Rabobank NZ names Air NZ boss John Palmer as its 1st NZ domiciled chairman and Henry van der Heyden to its board

Specialist rural lender Rabobank New Zealand has named Air New Zealand chairman John Palmer as its new chairman with Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden joining its board.

Palmer, who has been a Rabobank NZ chairman since 2004, replaces Bill Gurry, who after three years as chairman stays both as chairman of Rabobank’s Australian board and on Rabobank NZ's board. Palmer will be the bank's first New Zealand resident chairman.

Piet Moerland, chairman of  parent Rabobank Netherland, said the Palmer and van der Heyden appointments reflected the growing strength and presence of Rabobank in the New Zealand market.

“New Zealand is a significant growth market for Rabobank’s international operations and these changes to our local board, with the very high-calibre appointments of John Palmer as chairman and Henry van der Heyden as a director, reflect just how committed the bank is to this part of the world,” Moerland said.

“Both John and Henry are among New Zealand’s most respected and experienced business leaders. They are not only leading business people, but also very connected to, and passionate about, food and agriculture, which is at the core of Rabobank’s agri banking operations in this country."

Moerland added that Rabobank held a "very strong outlook" for New Zealand’s food and agribusiness sector and considered the country one of its key international growth markets for both rural and agribusiness lending as well as for its online savings and deposits business, RaboDirect.

Palmer is also chairman of state owned enterprise Solid Energy, which has been earmarked by the government for a partial privatisation. He also previously chaired rural services company Wrightson Limited. Van der Heyden also joins Rabobank’s Australian board.

David Smithers and Ralf Dekker are stepping down from Rabobank NZ's board.

See Rabobank NZ's bond issuer page here.