Fonterra Cooperative Group's chief operating officer of the consumer and food service division, Lukas Paravicini, will leave the country's dominant dairy company in January.
The right-hand man to former chief executive Theo Spierings will leave next month after five years with the cooperative, returning his family to Europe.
He joined Fonterra as chief financial officer in 2013, shifting roles last year to oversee a key plank in Spierings' strategy to shift greater volumes of higher value product.
"During his time, Lukas was instrumental in maintaining the financial strength of the cooperative, including through some years of low milk prices and challenging global conditions," chief executive Miles Hurrell said in a statement.
"He spearheaded initiatives such as the cooperative support loan and championed Fonterra's business transformation."