Fonterra director quits

NEW ZEALAND – A director of New Zealand’s biggest company, Fonterra, announced last Friday that he is to quit at the end of the month.

Mike Smith said that he is leaving the company because he is “unhappy with the governance” of Fonterra.

Director Mark Townshend is also considering quitting the firm, according to New Zealand’s Southland Times.

Smith is understood to be dissatisfied with the inquiry surrounding the illegal export of dairy powders without Dairy Board approval prior to the formation of Fonterra. He was on a Fonterra board sub-committee that directed the inquiry and in December ruled that here had been no improper personal gain.

The Fonterra board will consider Smith’s replacement next month.

Fonterra was formed last October with the merger of the Dairy Group and Kiwi Dairies co-operatives and the regulated exporter Dairy Board.

Also at Fonterra this week, Robert Le Brun has been appointed director of corporate strategic initiatives.