Richard Wyeth appointed Synlait Milk CEO

Richard Wyeth, pictured back when he was chief executive of Miraka Ltd. Photo / Alan Gibson

Richard Wyeth has been appointed Synlait Milk’s chief executive.

Wyeth recently left Westland Milk Products, having led the dairy processor for four years.

He will take over as CEO of Synlait from Tim Carter, who has been acting in the role since Grant Watson’s sudden departure in late October last year.

Carter has been the CEO of Dairyworks, which is owned by Synlait, since 2018.

Wyeth will join his former chief financial officer at Westland, Andy Liu, who joined Synlait last year.

At the dairy processor’s annual meeting in December, chair George Adams said recruitment agency Korn Ferry was globally searching for a new CEO.

Wyeth was widely speculated to get the job following his abrupt departure from Westland in late January. With the business’s turnaround largely complete, “it is a natural time for me to step aside,” he said.

He led the West Coast dairy processor after Yili Group, the largest Chinese dairy company, bought the then-struggling co-operative in 2019 for $588 million, including debt and liabilities.

In the year he started, Westland reported a loss of $45.1m, but it reported a profit of $62.5m in 2023.

In a statement to the market on Monday, Adams said Wyeth was a “seasoned, tested and highly regarded” chief executive in New Zealand’s dairy industry.

“Synlait is extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to benefit from Richard’s extensive experience growing companies in our sector. He has positively transformed dairy companies, and we are excited he is joining Synlait,” he said.

Before Westland, Wyeth ran Taupō-based Miraka.

He said Synlait’s fundamentals were strong.

“The fact it’s now on track to return to profitability after overcoming a list of challenges reflects exceptional capability within the team. I’m looking forward to getting to know Synlait’s farmers and staff to build on and support the turnaround story, which is already under way,” Wyeth said.

He will join the processor on May 19.

‘Momentum is building’

Carter will remain acting CEO until then before returning to his role at Dairyworks.

Adams said the board was “extremely grateful” for his leadership as acting CEO.

“Momentum is building within Synlait. Tim has played an instrumental role in driving this step change in the company’s performance and ensuring we are on track to return to profitability at half year.”

Synlait, which will report its half-year results later this month, is expecting ebitda for the six months to January 2025 to be in the range of $58m and $63m.

Carter told the processor’s annual meeting last year that management’s focus for the current year was on growing the secured milk supply, business performance, including plant reliability, supply chain and procurement, and volume growth.

-BusinessDesk