By PHILIPPA STEVENSON
So much blood will spill on the floor of the New Zealand Dairy Group boardroom today that even the chairman risks losing his footing.
Yesterday, the board finally convinced its shareholders to slash its size from an unwieldy 16 elected farmer directors to nine, and let it do the bloodletting.
The directors' victory at the company's annual meeting followed an unsuccessful attempt in June to reduce farmer directors to seven and increase appointed directors from two to three. The rebuff then, by shareholders wary of too fine a ratio of farmer to external directors, forced the board to come up with a more acceptable proposal.
At a packed meeting near Hamilton yesterday, just over half the company's 7500 shareholders voted 84 per cent in favour of the new deal, and also to elect directors at large instead of under the present ward system.
There was less backing for the board to wield the axe against itself, but at 72 per cent support, in a poll requiring at least a 50 per cent vote in favour, it was more than enough to give it the go- ahead.
Chairman Henry Van Der Heyden said the culling, to be done with the help of a facilitator, would begin today.
It is likely to be a messy affair in a board known to be riddled by dissension.
One shareholder's suggestion that the board contain an "A-team, a B-team and the rest" was rejected by director Hilary Webber, but even as they tried to paper over the cracks, directors had to admit dysfunction.
Arguing for a smaller board, deputy chairman John Roadley and long-serving director Graham Calvert said it needed to be an efficient, speedy and responsive decision-maker - a clear suggestion that it had not been.
Mr Roadley begged shareholders to "step over the wire" so such issues would never again clutter the board.
"Break the mould and bring some positive change to our company," he said.
Director Tony Wilding said board members were in the best position to ensure that the nine who held their seats had the "right mix of skill and ability," but industry sources suggested power blocs within the board were likely to use the exercise to rid themselves of dissenters.
First for the chop was expected to be the "farmer-friendly" directors - dumped former chairman Doug Leeder and the director who made a lone stand against the more radical board changes in June, Keith Holmes.
Three men elected to the board yesterday, Mark Townshend in Hauraki and an Australian-based pair with farms in Southland, Kevin Brown and Maurice Hardy, are regarded as talented but likely to last only a day at the table.
Cambridge-based Hilary Webber, the only woman director, is expected to be a casualty along with Murray McNaughten of Waiuku.
Some sources suggested South Island-based Mr Roadley had his eye on the chairmanship but, regardless, he and Mr Van Der Heyden would definitely make the cut.
The wily Mr Calvert, who could be excused for retiring, is said to want in because he still has issues to pursue.
Sources picked that others to retain seats would be Graham Fraser, who is also Dairy Board chairman, Earl Rattray, Jim Van Der Poel, Mr Wilding and Stuart Bay from the North Island, and Murray Flett from the south.
Mr Van Der Heyden said membership of the new board would be announced early next week.
NZ Dairy Board cull likely to get messy
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