New Fonterra Shareholders' Council chairman Simon Couper
spent many years working in banking, but the land pulled him
home to the family farm in Northland.
Couper worked in management accounting and financial risk
management in New Zealand and Britain before taking over the
family dairy farm in Waipu in 2000.
"What brought me back into farming was the fact that you were
achieving something tangible," Mr Couper said.
"I like the outdoors existence and the lifestyle of farming."
Mr Couper said the priority was to see that the recently
approved introduction of share trading among farmers was
implemented correctly, while representing the views of
shareholders and monitoring the board's performance.
Getting share trading among farmers through had been a vast
undertaking, and Mr Couper paid tribute to the time and
effort of exiting chairman Blue Read and deputy chairman
Campbell Shearer. "[I'm] looking forward to it, but there'll
be challenging times and also a lot of responsibility, which
I'm very aware of," Mr Couper said.
"We have 35 elected members, and it's going to take all of
our talent to steer the best path for shareholders and the
co-operative."
Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Lachlan McKenzie welcomed Mr
Couper and new deputy chairman Ian Brown and reminded them of
the council's critical role.
"The council is not there to rubber-stamp Fonterra board
decisions but to ensure these decisions are in the long-term
interests of shareholders and the co-operative," Mr McKenzie
said.
"Only when the board has satisfied the questions of
farmer/shareholder/suppliers, put to them via the council,
can they be confident that they have the full support of
Fonterra's 10,500 shareholders."
Exiting chairman Mr Read said it was an incredibly demanding
role.
"You act as a conduit between the board and shareholders ...
and there's 35 farmers on that shareholders' council, 35 very
strong-minded individuals, and it takes a fair bit of energy
and effort to keep alignment on a group like that."
Mr Read had not seen much of his North Taranaki farm in
recent years.
"So I'm just going to go and sit on a hill and look at the
sea maybe and calve some cows," he said.
But he did not expect to be out of circulation forever.
"I've always been active outside the farm gate and I don't
think that that'll change.
Simon Couper
Age: 40.
Home: Waipu.
Education: BCom in economics, Otago.
1996-2000: Banking in NZ and UK.
2000: Took over family farm.
2004: Joined Fonterra Shareholders' Council.
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