Neil Beaumont is Fonterra’s new chief financial officer

Fonterra's new chief financial officer, Neil Beaumont. Photo / Supplied / Fonterra

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Neil Beaumont is so passionate about Fonterra that he moved all the way from Canada to New Zealand, to become the co-op’s new chief financial officer.

Beaumont trained as a chartered accountant and spent 20 years as a partner at KPMG in Canada.

However, it was during a stint in Melbourne working for mining company BHP Billiton that he “fell in love” with New Zealand, Beaumont told The Country Sport Breakfast’s, Brian Kelly.

After BHP he moved back to Canada and became the chief financial and risk officer for Canada Pension Plan Investments.

Although Beaumont was working for Canada’s biggest investment manager, New Zealand was still on his mind.

“I agreed to come back across the pond once again and move to beautiful Auckland.”

Beaumont grew up on a beef and grain farm in Canada and the idea of working with Fonterra and returning to his roots was really appealing.

“I’m always looking for opportunities to tap into some of my intrinsic motivators and the idea of working for our farmer shareholders is really core to me and something I’m very passionate about.”

Fonterra was an “incredible platform” with a lot of opportunity, and Beaumont was looking forward to adding value to the co-op.

“I very much believe in co-operatives and, certainly for Fonterra, in the direction that we’re heading under [CEO] Miles [Hurrell’s] leadership.”

He said his first priority at Fonterra was to “listen and learn”.

“I know I have a lot to learn, and I’m very mindful not to rush into a whole bunch of actions without a solid base of real knowledge behind me.”

However, there were a few areas he said he was focused on.

Listen below:

“You will hear me talk a lot about capital allocation, efficiency and execution, and its link to driving performance for our farmers.

“I’m also very passionate about the development of people and building high-performing teams.”

Beaumont has only been in his new role for three weeks and has started at a very challenging time.

He said the Fonterra team was busy helping with the recovery after the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle.

“I know our teams on the ground are just flat out and getting in touch with our farmers through any means possible to provide support.”

Cyclone Gabrielle: How you can help

For many farmers and communities in the North Island of New Zealand, the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle has been significant and widespread.

Fonterra’s teams are working closely with partners, including the Rural Support Trust, New Zealand Food Network and Feed Out, on the immediate response, as well as assessing what they can do in the weeks ahead.

Click here to find out how you can help.