Having had his candidacy as a farmer-elected director rejected by the meat co-op’s board, a shareholder resolution that he be appointed as an independent has now been tabled for Alliance’s annual meeting in December.
“It is very common for lots of directors to make a [worthwhile] contribution on up to three or four boards,” Monaghan told Dairy News.
“I might have to get a little more help in my own farming business, in order to do a little less, but that is all manageable.”
Monaghan says if elected to Alliance’s board, he looks forward to sharing his thinking and finding solutions to the meat industry’s issues.
“I would like sheep and beef farmers to think of me as someone who might just bring some fresh thinking to the table that might help turn things around for them and for New Zealand. That is certainly my only motivation.
“I don’t want to go on the Alliance board as an adversary. I want to be someone who has observed and been part of a positive transition in the dairy industry over the past few years….
“The agriculture sector in New Zealand and the economy have huge opportunities and we need to improve the lot of sheep and beef farmers.
“When that happens, just like dairy, the benefits will flow through to the rest of the economy. The thought of that excites me.”
Monaghan, a former Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman, was elected to the Fonterra board in 2008.
He chairs the board’s cooperative relations committee and sits on the appointments, remuneration and development, and the governance and representation committees.
He is also a director of CentrePort Ltd and CentrePort Properties Ltd. He has farming interests in the Wairarapa and Canterbury regions.
