Rowarth appointed DairyNZ deputy chair

This follows a strategy review of its governance practices. DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says the review process ensured governance best practice, depth of leadership and pathways to grow capability for directors.

A farmer-elected director, Rowarth has been a board member since 2018. Her appointment cements her as a frontrunner for the chairmanship of the board when van der Poel decides to retire.

According to van der Poel, Rowarth will provide key additional support in stakeholder engagement which has evolved and expanded over recent times.

“We have seen the time demands on the chair role grow as we have been called on to work constructively across the sector.  One of DairyNZ’s key roles is to put forward evidence-based solutions that work for our farmers and rural communities and help us move dairy farming into the future. “This deputy role will help support our Board’s work with our sector, industry and science partners, and with local and central governments to fulfil that commitment.”

Van der Poel says board leadership and effective governance is critical to ensure DairyNZ is fit for the long-term as an organisation.

“We are setting the board up to deliver our new strategy. Sharing the load, building capability and depth is important for good governance.

“As a board, we felt it was important to have a nominated deputy chairperson to represent DairyNZ at a governance level on issues that matter to our levy-paying dairy farmers. It’s a key role to support the effort we are putting into ensuring we have a thriving dairy sector for our farmers.”