Sitting directors Fiona Hancox and Rob Hewett retire by rotation at the company’s 2017 annual meeting to be held in Dunedin on April 18.
Both Hancox and Hewett are standing for re-election and they will be challenged for their positions by newcomers Chris Allen and Conor English.
The election will be conducted by postal and online ballot with voting papers posted out to eligible shareholders on April 4.
Voting will close at 3pm on Monday April 16 with the result announced before the annual meeting.
Farmers Weekly went to the candidates to find out what drives their desire to win a seat at the SFF board table.
Fiona Hancox
“We need to do better,” former Federated Farmers chief executive Conor English, whose farming career started in Southland in the 1980s, said.
“I’ve plucked dead sheep, milked cows and grasped the crowbar on a freezing southern morning.
“But I also have extensive experience off farm in boardrooms and international markets.”
That experience includes being one of two independent advisers to the Reserve Bank on interest rates and financial stability; chairman of NZX listed supply chain disruptor QEX Logistics that has multi-country operations, reaching consumers in new ways.
He has first-hand experience exporting to China and working with Chinese partners having visited China more than 30 times.
“I’ve learnt much but still have a lot to learn.”
He is a director of GMP Pharmaceuticals, a valued-added manufacturer with products going to 30 countries, has first-hand experience exporting perishable, temperature-sensitive, branded products, is a director of E-Sports NZ which is at the forefront of millennial thinking – a sport pushing the boundaries with technology and new ways of thinking about consumers.
With a proven track record in governance and chief executive roles English says he is very connected across political, agricultural and business communities and used to addressing tough issues and getting results.
“It is vital that SFF navigates through our fast-changing environment successfully for the advancement of shareholders, the company and the country,” English said.
