What Would Synlait Be Worth to Fonterra or a2 Milk?
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
Sitting director Andy Macfarlane, former Fonterra manager and company director Alison Watters and corporate farmer Mike Fleming are the independently assessed candidates.
The non-assessed candidates, where farmer shareholders can stand as a candidate for the board, had until September 22 to file nominations. The final list candidates will be announced on Friday, September 30.
Voting Packs, containing candidate profiles, will be mailed to farmer shareholders on October 18, with the results announced on 8 November. The directors will take up their seats at Fonterra's annual meeting on November 10.
This year, Fonterra shareholders will appoint at least one new director, with Edgecumbe farmer Donna Smit retiring after serving six years on the board.
Macfarlane, a farm management consultant, was elected to the board in 2017 and is seeking another three-year term. Macfarlane's farming interests encompass multiple equity partnerships: the family lives near Ashburton on 'Pencarrow Farm', which has a high profile for its environmental record.
Macfarlane is a director of ANZCO Foods Limited and a past president of the New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management. He has also served as chair of Deer Industry New Zealand for seven years and a director of AgResearch for six years.
Alison Watters and her husband Andrew and other family own a 510-cow dairy unit in the Wairarapa.
They are the fifth generation to farm the family property and it is a priority for them and that their farm and the industry provide an opportunity for their two daughters to see a future in dairy. The Watters won the NZ Sharemilker of the Year title in 2003.
Watters was a technical manager (nutrition and bioactives) at Fonterra from 2006-2011, managing a team of scientists and technologists developing specialty ingredients for human health and well-being.
Currently, she chairs AsureQuality and is a director of LIC and MetService.
Fleming has held executive management and governance roles in agribusiness for the past 20 years.
He's currently chair of Fortuna Group Limited, which has grown to 19 dairy farms in Southland, and is a director of Better Eggs Limited, which is NZ's largest egg producer. He continues to be an advisor to farming families and trusts.
