New Zealand's wider agriculture sector is full of smart, diverse leaders who, with the right formal governance training and support, are best placed to swell the ranks of the Boards of New Zealand's significant agri businesses.
That belief sits behind Fonterra's Governance Development Programme (GDP), which is accepting applications for its 2024 programme from October.
All Fonterra shareholders and herdowning sharemilkers supplying Fonterra can apply. A limited number of places may also be made available for members of LIC, Foodstuffs and Silver Fern Farms.
The one-year programme, delivered by Massey University's Business School, is tailored to the New Zealand co-operative context. It aims to provide a solid grounding in governance best practice, leadership, board processes, directors' duties, finance, risk, strategy, and critical thinking.
Participants hear from experienced governors, take part in board simulations and interact with members of the Co-op's leadership and other business leaders.
It's an intense programme completed over one year and includes three 3-day residential courses in Auckland, distance learning, assessments and one-on-one coaching.
Sheree Ryan (Waikato, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rereahu) recently completed the GDP as part of the 2022 cohort. Her connection to the Co-op comes via her family farms, senior finance role with Waikato-Tainui, and previous decade long career within the Co-op's management team.
Sheree believes rural governors bring a valuable and unique perspective to the boardroom.
"Much like Māori, rural governors bring a strong sense of connection to the whenua. That's critical in agri-business when so many of the challenges come back to the environment and the land."
Sheree was inspired to apply for the programme by GDP alumni, friend and mentor Hinerangi Raumati TuÚa whose own primary industry governance track record includes a number of the largest Māori-owned agri enterprises and fisheries companies. It's a commitment Sheree's glad she made.
"I was attracted to governance roles as a way of giving something back by sharing my experiences - many of which came thanks to my work with Fonterra. The programme has given me confidence and clarity and how to conduct myself within the different entities I represent and engage with different personality types. I had many light bulb moments during the experience, and was surprised at the access we were given to senior leaders from the business community. They were really generous with their time and experience."
Dan Radcliffe has also just completed the GDP alongside Sheree and 20 others. Dan believes the programme is a critical part of the Co-op's future.
"We need a programme like this to help farmers come up through the co-op ranks and support them to upskill on governance and ultimately move into leadership roles. I got a lot of nuggets of wisdom from the programme. I'd had an early introduction to governance roles which left me with some misconceptions - you don't know what you don't know. But the programme has made me more conscious of the way I interact with people. It helped me to better understand the boundaries between Board and Management - and how I wear those two different hats within my own business interests.
"The time commitment can be difficult to manage at certain stages of the season, but we had a great crew of people on the programme which made it fun. If you see any kind of governance role in your future, I'd encourage you to give it a go. I got everything I wanted out of it," says Dan.