BRYAN GUY, Feilding dairy farmer and long-standing director of dairy farmer cooperative LIC, has announced he will not seek re-election to the LIC Board, and will step down in May.
LIC chairman Murray King paid tribute to the significant contribution Bryan Guy has made to the cooperative since being elected to the Wellington Hawkes Bay Board in 1984 and (after the regional boards were amalgamated into a national cooperative) the LIC Board in 1994.
"The choice to move from being a shareholder to an active governance role is a conscious decision which, over the years, has generated so much value not only to LIC, but to the dairy industry," says King. Bryan's father, Grahame, was a passionate advocate for herd improvement and the cooperative philosophy and Bryan continued his legacy – extending it by extraordinary commitment and representation of farmer interests at the Board table.
"We will miss his wise counsel but know that the relationships he and Joanne have built within LIC will continue into the future," King says.
Guy says the decision to retire will allow the opportunity for someone else to contribute to LIC's governance.
"My involvement with LIC spans 28 years firstly as a regional board member and then 20 years on the corporation board.
"I am fortunate and privileged to have been a part of LIC and to witness changes not only in our co-operative but also the dairy industry over the past three decades. In that time we have seen significant changes in technology, farming practices and dairy industry politics.
"What hasn't changed is the huge commitment and passion that the team at LIC has as they deliver on the mission of improving the profitability of New Zealand dairy farmers. The people I have met and worked with as a Director have left a lasting legacy that gives me an immense sense of pride in knowing so many of them as colleagues and counting so many of them as friends.
"The future for our company and shareholders still holds many challenges, however I have no doubt that together we will continue to forge an even stronger and more prosperous business. "
