- Our People
- Governance Development Programme
- Governance Development Committee
- Governance Development Programme
- Governance Development Committee
Info Template
- Our People
- Governance Development Programme
- Governance Development Committee
- Governance Development Programme
- Governance Development Committee
Governance Development Committee
The Governance Development Committee (GDC) is a joint Shareholders’ Council and Board initiative established in 2006 to address succession needs within Fonterra, the dairy industry and the wider rural community.
The Committee’s primary objective is to identify and develop governance acumen in future rural leaders. This is achieved primarily through operating the Governance Development Programme (GDP), which builds farmers’ skills and capability in areas including governance, leadership, strategic planning and delivery and an understanding of Fonterra’s business.
The GDC is chaired by Fonterra Chair-elect Peter McBride and members include Fonterra Chairman John Monaghan, Shareholders’ Council Chairman James Barron, Councillor Matt Pepper and independent member Janine Smith.
Peter McBride
Farmer Director and GDC Chairman
Peter McBride was elected to the Fonterra Board in 2018. He is a member of the Zespri China Advisory Board. Peter was previously the Chairman and a Director of Zespri Group Limited and other related companies.
Peter is a Managing Director of South-East Hort Limited and subsidiaries and Ellett Beach Farms Joint Venture. He was previously a Director of the New Zealand International Business Forum and a member of the Executive Board of the New Zealand China Council. Peter has shareholding interests in the Waikato.
James Barron
Shareholders' Council Chairman
James was first elected to the Shareholders’ Council in 2016 to represent Fonterra farmers in Matamata. He has served on the Council's Co-operative Culture and Performance Committees and was elected Chair of the Council in 2019.
He has a BCom from Canterbury University, and worked in real estate and travelled overseas before going into farming on his return to NZ.
He is a fourth generation dairy farmer, milking 450 cows on the 140ha dairy farm where he grew up south of Matamata.
Janine Smith
Independent Committee Member
Janine has been a company director for over 25 years. She is a founding Principal of The Boardroom Practice Limited which specialises in boardroom practice and organisational development and change issues for boards and management.
She has a MPhil (Hons1stclass) research only on the topic Effective and Ineffective boards. She received a MNZM for services to corporate governance in the 2015 New Year’s Honours List.
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