Thursday, 26 July 2012 14:10

Right man for the job

Written by 

Federated Farmers says John Wilson is the right man to lead Fonterra.

"John may be stepping into big shoes but he is ably equipped to do so," says Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Willy Leferink. Wilson was today appointed chairman elect and takes over from Henry van der Heyden in December.

"John is an immensely intelligent and capable farmer with that all-important institutional knowledge of where Fonterra has come from. Since he has been on the board, Fonterra has gone from generating $11.8 billion in revenue to around $20 billion today."

Being the chairman of Fonterra puts you in the spotlight locally and internationally, says Leferink.

"Federated Farmers strongly hopes John will put in place a clear succession pathway by creating a deputy chair. A lack of board succession is a strategic weakness given Fonterra is a team made up of farmers, staff, customers and suppliers.

"John will be in charge of taking the world's fourth largest dairy company forward in its second decade of life. This includes delivering to shareholders and unit holders, everything promised from Trading Among Farmers (TAF) and the strategy refresh.

"The immediate priority for John, during the transition phase, is to put to bed Fonterra's constitution in November so we can all move forward."

Leferink says Feds executives look forward to meeting Wilson soon.

More like this

Chinese strategy

OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.

Sharemilker completes the trifecta

The major winners in the 2024 West Coast/Top of the South Share Farmer of the Year award, Michael and Cheryl Shearer were happy to complete the trifecta.

LCAs tackle false narratives

The quest to measure, report and make sense of the energy that goes into food production has come a long way in the past 25 years.

Featured

Better animal genetic gain system

A governance group has been formed, following extensive sector consultation, to implement the recommendations from the Industry Working Group's (IWG) final report and is said to be forming a 'road map' for improving New Zealand's animal genetic gain system.

SIDE 2025's new schedule, venue

Annual farmer gathering, the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE), is set to make history as it heads to Timaru for the first time.

Taranaki piggery goes solar

Installing 400 solar panels at their Taranaki piggery and cropping operation will have significant environmental, financial and animal welfare benefits for the Stanley family.

Editorial: Keep FTAs coming

OPINION: The dairy industry will  be a major beneficiary of a new free trade deal between NZ and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).

National

Food charity to hold online auction

Meat the Need, New Zealand’s dedicated charity delivering locally sourced protein meals to food-insecure communities, is launching an online National…

Machinery & Products

An ideal solution for larger farms

Designed specifically for large farms that want to drill with maximum flexibility, efficiency and power, the new Lemken Solitair ST…

Landpower increases its offering

Landpower and the Claas Harvest Centre network will launch the Claas Scorpion and Torion material handling solutions to the market…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Leaky waka

OPINION: Was the ASB Economic Weekly throwing shade on Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr when reporting on his speech in…

Know-it-alls

OPINION: A reader recently had a shot at the various armchair critics that she judged to be more than a…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter