Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier is to step down from the job in the second half of 2011.
Cooperative chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden said Mr Ferrier had indicated some time ago that he wanted to move on by the end of 2011. At the same time he had made
it clear his first priority was to do what was right for the business.
The board would be considering internal and external candidates to replace Mr Ferrier, Sir Henry said.
Assessment and development of internal candidates started nearly two years ago and an international search was put in place at the end of last year.
``It is possible that we will have identified a suitable candidate by the second half of this year but Andrew is committed to continuing in his role until we have found the right person,'' Sir Henry said.
Since 2003 Mr Ferrier had single-mindedly moulded the 20,000 people at Fonterra into a world class team, working to a clear strategy.
``Fonterra has never been in better shape, and that is a credit to Andrew's leadership,'' Sir Henry said.
``Andrew has always placed great emphasis on finding the right people, building a strong team, and on succession planning.
``He has always wanted a planned and orderly transition to a new leader and we are particularly grateful for the flexibility he has shown the board.''
Mr Ferrier will continue living in New Zealand after he leaves the company, but wanted the flexibility to spend a little more time with family, including in his homeland Canada.
``Fonterra is a great cooperative and, when I leave, I will have absolute confidence in it becoming even stronger in the future,'' he said.
``I have had 17 years as a chief executive, including eight years at Fonterra, and I am looking forward to more flexibility in my life, spending more time with my family, and choosing from a number of business interests that are available to me.''
