Fonterra Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

11 January 2005

Fonterra Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

Fonterra Cooperative Group has announced the appointment of Mr Guy Cowan to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mr Cowan will take up his new position on March 1.

Mr Cowan, 53, is currently Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Shell Oil Company in the US. He is a director of Shell Petroleum Incorporated, the holding company for Shell's US interests, and a member of the Shell Oil Leadership Team. The US business represents a significant part of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. Previously, Mr Cowan, who has been employed by Shell for the last 23 years, held a number of key finance positions in the company's Latin American, European, African and Australian operating units.

Mr Cowan, who is British, was born in Argentina and educated in Brazil and England, graduating with an honours degree in engineering from the University of Sussex. He is qualified as a chartered accountant in the UK and a certified public accountant in the US, having worked for major accounting firms in England, South America and the US, and is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese.

Announcing the appointment, Fonterra Chief Executive Officer Andrew Ferrier said Mr Cowan was a highly experienced and well-respected senior financial executive, with a strong track record across a wide range of business disciplines relevant to Fonterra.

"Guy's vast experience in the financial management of a complex and geographically diverse multi-national business of the size and scale of Shell as well as his knowledge of commodity markets, mergers and acquisitions, risk management and treasury operations will be of great benefit to Fonterra," he said.

Mr Cowan said he was attracted to the operational challenges of the Fonterra job: "I look forward to helping Fonterra achieve its business objectives, and to helping develop a world-class finance organisation. My family and I also look forward to the lifestyle opportunities that go with being based in New Zealand."

ENDS

© Scoop Media