One week out from an important vote for New Zealand’s biggest company, Fonterra Chairman John Wilson is urging farmers to back changes to the Co-operative’s governance and representation so Fonterra can stay focussed on making the most from farmers’ milk and growing farmers’ wealth.
“Over the past eight months there has been a lot of good discussion on the unique governance structure of the Co-operative. We have considered the different governance and representative roles including the process for electing Directors, the size of the Board and the defined role of the Shareholders’ Council. The recommendations being put to the vote reflect those discussions.
“There has been good feedback and acknowledgement that we have listened to our farmer shareholders and have adjusted the proposal where there were concerns, while still retaining the strong points of the original proposal.
“This is a big step to ensuring we have the best people to lead our Co-operative into the future. Now it’s up to farmers to have their final say so we can move forward and give our full attention to making the most of improving global markets,” said Mr Wilson.
The main variation to the recommendations put before farmers is a new election process for Farmer Directors. The earlier recommendation remains that candidates are selected by an Independent Selection Panel, then approved by the Nominations Committee of the Board and by the Shareholders’ Council before they are put forward to shareholders for their vote and support. In addition there is now a path where candidates can stand outside this process and self-nominate. A first past the post majority voting system will mean all Director candidates now need at least 50 per cent farmer support.