Announcement Of New CEO
The AsureQuality Board are delighted to announce the appointment of Kim Ballinger as Chief Executive Officer, effective 14th December 2020.
Kim has been chosen through a competitive selection process from a strong field of candidates. She is a highly experienced international executive with a strong background in the food industry holding multiple senior roles in Fonterra, its joint-venture partners, and legacy companies for the last two decades. Most recently, Kim was Chief Executive at Tip Top Ice Cream, where she led the business over three years before ultimately preparing and closing the divestment of the company to Froneri in late May 2019.
Kim is passionate about New Zealand’s food and primary industries where growers, farmers, producers, and others right through the supply chain, work hard to proudly uphold what Aotearoa stands for in food – a higher standard of quality and safety. Kim has a deep appreciation of the critical role AsureQuality plays in supporting these industries every day to help build and protect this enduring trust in food.
As part of AsureQuality’s strategic direction, Kim will leverage her strength of experience in B2B and B2C sales and marketing to bring a renewed focus on our customers and our ability to intimately understand and deliver to their needs.
The wellbeing and welfare of our people will also continue to be a top priority for Kim. Under her leadership, we look forward to continuing our strong progress on health and safety, cultural development, and the engagement of our people.
Kim has a Post-graduate Diploma in Dairy Science and Technology and a Bachelor of Technology from Massey University.
On a personal note as Chair of the Board, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jeremy Hood who has been Interim CEO since October while we worked through the recruitment process. Jeremy provided the strong leadership needed to ensure continued momentum on our strategic direction. Jeremy will return to his role as Chief Financial Officer upon Kim’s arrival.
We are very excited to have Kim joining and leading our AsureQuality team as we continue helping Aotearoa shape a better food world.
Dr Alison Watters
Chair of the Board
AsureQuality Limited