By PHILIPPA STEVENSON
One of the apple industry's hottest seats is to be taken by a refugee from dairy industry combat.
From April, David Geor, the chief executive of Northland Dairy until its merger with Kiwi Dairies last year, will be the new chief executive of embattled apple marketer Enza.
Yesterday, Mr
Geor said the partial deregulation of the pipfruit industry, which has erupted into major discord over a new export consent process, needed to be addressed quickly.
"There is a significant level of value destruction as we hang in the balance. I don't feel comfortable with that. I will be pushing hard to see either a return to regulation or a move to [full] deregulation."
He described the present situation in which an independent committee approved permits for independent exporters where they did not conflict with Enza as "this half-pregnant crap."
"Enza has become, by default, the seller of last resort because it carries all the industry-good costs and all the other things no one else has to carry. All the good opportunities are cherry-picked and we are left holding the baby."
Mr Geor's appointment comes five months after the former $600,000-a-year chief executive, Gary Smith, resigned - blaming, in part, attacks by growers following disastrous returns, and what he said was "inane political ideology" driving industry reforms.
The new CEO said he would not be too fazed by being the butt of concerns. "At the end of the day, we are there to try to add some value."
Mr Geor, who joined Northland Dairy in September 1998, said he regretted having such a short time in the dairy industry which, "despite all the procrastination and in-fighting ... has a huge future."
He would have looked for opportunities within the proposed mega co-op but said of the industry hiatus: "It's a little uncertain when they will actually do the inevitable."
