Right man for the job

"John may be stepping into big shoes but he is ably equipped to do so," says Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Willy Leferink. Wilson was today appointed chairman elect and takes over from Henry van der Heyden in December.

"John is an immensely intelligent and capable farmer with that all-important institutional knowledge of where Fonterra has come from. Since he has been on the board, Fonterra has gone from generating $11.8 billion in revenue to around $20 billion today."

Being the chairman of Fonterra puts you in the spotlight locally and internationally, says Leferink.

"Federated Farmers strongly hopes John will put in place a clear succession pathway by creating a deputy chair. A lack of board succession is a strategic weakness given Fonterra is a team made up of farmers, staff, customers and suppliers.

"John will be in charge of taking the world's fourth largest dairy company forward in its second decade of life. This includes delivering to shareholders and unit holders, everything promised from Trading Among Farmers (TAF) and the strategy refresh.

"The immediate priority for John, during the transition phase, is to put to bed Fonterra's constitution in November so we can all move forward."

Leferink says Feds executives look forward to meeting Wilson soon.