Six vie for Fonterra board seats

Three sitting directors – chairman John Wilson, Blue Read and Nicola Shadbolt – are seeking re-election. Also gunning for a seat are Murray Beach, Ashley Waugh and Greg Maughan. Here are the six candidate profiles:

Greg Maughan, Marton

Maughan served on the Fonterra shareholders council between 2004-08; he has served as chair and national judge for the New Zealand Dairy Awards. This month he unsuccessfully contested the DairyNZ board elections.

In his DairyNZ campaign Maughan said he has wide understanding of the industry from farm to governance level.

Murray Beach, Marlborough

Murray Beach shot to prominence last year after unsuccessfully moving a resolution calling for Fonterra to stop spending until the payout improves. Beach is unhappy with the current share structure and will propose a new share structure at this year's annual meeting.

He believes all Fonterra shareholders should be paid the same for milk.

Ashley Waugh, Waikato

A former chief executive of Australian dairy processor National Foods, Waugh has a dairy farm in Waikato.

During his time at National Foods he put together a deal that resulted in the big Asia/Oceania food and beverage company Kirin Holdings buying National Foods in 2007. Kirin Holdings merged National Foods in 2009, at which time Waugh left the company.

John Wilson, Te Awamutu

John Wilson joined the Fonterra board in 2003 as a farmer-elected director and became chairman in 2012. He chairs the people, culture and safety committee.

He was the inaugural chairman of Fonterra shareholders council. He is director of Turners & Growers Ltd and is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand.

Wilson lives on his dairy farm near Te Awamutu and jointly owns a dairy farming business near Geraldine, South Canterbury.

Nicola Shadbolt, Manawatu

Nicola Shadbolt was elected to the Fonterra board in 2009 and serves on the audit and finance committee. 

She is a professor of farm and agribusiness management at Massey University.

She and her husband live in the Pohangina Valley, Manawatu, the base for the five farming and forestry equity partnerships they run, which include two dairy farms.

Blue Read, Taranaki

Blue Read was elected to the board in 2012. He sits on the cooperative relations committee and he led a water policy project team reporting to the this committee. 

Read served as chairman of the Fonterra shareholders council from 2007 to 2010, having been a councillor since 2001 and deputy chairman from 2003 to 2007. 

He has interests in two dairy equity partnerships in lower Waikato, and he lives and farms near Urenui, northern Taranaki.