Rangatira Chairman retires; Board elects David Pilkington as Chairman
Wellington investment company Rangatira Limited (Rangatira) has appointed its former Deputy Chairman and professional
company director David Pilkington as the next company’s Chairman. David succeeds Murray Gough who retired from the Board
at the company’s Annual Meeting yesterday; Murray Gough has been Rangatira’s Chairman for the past 10 years and a
Director since 1994.
Murray Gough said, “David is an experienced and capable leader, and I have every confidence that Rangatira will continue
to perform well under his chairmanship. It is an honour to have been Chairman of Rangatira and I thank shareholders for
their support over the past 20 years.”
David Pilkington has been a Rangatira Director since 2006 and Deputy Chairman since 2012. Earlier this year he was
elected Chairman of the country’s largest port, the Port of Tauranga. He will assume that role after the current
Chairman retires in October following the Port of Tauranga’s annual meeting.
Before retiring in 2004 to become a fulltime company director, he spent nearly 30 years with the NZ Dairy Board and
Fonterra. During this period he held senior roles in New Zealand and internationally including Managing Director, New
Zealand Milk (2000 to 2004), head of global operations for the Dairy Board (1994-2000), and Chief Executive of Milk
Products Holdings North America.
His current roles also include Chairman of Hellers Limited, and a Director of Balance Agri-Nutrients Limited, Douglas
Pharmaceuticals Limited, Restaurant Brands Limited, Tuatara Brewing Company Limited and Zespri Group Limited, a Trustee
of New Zealand Community Trust, and an appointed member of the Wellington City Council’s Audit and Risk Management
Committee.
David has a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) from the University of Canterbury, and a
Postgraduate Diploma in Dairy Science and Technology from Massey University.
David Pilkington said, “Rangatira has had a particularly good year and the company’s performance in recent years has
seen it strengthen its balance sheet and outperform similar alternative investment vehicles.
“The strong result this year is an endorsement of Rangatira’s long term investment strategy. Murray Gough deserves
recognition for leading the team responsible for producing not only that result but for positioning the company in a
strong position for the future.
“Looking ahead, we currently have around $70 million available to invest in New Zealand companies with strong growth
potential and looking for additional capital to take them to the next stage.”
Rangatira has a longer investment timeframe than many private equity funds and prefers to be a cornerstone investor,
co-investing with business owners and management. In some cases, it will do this alongside other like-minded investment
companies and institutions.
“Rangatira’s investment strategy of ‘investing in business for growth’, applied on a long term basis, has produced
better than average sustained returns over many years for its shareholders. This can be attributed to a diversified
portfolio, conservative gearing and the active involvement of our directors and management in the governance of the
companies in which we invest. We are committed to a continuation of this strategy as we look to expand our portfolio of
New Zealand business holdings, to the mutual benefit of those companies and Rangatira,” David Pilkington said.
ENDS