Search on to replace $8.32m man
The successor to Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings can look forward to a pay package of about $30 million over six years.
While farmers want the best person for the job, Federated Farmers vice-president Andrew Hoggard said he or she should ideally couple an in-depth knowledge of world dairy markets with some key personal attributes.
The low-profile Spierings understood the technical side of the business, but there were other aspects to running a co-operative of 10,500 farmers.
‘‘You need a mix. Ideally not the showbiz type of CEO but more the low key sort connecting with farmers, the kind of guy you’d like to have a beer with. Because it’s a co-op, it will need someone who makes farmers feel like they’re part of the family,’’ Hoggard said.
Spierings earned a $8.32m salary package including bonuses last year to bring his six-year earnings to just under $30m, according to best estimates within annual reports.
He announced last week he would stand down this year.
Hoggard also raised the prospect of the retirement of chairman John Wilson, who by the end of the year will have been on the board for four terms, and chairman for two.
‘‘In the normal scheme of things he would retire but who is the next person to step up?’’
Senior lecturer in accountancy at Otago University, Dr Helen Roberts, said farmers should have some input into the decision over a future chief executive.
‘‘They need to have a say, although Fonterra has said it had already made a shortlist of candidates from an international search.’’
Wilson said the board had instigated a search last November.
Strategic Pay chief executive John McGill said he hoped Fonterra would have groomed people within the co-op who could take over.
But equally it might have to look further afield for a leader of New Zealand’s largest company.
Hoggard said after 14 years of overseas chief executives a Kiwi candidate who was involved with Fonterra would receive a positive tick.
One of the key issues a new chief executive needed to address was the rising competition from other dairy producers, especially in the Waikato region where Open Country Dairy will start to take milk from its new plant in August, and Synlait has plans to build a factory.