for successfully promoting the CEPA Certified Standard and succeeding in convincing over 20 pest management companies to seek and obtain a voluntary third party audit against CEPA Certified. |
About Henry Mott
Henry Mott (48) is well known in the UK pest control industry. He began his pest control career in 1993 with Rentokil in Central London before buying Conquer Pest Control, a Midlands-based regional servicing company in 2005.
Henry was President of the British Pest Control Association between 2012-14.
He is married with three children.