Alex Turnbull Appointed CEO of Yili Oceania Division
Former Fonterra executive Alex Turnbull has been appointed CEO to lead all five Yili Oceania Business Division companies in New Zealand.
Westland Milk Products chief executive Toni Brendish has been keeping her promise to get the company back on its feet after a couple of troubled financial years.
This saw the departure of the previous chief executive and chairman.
Brendish told Dairy News she has reconfigured the senior management team with the appointment of a new general manager in China, Garry Yu.
A Chinese national, he has wide experience of the China market, Brendish says.
Most recently he was the managing director of Griffith Foods, Greater China, and prior to that worked in Coca Cola China, Unilever Bestfoods, Rich Products and Nestle China in sales, marketing, R&D.
“Garry Yu has significant local Chinese experience,” Brendish says.
“And we have a new chief operations officer joining us next month, a new chief financial officer joining us in August, and we have put in a new supply chain general manager, Raul Elias-Drago.”
Brendish says WMP has been working on sales and operating planning and she has appointed a new person in this role, reporting directly to her.
Her focus has been on closing the gap and ensuring a competitive payout to producers in the range $6.40 - $6.80/kgMS.
“We are comfortable with that number looking at what we have done in the business. The team is working incredibly hard to get those costs under control so we feel confident about what is happing.”
Brendish wants WMP to create more added value products and to promote its West Coast heritage and location.
Horticulture New Zealand says proposed changes to the Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 will drive innovation, investment and long-term productivity.
More than 1200 exhibitors will showcase their products and services at next month’s National Fieldays, with sites nearly sold out.
Despite difficult trading conditions for European machinery manufacturers brought about conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, alongside the United States imposing punitive tariffs, Italian manufacturer Maschio Gaspardo, has seen turnover increase 12% in 2025 to €390 million (NZ$775m) with a net profit of €11.2 million (NZ$22.3).
New Zealand innovation company Techion, best known for its animal diagnostics platform, FECPAK has signed an exclusive strategic partnership with Farmlands to bring independent animal health disease intelligence to its customers.
Zespri says it welcomes the recently signed Western Bay of Plenty Regional Deal, describing it as an important step towards supporting growth in the region and for New Zealand's kiwifruit industry.
Troubled milk processor Synlait has lost its third chief executive in five years.
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