March 21, 2018

Fonterra announces progress on CEO succession plan

Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited announced that, as part of a planned CEO succession process, the Fonterra Board and its CEO Theo Spierings have agreed that Spierings will leave his role later this year.

Fonterra said its board and Spierings had formally commenced succession discussions last year. As a result, the Fonterra board initiated international searches in November last year to identify potential candidates and is now shortlisting candidates.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson commented that the board made the decision to bring forward the announcement - which it was expecting to make in April - to avoid speculation.

"It is not yet clear exactly when any appointment for Spierings' replacement will be made, but it is absolutely clear that he will continue to drive the co-operative's strategy and business, with a special emphasis on China, for now.

"The board and Theo are committed to a high-quality transition to a new CEO and when we have more information in regards to timing, we will let our farmers and the wider market know. Until then, it is business as usual with the focus on driving returns to our farmers and unit holders.

"We envisage that even after the announcement of our new CEO, Theo will be involved in an advisory role so that we make best use of his knowledge and expertise during the transition," Wilson added.

Spierings remarked that he is proud to have led Fonterra as CEO for seven years as the co-operative has established a strong demand-led strategy and oriented itself to become innovative and sustainable.

"It is now time for a new CEO who can lead the co-operative through this next phase. The time is right for the co-operative and that is important to me and to the board," he said.

"It is also the right time for me personally. I look forward to new challenges, but right now, my focus is on Fonterra. That will be the case until I finish with the co-operative."