INCUMBENT Andy Macfarlane will seek reelection to the Fonterra Farmer Directors' board. FILE PHOTO
INCUMBENT Director Andy Macfarlane, along with Alison Watters and Mike Fleming have been announced as the independently assessed candidates for the 2022 Fonterra Farmer Directors’ election. This year there are two board positions up for election. Alison Watters and Mike Fleming were recommended by the Independent Selection Panel after their assessment process. Andy Macfarlane is seeking re-election and chose to participate in the Independent Assessment Process. The panel’s assessment of Andy is to be included in the voting pack and as a re-standing director, he automatically went through to the ballot.
PROFILES
Andy Macfarlane He standing for re-election to the Fonterra board, having completed a five-year tenure after joining the board in November 2017. He has been a farm management consultant for 38 years and formed Macfarlane Rural Business Limited with partners in 1997. With the support of his wife Tricia, and in partnership with his brother and sister-in-law, he started farming in 1989, and completed the family’s first dairy conversion soon afterward. Andy purchased his first dairy co-op shares in 1990. The 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. Andy has been active in governance since the 1990s, and serves as a director of ANZCO Foods. He is a past president of the New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management (responsible for New Zealand rural professionals), was chair of Deer Industry New Zealand for seven years, a director of AgResearch for six years, and served on the board of Ngāi Tahu Farming. Andy continues as a director of Edgewater Resort Hotel in Wanaka. He was a founding partner in Agricom and has been active in forming equity partnerships utilising in commercial property, which have served as a useful succession planning and risk management tool for farmer investors.
Alison Watters Alison Watters, her husband Andrew and other family members 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 that it and the industry provides an opportunity for their two daughters to see a future in dairy. They were proud recipients of the NZ Sharemilker of the Year in 2003 and have since supported the development of young farmers in the industry through a range of programmes. As a board chair and director, Alison has more than 20 years of experience governing a range of entities including nonprofit organisations, small and medium enterprises, and large global commercial companies. Currently, she is the chair of AsureQuality, a director of LIC, and a director of MetService. She has completed the Fonterra Governance Development Programme (2015) and is a member of the Institute of Directors. Previously, Alison 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. In addition, she has contributed to science within a university setting as department head for Human Nutrition and Health Research at Massey University. As such, Alison has in-depth experience and understanding of R&D and applied innovation in relation to ingredient development and human nutrition.
Mike Fleming Mike Fleming has held executive management and governance roles in Agribusiness for the past 20 years, mostly related to pastoral farming (largely dairy), eggs and related agri- businesses. He’s currently chair of Fortuna Group, which has grown to 19 dairy farms in Southland, and is a director of Better Eggs, which is NZ’s second-largest egg producer. Mike is a previous director of Canterbury Grasslands (current shareholder) and a number of dairy equity partnerships and continues to be an advisor to farming families and trusts. He leads with a very strong focus on value creation through strategic acquisitions and a continual focus on operating excellence. Mike grew up farming in Hawkes Bay, gaining a Bachelor of Agricultural Commerce from Lincoln University in 1993. He lives in Napier with his wife Kristen, who has also had a successful dairy farming career. He is an alumnus of the Fonterra Governance Director Programme (2007/8).
Nominations for this close at 12 noon on Thursday, September 29.
