increase font size
Greg Gent has stepped down from the FMG board after serving 12 years.
Three agribusiness leaders have been elected to the board of rural insurer FMG.
Geoff Copstick, Murray Taggart and Steve Allen were elected by FMG members at its annual meeting in Hanmer Springs this week.
Copstick was chief financial officer of Gallagher Group in Hamilton for nine years. He is now on Gallagher’s board and chair of its audit and risk committee. Copstick also serves as an independent advisor to Northland Regional Council on finance, audit and economic development issues.
Taggart, a sheep, beef and arable crops farmer is chairman of Alliance Group and a director of Ballance Agri-Nutrients.
Allen is chairman of Tatua Dairy and a member of the Waikato Dairy Leaders Group.
There were three vacancies on the board; two long-term members - Greg Gent and Graeme Milne retired and the board was expanded by another member.
Board chairman Tony Cleland, who also retired by rotation and was re-elected, says attracting the three new directors is “a significant endorsement on where we’re at as a business”. “Their inclusion will add to the diverse combination of agricultural knowledge and business acumen already within the board and position us well to support the mutual’s continued growth aspirations.”
The decision to increase the board from seven to eight was in recognition of the number and high calibre of candidates that were nominated for consideration and the fact that Marise James will be retiring after 16 years on the Board in 2018. This will ensure there is a strong succession plan for the board.
“With three new additions, two exceptionally talented rural governors in Greg Gent and Graeme Milne are retiring after serving FMG for the last 12 years. They’ve played an important part in helping reposition FMG and in the progress we’ve made over recent years. A special thanks to Greg for chairing the FMG board so ably for the last 10 years,” says Cleland.
FMG’s chief executive Chris Black also acknowledged their contribution.
“Both are passionate advocates of the Mutual and have served it extremely well for 12 years. In addition, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Greg in his capacity as chairman, which has been a real career highlight for me personally.
“The FMG executive leadership team is looking forward to working alongside the newly elected member directors. All three have had impressive careers to date and in addition, believe in the core purpose and value of the mutual model and being there for members and clients when it counts,” says Black.
FMG received 21 expressions of interest to join the board. In accordance with FMG’s director appointment & re-appointment policy, the board worked with an external independent consultant, Caldwell & Partners, to assess the member candidates against a specified set of criteria. This included governance experience, connectedness to the rural sector, affinity with the mutual/cooperative model and commercial acumen.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
2025 marks 120 years of FMG Advice and Insurance in New Zealand's rural communities.
National Lamb Day, the annual celebration honouring New Zealand’s history of lamb production, could see a boost in 2025 as rural insurer FMG and Rabobank sign on as principal partners.
As New Zealand enters the summer months, rural insurer FMG is reminding farmers and growers to take extra care with a new campaign.
Three nominations have been received for two vacant director positions on meat processor, Alliance Group's board.
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.
