Farewell

Dear Interbull collaborators,

As already advertised in previous messages, I am officially leaving my job as Interbull Centre Director this September 15, 2014, to become the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding CEO. It is a tremendous opportunity in my career and I am very excited with the challenge. This professional recognition would have never been possible had I not joined the Interbull Centre in 2008. I am therefore deeply grateful for every aspect of these rewarding years in Uppsala, especially the invaluable network I managed to establish either through direct interaction within the various Interbull groups or through more sporadic contacts during annual meetings and electronic communication. I have visited about 30 countries during this period as part of Interbull activities and I can’t quantify how much I learned from each one of the persons I had the privilege to meet.

I could not leave without a proper goodbye and this means expressing my thankfulness to some people in particular. My special thanks go to the members (past and present) of the Steering Committee for their commitment, guidance and friendship; to the members of the Technical Committee for their abnegation and camaraderie; to the members of the Scientific Advisory Committee for their wisdom; to the colleagues at the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics (HGEN) at SLU, for their constant support and friendship; and to the whole staff at the ICAR Secretariat for the unconditional assistance. 

Some individuals deserve my utmost respect and gratitude: Reinhard Reents, Brian Wickham, Enrico Santus, Neil Petreny, Uffe Lauritsen, Hans Wilmink, Gert Aamand, Jan Philipsson and Erling Strandberg, who exercised their leadership roles with selflessness and wisdom, always giving me confidence and support. Finally, I have only kindness in my heart when it comes to my colleagues at the Interbull Centre/HGEN Hossein Jorjani, Valentina Palucci, Eva Hjerpe, Carl Wasserman, Mohammad Nilforooshan, Dan Englund, Gerald Jansen, Petri Pennanen, Harriet Staffans and Jörgen Sahlin, who took me in as part of the family and never refused to engage on a permanent effort for better services to the Interbull community.

Since the CDCB participates in Interbull activities I have no intention to disappear and hope to keep interacting with all of you in the future. Please, use my new email for contacting me from now on: joao.durr@www.cdcb.us

Sincerely,

João Dürr