Second Fonterra director election

A SECOND election for the remaining vacancy on Fonterra’s board of directors will be held next month — the first time such a move has been required.

It will be contested between Maori Television chairman Jamie Tuuta, and Canterbury dairy farmer John Nicholls, who were both unsuccessful in this month’s election.

Shareholders voted to elect former Fonterra director Leonie Guiney and Zespri chairman Peter McBride to the board in a move regarded as sending a strong message to the cooperative.

Sitting director Ashley Waugh, and Mr Tuuta, who were nominated by the Fonterra board’s independent selection process recommendation, were unsuccessful, along with Mr Nicholls who was selfnominated.

Only Mrs Guiney and Mr McBride obtained more than 50% support from voting shareholders and rules stated that if not enough candidates obtained more than that, there must be a second election.

In a statement yesterday, Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Duncan Coull said it was after careful consideration that the council had determined the second election would be a vote between the unsuccessful candidates in the first election who wanted to restand.

Like the previous election, to be successful a candidate must obtain more than 50% support from voting shareholders.

If both got more than 50%, then the candidate with the highest level of support would be elected.

If both failed to get more than 50% support, there would not be a third election and the board could exercise its constitutional power to make a temporary appointment until the 2019 annual meeting was completed. The board was not allowed to appoint an unsuccessful candidate.

Voting will open on December 3 and close at 1pm December 20. Results would be announced later that day.

Yesterday, Fonterra announced the resignation of Lukas Paravicini, CEO of its consumer and foodservice business.

He and his family intended planned to return to Europe and he would leave the cooperative in January. He first joined Fonterra’s management team in 2013 as chief financial officer.

In a statement, chief executive Miles Hurrell said Mr Paravicini had been instrumental in maintaining the financial strength of the cooperative, including through some years of low milk prices and challenging global conditions.

The resignation continued the recent shakeup in senior management with the departure of former chief executive Theo Spierings.