Fonterra chairman appointed to Rabobank

Fonterra chairman appointed to Rabobank Advisory Board

Henry van der Heyden, the chairman of Fonterra Co-operative Group, the world's largest exporter of dairy products, has been appointed to Rabobank’s Australasian Food & Agribusiness Advisory Board.

Mr van der Heyden joins a number of other industry leaders on the specialist board, which is responsible for advising Rabobank’s New Zealand and Australian operations on strategic agribusiness and agricultural issues.

The world’s leading food and agribusiness bank, Rabobank is one of Australasia’s largest rural lenders and a major provider of corporate financial services to New Zealand and Australia’s food and agribusiness sectors.

Announcing the appointment, Rabobank Australia & New Zealand CEO Bruce Dick said Mr van der Heyden brought a vast knowledge of both the dairy sector and the broader food and agribusiness industry to the advisory board.

“Henry is a respected leader not only in New Zealand’s dairy industry, but in the global dairy sector,” Mr Dick said.

“Henry has chaired New Zealand-based Fonterra, which is one of the world’s leading multinational dairy companies, since 2002 and has many years’ experience in the dairy industry.”

Owned by 11,600 New Zealand dairy farmers, the Fonterra cooperative is the world’s leader in large-scale milk procurement, processing and management.

Mr van der Heyden played a considerable role in the industry restructure that led to Fonterra's establishment in 2001 and was previously Chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Co-operative.

He began his farming career share-milking in New Zealand’s Putaruru/Tokoroa area, where he purchased a farm in 1985. Mr van der Heyden is still on the property and has expanded the holding. He also owns three other dairy farms in the area and a dry stock holding. He has a Bachelor of Engineering (Agr) with honours from Lincoln University.

Rabobank Australia & New Zealand is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 100 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank has a AAA credit rating and is rated one of the world’s safest bank by Global Finance magazine. Rabobank operates in 43 countries, servicing the needs of more than nine million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1500 offices and branches. Rabobank Australia & New Zealand is one of Australasia’s leading rural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the region’s food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 75 branches throughout Australasia.

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