Fonterra's farmer watchdog, the Shareholder Council, says it will name its new general manager within a fortnight, after farmer flak forced it to change the title from the advertised job of chief executive.
Some Fonterra farmer shareholders, facing a steeply downgraded payout forecast, took a dim review of what they saw
as the council's empire-building.
The 46-member council, with $2.9 million to spend this financial year, is a constitutionally created watchdog on Fonterra's board and financial performance.
Fonterra, effectively a monopoly which controls more than 95 per cent of the raw milk supply, was created by an industry mega-merger in 2001.
Council chairman Tony O'Boyle said the general manager's job would replace that of council manager.
The farmer position was purely administrative, but the new job would be "more strategic and a communicative leadership" role, O'Boyle said.
He would not discuss the salary, but it is understood to be about $150,000 a year. Though it was a bigger job than that of council manager, the salary would not add to the annual budget, O'Boyle said.
The job, originally advertised as for a chief executive, had received 53 applications.
Dairy Farmers of New Zealand chairman Kevin Wooding said the new job confirmed that Fonterra, co-operatively owned by 12,600 dairy farmers, was seen as "a gravy train" by too many people.
- NZPA
