Alliance Group has appointed Heather Stacy to the newly created role of general manager livestock and shareholder services.
Ms Stacy, who starts work on November 21, has held senior leadership roles, including as general manager of international farming with Fonterra New Zealand, and general manager milk supply with Fonterra Australia.
She was previously the executive director of United Dairy Farmers (the dairy sector's equivalent of Federated Farmers) and has worked in the red meat industry for Meat and Livestock Australia (Australia's equivalent of Beef and Lamb NZ).
She also brought previous experience from the meat-processing and retail sectors with Metro Meat in Australia, Alliance Group chief executive David Surveyor said.
"Heather has a demonstrated track record of building and developing high-performing teams that provide value-added services to farmers.
"With her commercial and leadership experience she understands the full industry value chain along with the needs of farmers and the wider industry," Mr Surveyor said.
The role was developed to reflect the co-operative's new strategy and demonstrate its commitment to strengthening its shareholder and supplier relationships, he said.