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WMP outgoing chairman Matt O’Regan.
Reviewing the nature of its cooperative structure will be a challenge for Westland Milk Products (WMP), says the outgoing chairman, Matt O’Regan.
O’Regan, after seven years service, will step down at the end of March 2017, as he has always intended on the appointment of a new chief executive.
“It’s just time to go,” he told Dairy News.
His staying until March is for continuity of governance and to allow the new chief executive, Toni Brendish, to establish herself in the company and allow the board time to identify and plan its governance needs.
Westland Milk has so far retained reasonably pure cooperative principles, he says.
“But there are many types of co-op and… all co-ops will be challenged with ‘what does a co-op need to be in the 21st century?’ It’s one issue the future board of Westland is going to have to look at in the very near future.
“Under the new leadership and management team Toni Brendish will put around her they will re-look at the strategy and see what she wants to put in place. The cooperative structure will come into that and will be part of the progression of Westland.”
O’Regan says a highlight of his term as chairman has been seeing in change made by the co-op to diversify into more value-added products; about 30% of Westland’s products are now premium value add.
“Now to get the sales of these products in place; that is a massive task and there is still a long way to go.
“The other highlight for me is that Westland has devised its own farm excellence programme with similar aims to the Water Accord. This is not as prescriptive as the Water Accord on our shareholders, who have to deal with higher volumes of rainwater on their farms.
“Our system has given them some options to work with rather than a whole lot of rules that are not practical for our farmers.”
O’Regan intends to carry on dairy farming and will be a loyal supplier to Westland.
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