12 Candidates To Compete In Fonterra Elections

12 Candidates To Compete In Fonterra Board Of Director Elections

Twelve candidates will compete for the three vacant shareholder elected positions on the Fonterra Board of Directors.

Nominations closed at noon on Friday March 21, with candidate nominations then verified.

Returning officers Carolyn Mason and Mike Linnegar say the number to contest the director election is the most since the formation of Fonterra, with eight vying for the three vacant positions last year.

Each year three directors must retire by rotation. They can seek re-election.

The candidates are:

Colin Holmes, Murupara
· Harry Bayliss, Manaia
· * Stuart Nattrass, Christchurch
· * Richard Booth, Whangarei
· * John Wilson, Te Awamutu
· * Les Keeper, Queenstown
· * Hilary Webber, Cambridge
· * Graeme Edwards, Leigh
· * Kingi Smiler, Wellington
· * Marise James, Inglewood
· * Malcolm Bailey, Feilding
· * Maurice Hardie, Papamoa

Voting papers, including a video interview of each of the candidates, candidate profiles, information regarding the key skills and capabilities directors should possess and an explanation of the Single Transferable Voting (STV) system to be used, will be posted to shareholders on April 28. Voting closes at noon on May 23, with results being notified by May 26.

At the same time an election will be held in South Taranaki for two positions on Ward 17 of the Fonterra Shareholders' Council. Key roles of Council are to monitor Fonterra's performance and represent views of shareholders. There are three candidates standing for the two vacant positions.

They are:
David Pearce, Waitotara
· David Hopkins, Waitotara
· * Philip Nixon, Hawera

In the elections, the STV voting system will be used to elect candidates.

In seven other wards, there was the same number of nominees as vacancies for the Shareholders' Council. In those wards, Fonterra's chairman Henry van der Heyden will declare the nominees elected as Councillors once they have signed a confidentiality deed.

The councillors-elect are:

Ward # Ward name Candidate name 2 Central Northland Murray Douglas, Whangarei Mark Croucher, Whangarei 5 Hamilton Neil McLean, Taupiri Henk Wijers, Cambridge 8 Rotorua Allan Crafar, Reporoa Tony O'Boyle, Rotorua 11 Matamata David Gasquoine, Matamata Tony Sclater, Matamata 14 Northern Taranaki Blue Read, Urenui Nick Barrett, New Plymouth 23 Canterbury South Adri Verbakel, Oamaru John Saywell, Geraldine 20 Hawke's Bay Dean Nikora, Takapau

Two candidates were nominated to the Directors' Remuneration Committee, to fill two vacancies. Again, these nominees will be declared elected to the committee once the confidentiality deed is signed, but the members-elect are Rodney Wilson, of Stratford, and David Hurst, of Te Puke.

The committee's role is to make a recommendation to shareholders on the form and amount of remuneration paid to shareholder-elected Directors and Shareholder Councillors.

Further information on the election process, including profiles of the candidates, is available on the Fonterra supplier-only section of http://www.fencepost.com. A discussion group has also started on the website where suppliers can ask questions of the candidates.

© Scoop Media