Lion Nathan's chief financial officer, Paul Lockey, is considered a leading contender for the top job at giant dairy co-operative Fonterra.
The job currently pays about $2 million a year, and is reported to have been upgraded to a total package of $4 million in a bid to attract overseas applicants.
Mr
Lockey, 44, finishes up with brewer and winemaker Lion Nathan at the end of the month and is returning to New Zealand.
Mr Lockey is among the frontrunners to be Fonterra chief executive, with incumbent chief executive Craig Norgate rumoured to be under pressure amid a management review, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Another person named by the newspaper -- Fonterra director John Hood, who is also vice chancellor at the University of Auckland -- has denied he is in the running.
Mr Lockey declined to comment on the speculation, but said he would seek another executive appointment at some stage in New Zealand.
However, it was unlikely that he would want to reprise his role as CFO at another company.
"I think Lion has been a great place to work as a CFO," he said. "But I'm not moving on to be CFO somewhere else."
He said he was weighing up a couple of career options. One of his reasons for returning home was for his children to finish their schooling in New Zealand.
A former McKinsey management consultant, Mr Lockey has a broader range of experience than normal for a CFO.
He joined Lion Nathan in sales before taking on general management roles and ultimately having a hand in corporate strategy. All told, he spent 16 years at Lion Nathan, the last six as CFO.
Jamie Tomlinson will replace Mr Lockey from May 1.
Mr Tomlinson, 41, has spent half his life at Lion Nathan, most recently as finance director of the Australian business.
- NZPA
