Norgate - visionary and deal-maker

Craig Norgate shown at the New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay annual meeting in 2008. Photo / Greg Bowker

Craig Norgate (1965 - 2015)

Craig Norgate's bustling energy and charisma ensured he quickly lit up every room he entered.

When Norgate died suddenly last night in London the news quickly rippled around the world with many former colleagues, competitors and friends connecting across social media to share their grief and (in some cases) war stories.

Norgate told me at a recent function that he and his beloved wife Jane were about to head off on "their OE." Norgate had stayed home to support his mother after his own father Frank Norgate died suddenly - something he was acutely conscious of.

There was a new chapter to be written in the Norgate career.

His children - Jordan, Dylan and Alexandria - had been launched.

He had hired digs in Richmond and was off to first follow the All Blacks in the 2015 Rubgy World Cup then to seek another CEO role in the UK.

Norgate's career has been well canvassed in today's Herald.

He ran a lean machine at Fonterra as he merged two competing companies Kiwi Cooperative Dairies and the NZ Dairy Group into one new GlobalCo along with the NZ Dairy Board which had been the former marketing arm for the New Zealand dairy industry. After Fonterra failed to renew his contract he wrote a whole new chapter in NZ agribusiness by making alliances and rolling up the NZ rural services industry into PGG Wrightson.

He was a remarkable visionary and deal-maker. He unfortunately came undone when his sheer deal-making pace left him caught short mid-deal when the Global Financial Crisis closed credit markets.

His strategic skills were put to good use on the NZRFU board and on a range of boards in Taranaki.

There was always more to Craig than mere business.

Norgate was one of a group of young thruster Kiwi CEOs who came to prominence in the early 2000s. CEOs like Theresa Gattung (ex Telecom); Andrew Grant (ex McKinsey), Chris Liddell (ex Carter Holt Harvey) and Scott Perkins (ex Deutsche Bank).

Norgate was the inaugural CEO for Fonterra but also found time to be the first president of the NZUS Council which was setup to get the rock in the road out of the way in NZ's relationship with the United States so that stronger trading links could be pursued. He was acutely focused and galvanised other NZ business leaders, politicians and officials to take seriously the need to restore the bilateral relationship.

He got the need for a knowledge economy so that NZ kids could build great careers and companies from New Zealand..

It should be said that Craig was also rollicking fun - investing in prime racing bloodstock with his great friend Theresa Gattung - and 'going to the races' to see their horse run.

His humanity will be missed as much as his contribution to business.