Brighter future
OPINION: The abrupt departure of Synlait chief executive Grant Watson could be a sign that Chinese company Bright Dairy, the new majority owner of the listed company, is taking charge.
Synlait Milk chief executive officer John Penno says he is delighted a person of Stein's experience and reputation will join the company further reinforcing its reputation as a trusted supplier of ingredient and infant nutritional products.
"The integrity of our products is of paramount importance to us and our customers. It is a task that is constantly evolving to meet customer and regulatory requirements. That has encouraged our decision to seek a high calibre general manager quality with a depth of experience in international markets.
"Michael topped the company's target list of candidates and we are thrilled that he has agreed to join us."
Synlait Milk's achievement of the highest levels of product integrity has been noted by the Infant Nutrition Council which represents the major exporters of infant formula in New Zealand. It was also a factor in the company winning the Supreme Award at the recent HSBC New Zealand China Trade Association business awards.
Stein comes to Synlait Milk from Mead Johnson Nutrition, Asia-Pacific where as director of quality he led quality and technical teams at business units and manufacturing sites across China, South East Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. Mead Johnson is one of the leading infant nutrition businesses operating in more than 50 countries and is one of the three big suppliers of infant nutrition products to China.
At Synlait Milk, Stein will be responsible for providing strategic leadership for quality across the business. He will lead a team of quality assurance and other professionals with the objective of ensuring Synlait Milk continuously improves its quality systems to deliver safe, high quality dairy ingredients and nutritional products that meet our customer's expectations and regulatory requirements in the markets we serve.
"I was attracted to Synlait Milk as they are truly an innovative company with great potential. I am impressed by the Synlait Milk team's commitment to producing quality products to meet the demands of their customers," Stein says.
Stein brings to Synlait Milk over 20 years of global quality management experience in the infant formula, nutritional products and medical foods business. During his career, Stein also held quality, food safety and laboratory leadership roles with Nestle Nutrition, Nestle USA and Nutricia, Inc. Stein earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the Ohio State University.
