Tauranga’s Mike Siermans named Federated Farmers chief executive after interim role

Mike Siermens has been named as the new chief executive of Federated Farmers. Photo / Stephen Barker, Barker Photography

Federated Farmers has appointed Mike Siermans as its new chief executive.

Siermans has been the organisation’s interim chief executive since September last year, following Terry Copeland’s departure after serving in the role for seven years.

Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford said Siermans brought extensive senior leadership and commercial experience that set him apart from other candidates.

“This is a significant appointment for Federated Farmers,” Langford said.

“We conducted a significant search for the right person, with many strong candidates having the experience and qualities we are looking for in a CEO.”

Langford said he’d worked closely with Siermans over the past few months and was confident he was the right leader to help Federated Farmers deliver its strategy for membership growth.

“Mike’s experience in sales, marketing and corporate management will be a huge asset for our organisation.

“He understands that strong advocacy needs to be backed by sharp commercial nous.”

Langford said he was looking forward to working with Siermans and his team to make sure Federated Farmers was a well-oiled, modern machine set up to deliver outcomes for farmers.

“Federated Farmers is sitting in a really strong position,” he said.

“The organisation’s results speak for themselves, with clear messaging, a long list of major policy wins, and a membership base growing for the first time in a generation.

“It’s now Mike’s job to pick that up and continue to build on that platform.”

Before joining Federated Farmers, Siermans built a commercial career across fast-moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and technology.

He held senior sales and marketing roles at Douglas Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Animal Health and, most recently, at Taura Natural Ingredients.

Siermans saw his broad commercial experience as central to his role at Federated Farmers.

“Federated Farmers is a very special organisation that’s played a major role in New Zealand’s history over the last 125 years,” Siermans said.

“My job as CEO is to make sure we’ve got the right strategy, team and culture that’s going to set us up to succeed for the next 125 years.”

Listen to Hamish McKay interview Mike Siermans on The Country below:

Siermans said this meant continuing to modernise the organisation, with a focus on creating sustainable revenue streams and finding new ways to grow its products and services.

“I want to make sure Federated Farmers has the resources to keep employing the best advocates, communicators and policy experts, so we can deliver real results for Kiwi farmers.

“Federated Farmers has always been the true voice of farming in New Zealand and I want to play a role in helping make that voice even stronger.”

Siermans and his wife live in Tauranga and they have three adult children.

– Supplied by Federated Farmers