Darral moved to Batlow (NSW) in 1974 from Sydney after leaving the NSW state public service. His first involvement with the apple and pear industry executive spanned the late 1970s into the 1980s. At the same time, Darral was a board member of the Batlow Co-operative. In the mid 1980s he attended Harvard (USA) to complete a marketing course. After that, he was associated with the Flemington Markets in Sydney for 3.5 years, then moved to a retailing business in Bowral. In 1996 he returned full time to his orchard at Batlow. Darral is also currently chairman of the Batlow Fruit Co-operative. In November 2006, Darral was awarded the Sir John Monash Gold Medal for Agribusiness Co-operative Directors in recognition of his outstanding service to a co-operative in Australia.

John was appointed by the APAL Board as an additional director with special skills. John has gained specific knowledge of the apple and pear industry through his chairmanship of the Australian Fresh Fruit Company (AFFCO) - a major network of large and progressive fruit growers which jointly undertakes marketing (e.g. exports to Europe & Asia) and research. He has extensive business and financial management expertise gained through senior appointments with Bonlac Foods, Bonland Dairies, Tesselaar Bulbs & Flowers and through his term as Managing Director at the Australian Wheat Board (AWB), from 1990 to 1997. Prior to this, John held a number of senior management positions with Griffin Holdings Pty Ltd, Sydney - an enterprise having operations in Australia, North America, Europe and the South Pacific.

John has been involved in all areas of production, packing and marketing of pear, nashi and stone fruit crops since starting to work in the family fruit growing business in 1977. In 1993 John became the representative for South Australia on the peak industry body R&D Advisory Committee, serving on this Committee for 9 years. Since 1993 he has also been a member of the executive for the Apple & Pear Growers Association of South Australia, being elected as President in 2000.

Jos is a second generation orchardist with 35 years experience in the industry. He is one of three Driessen brothers who have 100 hectares of apple orchards in the Huon Valley, Tasmania and have owned and operated a packing facility that provided packing, cools store and marketing services for about 20 growers in the Huon Valley. Jos managed all aspects of the pack house facilities and services. The Driessen brothers are currently expanding into cherry production. Jos has been involved with the Tasmanian industry for many years and since 1996, has been on the executive of the Pome Fruit Council.

Phil has had many years experience in corporate marketing, having worked as a brand and marketing manager for seven years for Pacific Dunlop Food Group Ltd and Nestle Dairy Products managing Australian brands such as Four'n Twenty, Peters Ice Cream and Vitari.

He has extensive experience in the grocery retail sector, having worked for two of the top 10 national supermarket suppliers. He recently presented the marketing and promotional plans for the Pear Industry to both Coles and Woolworths. His family background is in horticulture and he recently created and currently manages Turnbull Orchards Fresh Fruit Exports. He also once operated an internet fruit delivery business from the Melbourne markets for two years.

Ugo operates an orchard near Stanthorpe, in the Granite Belt of south-east Queensland, in partnership with his brother.

They were leaders in using hail netting to protect the fruit in the late 1980s and when they expanded their operation by purchasing an adjoining property in 1990, they started on a path of closer plantings and trialing new varieties. During the 1990s they modernised all their original orchards. More recently they have planted fruit trees at high density. Ugo is responsible for marketing their fruit crop, which is via direct supply to Coles supermarkets.

In 2001, Ugo formed a consortium of growers to buy the local commercial cold store facility and had it modernised.

Ugo has held grower and industry positions from the early 1980s. He has been Queensland representative on the national apple and pear grower organisations since 1998 and he has been on the Fireblight Task Force since its inception.

Kevin is a third-generation orchardist, who with two brothers and his father, grows 42 hectares of apples in Victoria's Yarra Valley. They grow five varieties of apples and pack and cool store their own fruit. Since 1999, all new plantings on the Sander's orchard have been at densities at or greater than 2700 trees a hectare, such that now, 45 per cent of the orchard is intensively planted. They also operate a nursery to supply all their own trees. Rootstock is purchased off-farm. Kevin is active in the Victorian apple industry as a member of the Yarra Valley Fruit Group and he was a member of the Victorian Apple and Pear Growers Council.

Vick has been managing an orchard / coolstore / packhouse operation in Manjimup since 1991. He has been widely involved in research and development within the apple and pear industry through managing field trials and participating in various research and development forums. Vick has also been actively involved in a network of marketing and promotions activities. In 2001 Vick was appointed as Chairman of the Apple and Pear Council, WA Fruit Growers Association (WAFGA) - the peak body for pome fruit producers in WA, representing the interests of some 300 growers.