Mark Leech is the principal consultant with Brueckner-Leech, a forestry and forest products consulting firm. He is based in Launceston, Tasmania and works with clients around Australia. He has 20 years experience in his industry.

Born, raised and schooled in Launceston after gaining a Forestry Scholarship, he was principally educated in Canberra, graduating from Australian National University (BSc. For.) in 1978. He is a member of the Institute of Foresters of Australia, a national director of Australian Forest Growers, an executive member of the Forest and Forest Industry Council and was recently awarded the 2001 Tasmania World Forestry Day Award.

Mark has a particular and passionate interest in the management use and marketing of special timbers globally with an emphasis on design.

H e has extensive experience in:

• Strategic planning. Mark has been involved in and facilitated strategic planning from the property level to small to medium sized enterprises.
  
  
• Property based planning. He has delivered many innovative farm forestry plans and is involved at the policy level in gaining recognition of property based plans as a legitimate, certifiable vehicle meeting legislative and market requirements.
  
  
• Value Chain & Supply Chain Review. Mark has driven the special timbers supply chain initiatives in Tasmania, resulting in supply chain redesign, policy change and a chain of custody marketing outcome.
  
  
• Market & Market Research. Forest and forest product market research has been facilitated and led by Mark for government and private clients.
  
  
• Farm Forestry. Mark is at the forefront of this challenging and evolving sector. He brings to our client base a broad knowledge of resource, manufacture and marketing opportunities in the ever-changing policy environment.
  
  
• Community facilitation. He has lead extensive and controversial community facilitation processes across a broad spectrum of community groups from traditional farming to indigenous peoples. Mark currently works with children from 7 to 17 imparting wood design and making skills.
  
  
• Speaker. Mark has spoken at large conferences and is often invited to speak at seminars, field days and dinner meetings on a full spectrum of topics related to the farm forest, forest and forest product sector.

  In the past few years he has worked across the forestry supply chain from the resource through to design-based manufacture, marketing and policy with clients in:

• Farm Forestry. Mark works across this sector and is a recognised leader. He is a national councillor of Australian Forest Growers, a network co-ordinator for AgroForestry News and has had many private clients at the property level where he designs outcomes together with the client. His former work with Private Forest Tasmania initiated their New Zealand links and provided the vehicle for raising the first $1 million of NHT funding. ·
  
  
• Resource. Mark has designed and implemented an innovative assessment method for wind damaged pine plantations for Lloyds Jardines, detailed accurate taper equation measurement work for Boral, a sustainable firewood resource for Cape Barren Islander Aboriginal Community Inc.
  
  
• Supply Chains & Networks. Mark has lead supply chain review and facilitated network design and business restructure. A Special Timbers supply chain review undertaken for a network of users from resource managers to designer makers has lead to continual improvement. He has worked with clients such as the Furniture Designers Association, Axiom, Rex Heathcote, Woodshine, Tasmanian Special Timbers, Southern Tasmania Specialty Kiln Network.
  
  
• Certification & labeling. As a follow on from a supply chain review Mark is establishing a chain of custody label for Huon pine, a very precious, scarce special timber that is subject to a rabid black-market. He is currently engaged as the lead consultant for a company of private landowners investigating forest certification and resultant chain of custody labeling.·
  
  
• Policy. With experience at the local state and national level he has broad policy level input. As the Policy Advisor/Executive for TFGA Forestry Mark is a member of the ministerially-appointed Forest & Forest Industry Council and the Forest Practices Advisory council. He is continually making representation on all policy matters that are likely to affect the long term viability of private forestry.
  
  
• Market research. Forestry has immediate, medium and long term market requirements. Mark has undertaken market research for government and private clients across a range of needs from special timber to seed, including the Forest & Forest Industry Council, Tasmanian Special Timbers, Lilyvale Fine Timbers, Cape Barren Islander Community and Britton Bros.