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Jim van der Poel.
DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel says the dairy sector and Fonterra has benefited from John Wilson’s “inspirational leadership” for over 20 years.
Read: John Wilson steps down as Fonterra chair.
Van der Poel, a former Fonterra director, was commenting on news that Wilson had stepped down as Fonterra chair following a serious health scare.
He says DairyNZ is saddened by Wilson’s departure.
“The dairy sector and Fonterra has benefited from John’s inspirational leadership skills for over 20 years. At a relatively young age, when others might focus solely on their farming business, John chose to devote a significant amount of time to key leadership roles, firstly as chair of the Fonterra Shareholders Council, then as a director of Fonterra and ultimately as chair since 2012,” he says.
“As an elected farmer director, John’s understanding of the Fonterra business and the market environment in which it operates is second to none. His passion and dedication to the sector, however, goes much further than Fonterra.
“John has always been an active participant in industry-good initiatives, including more recently the new Dairy Tomorrow strategy and also the Mycoplasma bovischallenge we are currently grappling with. John has always made time for these important issues and DairyNZ would like to thank him for his commitment and leadership contributions.”
Van der Poel says DairyNZ looks forward to working new chairman John Monaghan.
He wished John Wilson a speedy recovery.
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