Fonterra chief steps aside at NZX

Fonterra chair Henry van der Heyden has resigned from his seat on the board of stock exchange operator NZX, to avoid 'perceptions of potential conflict of interest reports The NZ Herald." NZX chairman Andrew Harmos said in an announcement that van der Heyden resigned "to remove any perceptions of potential conflict of interest with his role as Fonterra chairman." "Neither NZX nor Mr van der Heyden believed any such conflict actually exists," said Harmos. "However, the NZX board understood Mr van der Heyden's desire to erase any such perceptions, especially as Fonterra shareholders considered important matters relating to the Co-operative's future capital structure." Van der Heyden joined the NZX Board in September 2005 and has been Fonterra chairman since 2002. "Fonterra and New Zealand dairy farming are the most important things to me professionally. Dairying has long been a cornerstone of the economy and I've spent a large slice of my working life helping to build a sustainable industry for farmers and one that will remain a strong contributor to our economic prosperity," said van der Heyden. "Over the coming years, Fonterra shareholders will be making decisions on capital structure that will be of vital importance to the Co-operative and indeed to the national economy. I want to ensure that these deliberations are untainted whatsoever by any concerns about the NZX directorship - no matter how misplaced such concerns might be." He said he'd "thoroughly enjoyed" his time on the NZX Board and was "very sorry to be stepping down".Federated Farmers said this morning that van der Heyden made the right decision stepping down from the stock exchange board.