New Zealander to head world dairy organisation

Dr Jeremy Hill, Director Research Science Technology & Development at Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd, is President-Elect of the International Dairy Federation (IDF); the first New Zealander elected to that role in its 109-year history.

“This is truly a major moment for New Zealand on the world stage,” says Willy Leferink, Federated Farmers Dairy chairperson speaking from the IDF summit in Cape Town.

“Dr Hill will serve a four year term effective from this Friday and is, I believe, the first time a New Zealander has ever headed the world body for the dairy industry.  As one of the Kiwis at the IDF we are very, very proud.

The International Dairy Federation has issued the following release I wish to pass on:

“Dr. Jeremy Hill, Director Research, Science, Technology and Development, Fonterra Cooperative Group, has been involved in the work of the Federation for over two decades.

Jeremy has significant experience in the management of large infrastructure and organisations and in the management of international dispersed teams.

“In his first address, Dr. Jeremy Hill outlined upcoming challenges for our Federation. He recognised that maintaining the membership and global representation is key.

Challenges within the dairy sector such as globalisation of our industry and cross border trade, consolidation, major changes in global demand and volatility will also have to be tackled. He also stressed other general challenges such as nutrition, food safety, food security, and analytical methods.

He shared his views on how to address some of these challenges with the attending member countries. While he fully reconfirmed his support to the mission of IDF, he also mentioned that IDF has to adapt to meet these challenges.

“Process has already started with the introduction of the SWIFT vision (Speed, Worldwide visibility, Impact, Focus and Transparency) in our way of working. It ensures that the organisation continues to deliver timely outcomes that meet expectations and the changing needs of IDF membership.

We must make good use of our strengths, evolving to a more dynamic and flexible organisation.

We must value the power of partnerships and engage with strategic stakeholders, ensure financial viability and enhance communications efforts if we want to guarantee success in the future,” Dr Hill concluded.

Willy Leferink was excited by what this meant for New Zealand.

“New Zealanders are proud of Dr Hill and over the next four years he will lead the global dairy industry forward,” Mr Leferink concluded.