The constitution gives discretionary powers over the election procedure to the council and therefore the possibilities are quite wide-ranging, he said.
In the meantime, the board can appoint an interim director but not be one of the three unsuccessful candidates – Ashley Waugh, Jamie Tuuta and John Nicholls.
The election to fill three vacancies for farmer-directors returned two candidates with the required 50% approval from farmer-shareholders who voted – one-term former director Leonie Guiney (2014-2017) and newcomer and retiring Zespri chairman Peter McBride.
Guiney was the first successful self-nominated candidate since that option was introduced three years ago, reportedly receiving a healthy majority of farmers’ votes.
Since the result, speculation among farmers over the re-run possibilities includes a requirement for the independent selection panel headed by Dame Alison Patterson to put forward one assessed and nominated candidate, followed by a self-nomination option.
Having been rejected once, probably as a backlash from the poor financial performance of Fonterra in 2017-18, Waugh is not expected to put himself through the selection process again.
Farmers also expect the council will have to open the door for new candidates, both through the preferred nomination and self-nomination routes.
Coull said comment from farmers following the publication of the independent assessment of Fonterra’s performance since inception (2001) has been a mix of disappointment, thanks and relief.
“They have thanked the council for commissioning the work, said the results weren’t as bad as expected and suggested that it provided a strong foundation on which to build.”
Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell certainly picked up the latter opinion in his address to the annual meeting.
He said 6% average annual return on capital for shareholders is not good enough and he aims to do better.
