Wrangle over top milk job

By PAULA OLIVER

Dairy farmers want to move forward and vote on the proposed mega-merger of their industry, despite rumours the deal could be derailed by infighting over the new million dollar chief executive job.

The merger officially has just one more hurdle to pass - gaining a 75 per cent vote by farmer shareholders.

But yesterday the struggle was apparently over another hurdle - getting the parties involved to agree on who will be the new boss.

The merger of Kiwi Dairies, New Zealand Dairy Group and the Dairy Board would create a $12.5 billion company - New Zealand's largest.

The race for the Global Dairy Company chief executive job is understood to be headed by Kiwi chief executive Craig Norgate, but it is believed some Dairy Group players are unhappy at the prospect of his appointment.

Others in the running include the heads of the Dairy Board's strategic business units, Chris Moller, and David Pilkington.

Some Dairy Board staff are understood to be concerned that disagreement over the job is strong enough to split the merger apart. There is no legal reason why the parties could not pull the plug.

But Dairy Farmers of New Zealand chairman Charlie Pedersen yesterday said farmers wanted to vote on the merger quickly.

Farmers he had spoken to indicated the appointment would not sway the way they voted.

"It's not a decision that farmers need to have any input in, and it's not a decision farmers want to have any input in," he said. "I've asked them. They don't need to know who it is before they vote. They've made up their minds. No one person is as important as the industry."

GlobalCo chairman John Roadley said the appointment would not get in the way of the merger.

"We have come too far and are too close to completing the merger for any one issue to be allowed to stand in the way of New Zealand's most important commercial deal. Our farmers will decide whether this merger will go ahead."

Mr Roadley said there were several issues to weigh up, including whether to recruit from inside or outside the industry. He wanted shareholders to have all the information before they voted. He hinted there would be a delay, but would not give a date for the vote.

Mr Pedersen said Kiwi suppliers thought Mr Norgate was a good chief executive, but they knew his talents as a strategist would be used even if he wasn't appointed to the role.

"Kiwi was only big enough to keep someone like Craig Norgate if they had him as CEO; Global is big enough to keep somebody of Craig's ability along with a number of other very competent, highly skilled people."

A source close to the Dairy Board said it would be a disaster if the merger was held back by the egos involved in the battle over Mr Norgate.