Ousted Fonterra director ‘delighted’ to be back
Fonterra director Leonie Guiney says she is ‘‘just delighted’’ farmers have put her back on the co-operative’s board.
‘‘I really appreciate the trust they’ve put in me and consider it a really big responsibility.’’
Fonterra announced its election results for positions on its board yesterday. Besides Guiney, outgoing Zespri chairman Peter McBride was also voted in as a new director of the dairy giant.
Since the remaining three candidates did not achieve the support of more than 50 per cent of votes cast, a second election must take place.
They were Jamie Tuuta, Ashley Waugh and John Nicholls.
No details have been given for when the next election will take place, but the board may appoint a director to fill the vacancy in the meantime.
Guiney left the board in controversial circumstances last year when the panel that screens candidates did not select her.
Her self-confessed opposition to ‘‘groupthink’’ and close scrutiny of some financial decisions put her offside with colleagues, especially then-chairman John Wilson, who stood down in July for health reasons.
Earlier this year the board took out an injunction against her speaking to the media, saying it was ‘‘to prevent the publication of what we believe to be leaked and misrepresented details of board discussions’’.
She later sued the board for defamation, but the parties settled amicably in September.
Guiney lives and farms near Fairlie, where she is a director of four companies. She served on the Fonterra board from 2014-17.
Most of the faces on the board are relatively new. Chairman John Monaghan was elected in 2008, Simon Israel in 2013, Clinton Dines in 2015, Donna Smit and Scott St John in 2016, and Brent Goldsack, Bruce Hassall and Andy Macfarlane in 2017.
‘‘I’m one of the most experienced there now,’’ Guiney said.
McBride has farming interests in Waikato and Bay of Plenty. He heads Trinity Lands, a kiwifruit and dairying operation with a $300 million turnover.
Wilson and Nicola Shadbolt officially retire from the board at Fonterra’s AGM tomorrow.
Shareholders Stephen Silcock and David Gasquoine were elected unopposed to the directors’ remuneration committee.