By PHILIPPA STEVENSON
Fonterra chief operating officer Jay Waldvogel denies he is in the running for the mega co-op's top job.
Industry sources singled out American-born Waldvogel as one of two known candidates for chief executive. The other was present chief executive Craig Norgate, whose two-year contract expires in July.
An appointment is
expected by the end of the month.
But Waldvogel said he was not part of the global search and was happy in his present job. He was content to carry on and let the process put in place by Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden run its course, hesaid.
The denial failed to dampen speculation that Waldvogel had many of the qualifications for the job and would make a good applicant.
One source said Waldvogel's intelligence and track record in the international dairy trade, including for DMV International, a division of giant co-op Campina, made him a natural candidate choice.