“The future of our Co-op is assured, so long as we, the farmer owners, stay engaged in the governance of our industry and the business we collectively own.”
This is one of the reflections from long-standing farmer elected director, Leonie Guiney, as she contemplates her impending retirement from the Co-op’s Board this November, after reaching the maximum nine-year term for Fonterra directors.
It is the same fundamental belief that gave rise to Fonterra’s Governance Development Programme (GDP), which is now in its eighteenth year and accepting applications for its 2025 programme from 9 October 2024.
All Fonterra shareholders and herd-owning 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 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. The intensive programme includes three 3-day residential workshops in Auckland, distance learning, assessments and one-on-one coaching.
Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) Chairman Corrigan Sowman graduated from the GDP in 2021 and shares a similar perspective.
“If you think back 20-30 years, the industry had a lot of smaller local governance roles at the various entities that then merged into bigger Co-op’s before eventually Fonterra.
“There may not have been a lot of formal governance courses and training, that was a breeding ground for business acumen and governance skills. We don’t have those same pathways now, so rural leadership courses like Fonterra’s GDP are our new avenues to build this skill set. They create rural governors that can take up roles at your local vet club, the board of trustees, or other community roles and eventually lead onto Fonterra or LIC,” says Corrigan.
DairyNZ Director and Chair-elect Tracy Brown was part of the 2018/19 GDP cohort, she believes farmers have a natural affinity with governance.
“To me governance is about judgement. Farmers make hundreds of decisions every day, which gives them the confidence to make timely, informed decisions based on the best information available to them at the time. You don’t automatically get exposed to that in the corporate world.
“I’d encourage any of my farming colleagues who have an interest in governance to think about applying for the programme. On reflection, I wish I’d done it a little earlier in my career. Having some governance experience, whether that be on the school board of trustees, vet board, community hospital board, charity or sports club, that is really helpful going into the GDP because it gives you real life examples you can use to help understand the theory. But you don’t need much more than that.
“You do need to be clear on ‘why’ you want to get into governance. It’s a big commitment, so just be clear on what your motivation is and whether its strong enough. My motivation is that I think I can make a contribution and help get a better outcome for farmers through the organisations I’m part of,” says Tracy.
Key dates
Applications open:
9 October 2024
Applications close:
1 November 2024
Programme begins:
Late January 2025
How to apply
To find out more about the Fonterra Governance Development Programme, visit fonterra.com/gdp or contact Jo Griffiths: phone 021 861 726 or email jo.simpson@fonterra.com.