By Roshan Thomas
March 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand dairy company Fonterra Co-operative Group said on Monday that Chief Executive Officer Miles Hurrell had resigned after eight years in the role and a 25-year career with the company.
Hurrell, who was appointed CEO in 2018, will remain in the role during a six-month notice period to support an orderly leadership transition, the company said.
The board has begun a search for a new chief executive and expects to appoint a successor in the coming months,
Fonterra added.
Hurrell led a strategic reset that refocused the dairy cooperative on its strengths in New Zealand's pasture-based milk production, sustainability and higher-value dairy ingredients.
"Miles Hurrell leaves Fonterra in a much stronger position than when he took over in 2018," said Jeremy Sullivan of advisory firm Hamilton Hindin Greene.
Hurrell previously held several senior roles across the cooperative's global operations, including chief operating officer of Farm Source and general manager for the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe.
"Fonterra’s entering the next phase in its strategic implementation, which marks a natural turning point for a new leader to step in while I consider what’s next for me," said Hurrell.
Fonterra Co-operative Group said in October last year that its farmer shareholders had agreed to the divestment of its global consumer and associated businesses to French dairy group Lactalis.
"The bigger question is succession quality rather than strategy. With the consumer divestment largely mapped out and capital return plans already approved by shareholders, the market will be looking for a chief executive who can execute the next leg of the plan rather than reinvent it," added Sullivan.
(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann, Bill Berkrot and Diane Craft)
