Dr Warren Parker has been appointed as Director and Chair of Landcorp, the Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Shane Jones announced today.

Dr Parker is a former Chief Executive of Scion (the NZ Forest Research Institute) and Landcare Research, and was previously Chief Operating Officer of AgResearch. He currently holds a number of board roles including on Predator Free 2050 Ltd, Farmlands Cooperative Society, Genomics Aotearoa and is the Chair of the Forestry Ministerial Advisory Group. Until recently he was Chair of the New Zealand Conservation Authority.

“Dr Parker is one of the most experienced experts in New Zealand’s primary industries, operating at the most senior levels across sectors as a scientist, teacher, manager and, most recently, in governance roles. We are lucky to have someone of Dr Parker’s experience and ability to take over the Chair’s role at Landcorp, the nation’s largest farming enterprise,” said Mr Robertson.

“Effective stewardship of Landcorp is vitally important. This company plays a significant role in New Zealand agriculture and our regions. Dr Parker’s experience across a wide range of primary industries will give him the ability to look across all the work of Landcorp and ensure that the shareholder is receiving value for money from our investment,” said Shane Jones.

Dr Parker has a PhD in Animal Science and was previously a Professor of Agribusiness and Resource Management at Massey University, where he spent 18 years in various roles, including supervising the 9,000 stock unit Riverside Farm in the Wairarapa.

Landcorp is New Zealand’s largest agricultural enterprise. Its core business is pastoral farming, running 1.5 million stock units – sheep, deer, beef and dairy cattle – on 126 properties totalling 372,115 hectares under management.

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