Nominations for the Fonterra Board of Directors’ Election have opened today, Friday, the 31st of July, with an election to be held for two farmer-elected Directors.
This year, Brent Goldsack and Cathy Quinn will retire by rotation. Quinn has confirmed she will stand for re-election, while Godlsack has stepped down from the Board.
The Independent Assessment Process will be run first, with a nomination period of the 31st of July to the 14th of August 2026.
The Independently Assessed Candidates will be rigorously assessed by an Independent Assessment Panel of three highly respected governance experts.
The Panel comprises Mark Verbiest (Chair of Meridian Energy and Summerset Group Holdings and director of ASB Bank), Patrick Strange (director of Transgrid and previous Chair of Auckland International Airport Limited) and Dame Therese Walsh (Chair of Air New Zealand, ASB Bank and T20 2028 World Cup Limited). Their role is to shortlist and recommend the best candidates to Fonterra’s shareholders.
The Returning Officer will announce the Independent Assessment Process candidates on Monday, the 21st of September.
The Non-Assessment Process, where farmers can put themselves forward as a candidate for the Board outside the Independent Assessment Process, will follow, with the nomination period running from the 21st of September to the 1st of October 2026.
The Returning Officer will confirm all Directors’ Election candidates on Friday, the 2nd of October.
The Directors’ Election will be held using the first-past-the-post system, with postal and online voting by eligible Fonterra shareholders.
The Independent Assessment Panel search brief, along with the Candidate Handbook, is now available from the Returning Officer, Warwick Lampp. These documents provide prospective Director candidates with information on all aspects of the Election process, including details of the skills and attributes the Board has sought in 2026.
Nominations for the Fonterra Co-operative Council and the Directors’ Remuneration Committee Elections will be called for on Tuesday, the 15th of September, and close on Thursday, the 1st of October.
Fonterra-supplying shareholders are eligible to stand in the Fonterra Elections. Candidates must satisfy eligibility requirements to be elected, and further procedural requirements are specified in the Election rules and the Candidate Handbook.
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