David Hunt will bring his extensive governance experience and commercial acumen to DairyNZ as a newly appointed independent director.
“As a former chief executive of Contact Energy, David’s strong experience in strategy development and execution will help us bring our new strategic direction to life,” DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says.
“In seeking the right director, we looked for someone who had proven themselves to be disciplined in delivery across a range of sectors, and an excellent people leader.
“David has held several governance roles, including most recently as deputy chair of ACC, and as a director of Christchurch City Holdings. I have no doubt he will contribute significantly to our ongoing work to pursue governance best practice and Board depth.
“His financial acumen across investment strategy, as well as audit and risk management, is important as DairyNZ focuses on ensuring the levy is the best investment of every dairy farmer.
“This is an important time for our Board and the talent we are attracting highlights the importance of our new strategic direction,” Jim says.
David was recently appointed as an independent member of the Coalition Government’s Fast Track Advisory Group, reflecting his ability to work with multiple stakeholders and a commitment to getting things done.
David has held a range of executive roles within the energy and infrastructure sectors in New Zealand and Australia. This includes as chief executive of Contact Energy from 2005-2006, and executive general manager of Origin Energy (Australia) from 2004-2005.
Newly appointed DairyNZ independent director David Hunt.
Between 2006 and April 2024 David was a consulting director at Concept Consulting Group, a firm providing specialist advisory services on energy, decarbonisation and utility issues. He has also worked in manager and analyst positions at the NZ Treasury. David holds degrees in economics and statistics from Massey University.
DairyNZ has a governing board of eight members. Five are farmer-elected and three are independent, professional directors. David has been appointed by the DairyNZ Board and levy payers will be asked to vote to ratify the 3-year term during the annual elections later this year.