I disagree with Mark Proudfoot's thoughts on Nisa-Today's needing to look to the "outside world" for a new chairman (The Grocer, 5 May, p26). I believe there is a chairman elect on the Nisa Holdings Board already. Having noticed the transformation in Nisa's central distribution volumes recently - up about 9% since November 2006 - under the last member chairman Edwin Booth, chief executive Neil Turton and team, I see little need to look outside our own board at this juncture. If we want new ideas, why not bring in the two independent non-execs who have been mooted for a while now? Proudfoot and his Nisa Members' Association committee complained long and hard about having to pay salaries commensurate with industry standards to the executives at Nisa head office during the strife over the proposed merger last year. Why pay an industry-commensurate salary to a full-time outside chairman now? When I talk to employees at Nisa head office, there seems to be an increased air of positive enthusiasm, which they tell me is emanating from the executive down. What we now need is a period of time where all members get behind the Nisa group and management even more. Nisa also has huge potential for more sales growth within its current membership if more members were to sign up to the new disciplined ranging initiatives, where sales have grown by a massive 18% this year. Tuffins has received a great uplift in extra rebates from Nisa by adhering to these simple disciplines. Despite much criticism from the NMA, Nisa has the best independent national distribution network for chilled and ambient, along with massive and growing ranges offering industry-beating margins, a forward-thinking and focused executive, committed and motivated staff, and many loyal members with about 120 new members recruited in the past year. Do we need a chairman from outside? I don't think so.

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