PGG Wrightson chair Rodger Finlay will leave the board on June 30 after almost three years at the helm of the NZX-listed rural services business.
Finlay said he’d experienced a “stimulating term” but it was the right time to retire and “free up capacity” to devote to other recent governance commitments.
He sits on the boards of iwi corporate entity Ngāi Tahu Holdings, farm owner Rural Equities, state-owned New Zealand Post, and Crown Regional Holdings, which was the old Provincial Growth Fund.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as chair of PGW, which is such an important part of the fabric of New Zealand’s primary sector,” he said.
“It is gratifying to be departing the business while it is in such great financial health and so well placed for the future.”
Wrightson enjoyed a record first-half result in the final six months of 2021, raising its annual earnings outlook and paying a bigger interim dividend.
Under his watch, the rural services firm’s share price has climbed 135%, closing at $4.70. That’s adjusted for the $234 million capital return in 2019 when the firm went through a one-for-10 share consolidation.
Deputy chair Joo Hai Lee said the board and management team were grateful for Finlay’s “great service” to the company in his position as chair and a member of the audit committee.
“Rodger has provided excellent leadership through his tenure as PGW has reset its strategy and refocused on its core offerings,” she said.
“The business has prospered throughout this period and the impressive results we have seen speak for themselves.”
Lee said the board would reassess its governance requirements in the coming weeks and update the market as to the appointment of a chair as they approached the end of the fiscal year.
