Three new appointments to the Board of Wools of New Zealand send a clear message about the drive to do everything possible to accelerate the company's strategy to deliver sustainable profitable returns for grower shareholders.
Wools of New Zealand chair Mark Shadbolt says the appointments have come as a result of a rigorous search and selection process and many hours were spent finding the right directors who have the required specific skill sets and bring diversity of thinking.
"They are all well equipped to do the job we need today and importantly, have the ability to look to the future and think globally.
"These new directors understand strategy, sales, branding and marketing, how to tell our story around the world and they acknowledge the disciplines and responsibilities important to a 100 per cent grower owned company."
It also sends an important message of confidence in the strategy behind Wools of New Zealand that we have been able to attract directors of this calibre, particularly given we are a young company coupled with the challenges facing the industry as a whole.
Highly respected auditor Ian Marshall (independent board appointed director), will also chair the Audit and Risk Committee and will strengthen the strategic direction and financial acumen around the board table and within the company.
Rebecca Smith (independent board appointed director) and Lucy Griffiths (grower-appointed director) were a very deliberate decision to capture real and proven international sales and marketing expertise and experience alongside the ability to tap into their global market insights and networks.
Mr Shadbolt says the director appointments had to be right given the key role they will play at the board table in the interests of grower shareholders "who are putting their futures in our hands".
"These new directors understand strategy, sales, branding and marketing, how to tell our story around the world and they acknowledge the disciplines and responsibilities important to a 100 per cent grower owned company," says Mr Shadbolt.
"They have all signed up to delivering consistent and greater returns to grower shareholders.
"I have no doubt about these people as directors.
"We have already seen the benefit of their insights and knowledge when they joined us at our last board meeting. The appointments provide balance and a range of expertise and connections both globally and locally that will assist the rapid progress of growth required for Wools of New Zealand to succeed on the world stage."
Ian Marshall
Mr Marshall has been the independent chair of the Wools of New Zealand Audit and Risk Committee since June last year.
He is a retired Deloitte NZ partner and is a Massey University Counsellor and chairs the audit and risk committees of Massey University and Marlborough District Council, as well as being a member of the New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards Board.
Rebecca Smith
Rebecca Smith
Ms Smith is a director of the New Zealand Story, a business growth initiative aimed at broadening the perception of New Zealand beyond natural beauty.
She is the former general manager Brand and Communications of NZMP (Fonterra's dairy ingredients business) and prior to that led marketing and brand functions at the BNZ and Spark. Her career spans dairy, banking, telecoms, manufacturing, software and tourism - a breadth of experience that will be valuable to Wools of New Zealand.
Ms Griffiths owns Innov8 Aotearoa, formed to assist New Zealand food and beverage companies market their products strategically with a focus on export development.
She is a Nuffield New Zealand scholar and her specialist research study looking at sheep milk from 'farm to fork' released in 2015 garnered wide uptake by both existing sheep farmers and new investors to the industry.
She sits on the Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA) Board, a director (audit and risk committee) of Trust House and a community elected Trustee on the Masterton Community Trust.
