Long-time sitting director John Monaghan, from Wairarapa, and newcomers Andy Macfarlane of Mid-Canterbury and Brent Goldsack, of Waikato, each needed 50% approval of all Fonterra farmers who voted, to be elected.
They came through the independent selection panel, headed by Dame Alison Paterson, tasked with finding three well-qualified candidates to fill three board vacancies this year.
One-term director Leonie Guiney did not make it through the selection and nomination process.
There were no subsequent self-nominations and so the procedure continued to the vote of shareholder approval.
Voting packs and the notice of the annual meeting on Thursday, November 2, at the Whareroa plant, southern Taranaki, were mailed to shareholders on October 9.
Voting would continue until Tuesday, October 31, when the results would be announced.
The three board candidates would present their qualifications and answer questions at seven meetings of shareholders from Monday, October 16, to Thursday, October 19, in a roadshow travelling from Invercargill to Whangarei.
Each meeting would be chaired by Fonterra Shareholders’ Council (FSC) chairman Duncan Coull.
Elections for councillors were required in the following wards: Waikato West, Waipa, South Waikato, Central Plateau, Central Taranaki, Central Districts West, Wairarapa, Tasman/Marlborough, Central Canterbury and Eastern Southland.
Elections were not required in the other 15 wards, in 14 of which sitting councillors were nominated unopposed.
The only newcomer elected unopposed was Luke Beehre, of ward 1 in Northland, a leading Jersey breeder and former rural banker.
This year’s election for the FSC was unusual in that the governance and representation review approved by shareholders last year was implemented with a down-sizing of the council this year.
The councillors decided to do that in one year by declaring all new enlarged 25 wards vacant.
Eleven of the 35 sitting councillors retired and the rest re-nominated in their wards. Nine now faced a contest.
Wairarapa had two new candidates, Craig Bowyer and John Stevenson.
All successful candidates would take office at the end of the annual meeting.
Six ordinary business resolutions were also put to voters, with no remits from shareholders.
