Mark Franklin Appointed as Independent Chair/Director

28 October 2021
[email protected]

Mark Franklin Appointed as Independent Chair/Director

(“Allied Farmers” NZX: ALF) has appointed Mark Franklin as Board Chair with effect from 1 November 2021.

Interim Chair Marise James said: “We are delighted to welcome a person of Mark’s calibre and profile to lead our Board. Mark’s experience as both a chair/director and chief executive of significant New Zealand organisations will be invaluable. His appointment reflects our clear focus on growing earnings from our NZ Farmers Livestock and NZ Rural Land Management investments”.
Further information on Mr. Franklin is set out below. He will be required to stand for re-election at Allied Farmer’s Annual Meeting on 24 November 2021. Mr. Franklin will be an Independent Chair/Director.

Marise James Retirement

Ms. James, who agreed to act as Chair while the Board undertook a process to appoint a new Chair, has decided to not seek re-election as a Director at Allied Farmers’s Annual Meeting on 24 November 2021.

Allied Farmers’s Independent Director and Chair of Allied Farmers’s subsidiary – NZ Farmers Livestock, Philip Luscombe, said: “Marise has contributed her breadth of skills and experience to both our Boards, which has been critical to our ongoing success. We wish her the very best for the future”.

Ross O’Neill
Company Secretary

Mark Franklin Short Bio:
Mark has extensive experience in the infrastructure, energy, and technology sectors in New Zealand, Australia, US and Asia. His Chief Executive roles span 30 years in the Utilities, IT and Telco sectors and have encompassed both start up and consolidation activities.

Mark’s current governance roles include:
• Chair of Auckland Unlimited;
• Member of the critical Auckland Mayoral Housing Taskforce and the Deputy Mayor Industry Leaders Infrastructure Council;
• Advisory Board Chair of Utilligent Global and PT Blink;
• Director of Auckland Chamber of Commerce;
• Independent Director of Stevenson Group; and,
• Independent Director of SwimTastic Limited.

Mark’s most recent roles were Managing Director of Stevenson Group (which also included extensive rural operations), founding Chief Executive of TZ1, the global carbon registry, and prior to this Chief Executive of Vector.

Mark is also a recent past Director of New Zealand Railways Corporation (Kiwirail), WEL Networks and UltraFast Broadband Ltd. Mark has also been a member of the Prime Minister’s Climate Change Leadership Forum and the Australia New Zealand Joint Prime Ministers Leadership Forum.

---

Announcement PDF