Farming
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (FCG) has announced that current Farmer Director, Peter McBride has been selected as the Co-operative’s Chairman-elect by his fellow Directors.
Under Fonterra’s constitution, its Chairman is selected by the Board from within its pool of seven elected Farmer Directors.
Mr McBride will replace current Fonterra Chairman, John Monaghan when he retires as a Director of the Co-op at its Annual Meeting this November.
Mr Monaghan says that the early announcement of Mr McBride as Chairman-elect is part of the Board’s commitment to planned governance succession.
“We have made significant progress over the past two years in our effort to refresh our Co-op’s purpose, strategy and culture. It is important to the Board that we provide stability while Miles and his team continue to embed the changes and maintain our momentum.
“Making this decision now also gives our farmer-owners transparency of leadership prior to this years’ Director elections and allows Peter and I a period of handover before I retire from the Board in November,” says Monaghan.
Mr McBride says he is humbled to be selected by his fellow Directors and is looking forward to leading the Co-op on behalf of its 10,000 farming families.
“I grew up on a dairy farm near Te Aroha and today my wife Linda and I run the family farm milking 950 cows in the South Waikato, so dairy has always been part of my life.
“I’m looking forward to working alongside John for the next few months before leading our Co-op into its next phase and creating value for the benefit of our farmer owners and unit holders.
“When John retires from the Board in November it will mark almost two decades of service to our Co-op, the last 12 years as a Director. He will leave behind a board culture of shared responsibility, which is something I will look to build on as the new Chairman,” says Mr McBride.
Peter McBride Bio:
Peter grew up on a dairy farm near Te Aroha before his father sold the farm and moved into kiwifruit horticulture in Te Puke.
He holds a Bachelor of Horticulture from Massey University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Commerce from Lincoln University.
Peter and his wife Linda run their family’s dairy farm in the South Waikato, with 950 cows, supplying Fonterra.
He has four adult children with his wife Linda. They are based near Tauranga on an avocado orchard.
Peter is an experienced primary producer and agricultural businessman – specialising in two of New Zealand’s iconic industries – dairy and kiwifruit.
A former Director and Chairman of Zespri International, he was voted on to the Fonterra Board as a farmer-elected Director in 2018.
His corporate agricultural experience has provided him with exposure in a number of international markets, in particular the Asia Pacific Region, Middle East and Latin America.
Peter has leadership experience in the New Zealand rural sector through his work with Zespri, particularly in his command of the PSA crisis, which had the potential to decimate the New Zealand kiwifruit industry.
He was previously a Director of the New Zealand International Business Forum and a member of the Executive Board of the New Zealand China Council.
In 2018, Peter was awarded Horticulture NZ’s Bledisloe Cup for leadership, and Deloitte NZ Chairperson of the year. He was praised by the Deloitte judges as chairing a united and constructive board.