increase font size
Dame Alison Paterson.
Former Reserve Bank Director Dame Alison Paterson has been appointed chair of the panel tasked with helping Fonterra find and elect qualified directors.
This month the co-op issued its annual call for candidates in its farmer director elections. Nominations opened July 17.
Fonterra’s board has four independent directors and seven farmer directors elected from within its shareholder base. Each year it seeks to fill as many as three of the farmer seats through its unique election process.
Paterson explains that the Independent Selection Panel (ISP) she chairs with John Spencer, and Tony Carter, is designed to serve both the aspiring director candidates, and the voting shareholders.
“The ISP provides candidates with a rigorous and totally independent assessment of their skills and experience against the attributes and skills required by the board in any year.
“Just as importantly, we then provide Fonterra’s shareholders with independent and comprehensive information about the recommended candidates to help them decide who they vote for.”
The panel’s search brief, which is sent to all shareholders, includes an assessment of the aggregated skills of the existing board members and the skills that the co-op is looking to build around the board table. This year’s brief has a focus on candidates with relevant strong governance experience and a global mind-set or experience – particularly in the consumer space.
Paterson believes that within its wider shareholder base, Fonterra has experienced governors with strong skill sets that fit the bill.
“In my experience, it’s important to first assess candidates on their personal attributes such as sound judgement, integrity, and in a Fonterra context, empathy with the cooperative. Once satisfied from that perspective, you then look for skills that complement the board’s existing skill set.
“For Fonterra, this year that means seeking out candidates with a level of strong governance experience appropriate for the board of an organisation of Fonterra’s international scale and complexity.
“We’re also specifically looking for people with a deep understanding of financial and risk management, international issues, on the ground experience in the cooperative’s key or emerging markets, and experience in retail or consumer goods companies with significant global brands.”
Paterson says that while it’s important that any director of Fonterra has an understanding and affinity with dairy farming, the ‘farmer director’ positions were open to anyone with an eligible ownership interest in a supplying shareholder, not just those directly working the farm.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
OPINION: Farmer shareholders of two of New Zealand's largest co-operatives have an important decision to make this month and what they decide could change the landscape of the dairy and meat sectors in New Zealand.
OPINION: As CEO of the Dairy Board in the 1980s I was fortunate to work with a team of experienced and capable executives who made most of the brand investments that created the international consumer business Fonterra inherited. Soprole in Chile was the largest, but there were more than 20 countries where consumer marketing companies were established and Anchor and other brands were successfully launched.
Fonterra has delivered a fifth straight year of record organic milk price for farmer suppliers.
Fonterra says favourable weather conditions supporting pasture growth is boosting milk production.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.
OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…
