After being involved in a challenge to their governance years ago Alliance Group is not releasing details of prospective directors until after nominations are closed, but one candidate has declared her hand.
Is this procedure sensible so canvassing of suitable candidates be organised properly for such a responsible job or does this suggest control and direction will be kept in house and outsiders will be discouraged?
This company has had some history of female directors in the past and this opens the question, are women represented enough in the important decision making jobs in agriculture?
Jeanette Maxwell and Jacqueline Rowarth are two of the more high profile women that spring to mind but are there skills and intellect that is not being utilised by Kiwi Agri Women?
Maniototo farmer Dawn Sangster is seeking a place on the Alliance Group board, motivated by a desire to contribute to New Zealand's sheep and beef industry and to put newly-honed leadership and governance skills to use. If successful, she will become the third female director of the farmer-owned co-operative, following Christine McKenzie (1991-1999) and Kathie Henderson (1991-2001). Owen Buckingham and John Lindsay are the two elected directors retiring by rotation. Mr Lindsay is standing for re-election while Mr Buckingham is retiring reports The ODT.
Alliance is not releasing information about nominations until after they close at 4pm tomorrow. The annual meeting of shareholders will be held in Invercargill on December 16. Mrs Sangster, who has a bachelor of agricultural commerce in farm management from Lincoln University, has a 25-year farming career and experience and training in commercial and community leadership and governance. She is actively involved in a family company comprising two sheep and beef properties running 10,000 stock units.
Involved on a daily basis, she is responsible for strategic planning and financial management of both on- and off-farm investments. She also runs one of New Zealand's largest flocks of angora goats. Earlier this year, Mrs Sangster graduated from the Agri-Women's Development Trust's inaugural Escalator course. The programme, aimed at developing rural leadership and governance skills in women, was created as a result of extensive research into the role of women in the rural sector and low participation rates at the leadership and governance level.
Mrs Sangster said she believed the co-operative model was the best structure to look after farmer-shareholder interests. "Instead of looking backwards, we should look positively to the future, focus on keeping Alliance a strong performer and concentrate on the issues we can do something about," she said.
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